So here’s the thing…
If you have a need and I (or my team) can solve it, and we want to work together, then….
I want your money.
I am way up front about that.
I make no apologies about the fact that while you can read my weekly articles forever without ever giving me a dime and I will never kick you out of the party, my goal for this is to drive revenue. And so is the goal with my social media. And my goal with our newsletter.
While I do things just for the betterment of a cause, such as our Beyond Thank You initiative, our marketing isn’t about getting awareness. It is about driving results.And so should yours.
Because your staff doesn’t want to get paid in fluff. They want real money in their paychecks so your results need to include real dollars. (Tweet this!)
About a year ago, I had a meeting with a major sales organization and was stunned when they insisted that their Facebook page’s focus should not be on driving leads or sales. Nope, no matter how much I explained our philosophy of giving free content 85% of the time and then driving leads 15% of the time, they weren’t buying it. They were “uncomfortable” self-promoting on their page. And they are a SALES organization.
So, here’s the thing…I implore you to not be afraid of taking care of your business needs in the work you put out. You have value and are filling a need and deserve to be paid for it. (Tweet this!) The time and effort you put into your marketing should produce a return on your investment that equals more than you put into it. And you don’t need to apologize to anyone for it.
If you are REALLY struggling with this, a great book to read is Daniel Pink’s To Sell is Human. Comment on our blog with your best or worst sales experience and I will reward one person with a copy in the format of your choice.
So I understand and I hope to hear from you and support you in your trip toward a change in financial freedom.
Sound good? Good.
Be well, be profitable, have fun and have a GREAT week!
P.S. I have a favor to ask…my book, “Awareness Campaigns are Stupid and Other Secrets to Stop Being an Advertising Victim and Start Monetizing Your Marketing” was nominated for a Small Business Book Award. Could you please vote for it? To do so, click here: http://bookawards.smallbiztrends.com/marketing-2014/awareness-campaigns-are-stupid–1/
This is a great reminder Kim. It is hard sometimes to focus on the value part and not the sale. I already ordered the book!
This line really resonated with me: "The time and effort you put into your marketing should produce a return on your investment that equals more than you put into it."
As an avid fan of direct response marketing and the teachings of Dan Kennedy, this mindset is ingrained in my brain now 🙂
My main struggle is not asking for the sale, it's asking for more money/increasing price. I know I have tons of value to give, but am still working on shifting away from the dollars for hours mentality.
Great post.