Brent Allan - the Small Biz Marketing Wiz Rotating Header Image

Sun Tsu and the Art of the Value Proposition

Jun 28th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

In the marketing world, much has been made of the USP, or Unique Selling Proposition. This is also called a Value Proposition.

Essentially, it is the answer to the question “Why should I do business with you instead of any other company?”

A USP should be designed around what you can offer that nobody else can. Or something you can do better. Sun Tzu said it very well in The Art of War when he wrote “Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.”

How does this translate into formulating your value proposition?

Let’s create a hypothetical example. Let’s say that you are a dentist. Your biggest competitors in town are the leading dentists in the world, one has pioneered new advances in painless dentistry and the other has all of the newest high-tech machinery. You cannot compete with that. You are just a small town dentist who teaches Sunday School and coaches Little League on the weekends.

So, your USP has to minimize your weaknesses and promote whatever strengths you have. What if you focus on being the most child-friendly dentist in town? The USP could be “A dentist your kids will love and you will appreciate.” Or something along that nature. I would never try to formulate a USP on the fly like that. I just thought about it for about 4 minutes while I took a break. Not what I would call “Class A” creative work. But you get the idea.

The USP focuses on the strength of being good with kids. You cannot compete with those other big-wigs, and if someone wants a big-wig dentist, you will probably not even be considered. But children are obviously a big target segment in dentistry, with teeth being knocked out and braces being needed and all that stuff that comes with being a kid. So when someone is looking for a dentist for kids, you will be positioned as the expert for children’s dentistry.

Think about your company, your business, and your competitors. Do you do something better than everyone else? Do you communicate that clearly? If not, it may be time to take another look at your USP.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. When he isn’t making the world a better place through his knowledge of marketing and branding, he juggles, does magic, and eats fire. Pretty cool, eh?

Posted in: Branding, Marketing.
Tagged: · ·

The True Power of Networking

Jun 26th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

Recently, I received a phone call from someone I didn’t know. He had done business with a good friend of mine, and my friend referred him to me. After a brief conversation, we decided that I was really not a good prospect for him. However, he invited me to meet with him anyway to network and see how we may be able to help each other in other ways.

There’s that word again. Network. Connecting with others to share resources. It doesn’t necessarily mean getting into a room filled with people. It can just be two people sitting at a table and chatting about business, with a sincere interest in helping each other.

So anyway, this gentleman and I met yesterday. We did the usual small talk, he told me more about his business and philosphy of doing business, I told him more about mine. Because he was referred to me, I knew he had a referral mindset. Once I felt comfortable that anyone I referred to him would be well taken care of (and not pressured), I gave him a few referrals. He gave me a few. In fact, as we spoke, he called up an acquaintance of his and told him about me, and the acquaintance enthusiastically gave him the OK to pass his info on to me for a follow up.

I left the meeting feeling like I had just met a kindred spirit. So much of his business philosophy matched mine, and he just seemed to “get it.” Although neither of us is likely to do business with the other, what we had shared with each other was worth so much more.

And that, my friends, is the true power of networking.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. He also considers himself one heck of a networker.

Posted in: Networking.
Tagged:

Customer Dis-service

Jun 22nd, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

Today I am going to write about something I seem to constantly preach about. But, I am going to preach about it in a slightly different way. Ready?

Have you ever had to deal with a big company, when YOU wanted to deal with them? I don’t mean when they contact you to try to sell you something. I mean when you have an issue and you want to contact THEM. It isn’t easy. Or fun.

When I say “big company”, I mean your mortgage company, or maybe one of your utility providers. A company that has a toll-free number and a bajillion employees working in 36,000 different departments, none of which communicate with each other.

You see, their idea of “customer service” is “We know we have you by the balls and you can’t do anything about it.” So you call the number they give you, they transfer you to someone else, they put you on hold so they can laugh at you while their operators are busy, but their hold message reminds you that your call is important and will be answered in the order in which it was received.

By the time you finally reach someone (if you don’t get disconnected first), you are so thrilled to be talking to someone that you will agree to whatever they say just so you can get back to your life. This call has already taken 40 minutes, and your kids are screaming and you just want to get the issue handled.

Later that day, after the call, you realize that you really aren’t satisfied with the results you got. But, it would take another 40 minute call to try again, so you just make do.

OK, so what does this have to do with my small business?

Here’s the deal. If you compete with these companies, you can differentiate yourself in the service aspect. Shout it from the rooftops about how your clients have the direct phone number of the guy who handles the account.

Or, if you are in a business where you can act as the buffer between the client and these “difficult to deal with” companies, then this can also be a differentiating factor. A perfect example of this would be an attorney or one of those mortgage modification companies.

The bottom line is, in order to compete with the big companies, you have to offer your clients something that the others can’t. In some cases, that comes in the form of personalized service. If I had an alternative to my current electric company (who shall remain nameless, but we’ll just call them “ConmenEd”), I would jump on it in a heartbeat.

Come to think of it, some small companies are difficult to deal with, also. There are times I would give my spleen for a doctor that actually sees you at the time of your appointment, instead of running 20 minutes late always. Or a cable installer than gives you a 30 minute window instead of “We’ll be there sometime between 3 AM and 9 PM.”

Can you provide that kind of service? If so, make sure everybody knows! Tap into that niche. Believe it or not, many people will pay more for better service. It is why airlines keep selling first-class tickets.

If you can find a niche and fill a need, you can have all of the business you ever need, regardless of the economy.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. When he isn’t making the world a better place through his knowledge of marketing and branding, he is probably spending too much time trying to get a hold of the mortgage company or phone company or someone.

Posted in: Service, Small Biz.
Tagged: · ·

Clash of the Sales Titans?

Jun 19th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

So there is another blog that I read fairly regularly. it is called Ittybiz. I find it to be truly fascinating reading. I believe I once referred to the blog owner, Naomi, as a brilliant marketer who strangled her internal censor with piano wire and left it for dead in a back alley dumpster.

This post isn’t about her. But it is about her blog.

Recently, she had a guest poster by the name of Tim Brownson. He posted about cold calling, and how effective it is. I commented that I disagreed, he responded, I responded back, and that is what has brought us here. Out of respect for Naomi, I did not want to hijack the thread spouting my own ideas. That is what I have my own blog for. But I did invite Tim to continue the discussion over here, and even offered him a chance to guest post.

Before I go into my rant, let me just say that I have nothing against Tim. He seems like a decent fellow, and his post was very well thought out and articulated. I just disagree that cold calling is an effective and efficient method of lead generation in today’s business environment.

Anyway, before you read more into this, you should probably go view the post. Then scroll down and read my comments, and Tim’s response. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

So, this clash is where I got the title of this post from. I know, it is kind of arrogant to call myself a sales titan, and I don’t know Tim well enough to know if he is or not. He may be. But calling the post “Clash of two guys you’ve never heard of” isn’t really top headline material.

I’ve been in sales for over 10 years. I have sold some pretty big ticket items. I have done phone sales and face-to-face. I have done business-to-business and business-to-consumer. I have spent countless hours cold calling, and have utilized other methods.

I am here to tell you that other methods work better and more efficiently. Especially in today’s business world. Cold calling, playing the “numbers game” was once a very successful method. Top sales trainers all over the world taught that for decades. It worked.

But things are different today. People have developed such an advanced filtering system to survive the onslaught of sales messages we are bombarded with every day from TV, the media, and everything else around us. We don’t like getting calls from salespeople.

For homes, there is the “Do Not Call” list, and it is just a matter of time until there is one for businesses, too. Until then, people employ gatekeepers to keep out the sales types.

If you call on small businesses, you can get the run around. People will happily lie to you just to get you off the phone.

It is far better to put systems in place that drive referrals. I spoke at length about this in my Ittybiz comment.

Also, pay attention to your current client base. There are ways to grow your business besides the relentless pursuit of new clients. No, I am not saying you should look for new clients. But those who have the “new client” mindset often totally neglect the ones who are already sold on their service or product.

Anyway, between this post, and what I wrote at Ittybiz, my viewpoint should be pretty clear. Maybe I will address some of this stuff in later posts, too. Maybe Tim will come over and say hello and comment.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. He considers himself an expert, and can be very opinionated.

Posted in: Business Concepts.
Tagged: · ·

Life Isn’t Always Peaches and Rainbows

Jun 18th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

Grrr . . .

This blog won’t always just give practical advice. It is my blog, and I can bitch if I want to.

I have had a bad day. It started out pretty decent, but just went downhill. I just have to accept that sometimes people will commit to something, and then they won’t follow through. Sometimes people will agree to something, and just change their minds. It happens. Move on.

It is important to remember that you can rarely impact your circumstances significantly. What you can impact all the time is how you react to what happens to you.

I normally try to be positive. I try to surround myself with positive people, and weed people out who always complain. But, I am human. Sometimes, it is hard to be positive.

I should not even be blogging right now, when I am in a bad mood and negative mindset. But I thought maybe it would help all of you to see that I am human, and that I also have the same struggles you do. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I feel like nobody reads this blog because nobody comments. (Even though only about 1% of readers will comment on a blog usually, and I have had people tell me they read the blog, but still.)

Anyway, keep up the good fight, folks. I am right there in the trenches with you.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. Sometimes he gets in a really bad mood.

Posted in: Miscellaneous.
Tagged: ·

7 Ways to Boost Your Productivity

Jun 17th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

slacker-72dpi

It’s tough to run your own business. There are a million and one things to distract you, things that you don’t like so you put them off, and just an overwhelming number of things to do at times.

So, I have compiled a list of seven things I have found that help give me a boost when I absolutely need to buckle down and get something done. Hopefully one or two or seven of these will resonate with you and help you to be more productive.


#1 - Make a To-Do List

Yes, we have all heard about doing these. But the list usually ends up being really long and we never get to everything and stuff gets pushed aside and anyway it is really daunting to have that huge list and other stuff comes up during the day and I need to be flexible and there just isn’t enough time and . . .

Yeah. I know what you mean. So make a small list. Three to five items, tops. Stuff that absolutely has to get done. Make the list the night before, so you can hit the ground running the next day. And get the list DONE. Focus on those 3 to 5 things. You should get much more done during a day, but that way you can deal with other things that come your way and still accomplish a few key tasks.


#2 - Schedule Productive Times and Flexible Times

During our work day, we often have to interact with others. Doing that throws off the schedule. So plan that certain hours of the day are when you will make phone calls and interact with people and do things that may take 5 minutes or they may take 45 minutes.

Plan on the hours of 9:00 to 11:00 AM, and then maybe 2:00 to 4:00 PM, to be these flexible times. These are the best times to reach people in their office. Before 9:00 and after 4:00, people are focused on other things, so make those your hard productivity times.

For me personally, my most productive hours are from about 9:00 to 11:00 PM. My wife and kids are in bed by then, and so I can focus on my work without interruption. This allows me to take time to have lunch with my kids if I want, yet I am still putting in a solid workday. This is the freedom of being an entrepreneur. It isn’t that it isn’t hard work, it is just that you have that scheduling flexibility. Use it to your advantage.


#3 - Cluster Your Appointments

I often have to go meet with clients or potential clients. Between getting cleaned up and dressed, driving to and from wherever I am meeting them, and having the meeting itself, it takes up a significant chunk of my time. So I try to schedule all of my appointments in the same day. That way, if the day is pretty much gone due to appointments anyway, at least I can maybe work three days in my office and two days on appointments, rather than five half-days of meetings.

This one is not always easy to do, but with some practice and careful planning, it really pays off in time savings. I get all snazzy on my meeting days, with shaving and getting dressed up and all that. On my “office days”, I can dress like a slob, not shave or do my hair, and use the time that would be spent on those things to do actual work.


#4 - Make the Most of Your Commute Time

The radio is a waste. Music is always the same old stuff, the news is depressing, and commercials are annoying. Get books on audio and listen to them while you drive. The best thing you can do for your business is improve your skills and knowledge. Get a book on business, or something inspirational, or anything that is going to help you in the long run.

Just by implementing this one little thing could potentially add several hours a week to your productivity. Learning and self-improvement are definitely productive activities, as opposed to sitting in traffic listening to songs you have heard 602 times before.


#5 - Create a Deadline

It is so easy to keep putting something off if it isn’t urgent. Have you ever felt like doing something and never find the time, but then when it is suddenly urgent you are able to get it done?

Create a deadline. Totally arbitrary, but stick to it and treat it seriously.

Sure, redesigning your brochure may not get you immediate clients, and you still have 800 of the old one sitting in a box. But set the deadline to get it done. Treat it as though you have to have the new design for a hot client by a week from Thursday. Get it done!

A few years ago, I wrote an e-book about effective business card design. I kept putting it off and putting it off. The book was written in my head, I just had to lay it all out for others to read.

So one morning I locked myself in my office, turned off my phone, asked my wife to bring me food occasionally, and made the commitment that I would not leave my office until the book was done. And it got done. Because I created a deadline.

You want to really light a fire under yourself? Make it an urgent thing. Promise a customer or associate or someone that you will deliver a new marketing piece or a new book or something by a certain day. When someone else is expecting you to produce, it motivates you.


#6 - Turn Off the Television

People claim that they never have time to work on their side business, or catch up with old friends, or whatever. Yet they piss away 10-20 hours a week watching television. Are the Gilmore Girls going to hire you? Is House advising you on how to grow your business?

I’m not saying you shouldn’t watch television. I myself am addicted to a few shows. But, on average, I watch less than 4 hours of TV per week. According to a report by Nielsen Media Research, the average American over the age of 2 spends about 4.5 hours watching television in a 24-hour period. That is over 30 hours a week!

So limit yourself to an hour of TV a day. If you suddenly had an extra 3 hours a day, do you think you could grow a side business or get more done in your primary business? (For the record, the answer is YES.)


#7 - Close Your Social Networking Sites

Yes, I know things like Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn are shiny and new toys, and everybody is saying they are the future of business, and it allows you to connect with people, and all that stuff. But they are also time vacuums!

I am on a bunch of those sites and services as well. I will agree that they do have a use in business and in life. But once you check your profile, and see what your friends and connections are doing, and check this out and that out, you find that an obnoxious amount of time has passed without your knowledge.

Like the TV, limit yourself to an hour a day keeping up on social networking. Maybe have one day a week be Facebook day, another day for LinkedIn, another for Twitter, another for catching up on the 319 blogs you wish to read (including mine.)


So there you go. Seven things to help you be more productive. Feel free to comment if you can think of any others I did not include here. Or if you just want to tell me how awesome I am.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. When he isn’t making the world a better place through his knowledge of marketing and branding, he juggles, does magic, and eats fire. Pretty cool, eh?

Posted in: Business Concepts, Time Management.
Tagged:

The Proper Way to Create an E-mail List From Another List

Jun 12th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

Today’s post is a video about beginning a list for e-mail marketing. Some of the “Do” and “Do Not” aspects of e-mail marketing.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. When he isn’t making the world a better place through his knowledge of marketing and branding, he juggles, does magic, and eats fire. Pretty cool, eh?

Posted in: Marketing.
Tagged: ·

Book Review - The Go-Giver by Bob Burg & John David Mann

May 28th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
2 comments

Bob Burg is a name that is well known in many business and networking circles. His book “Endless Referrals” is required reading for anyone who wishes to grow their business.

Bob recently teamed up with John David Mann for another gem, “The Go-Giver.” This book talks about the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success. It is similar in feel to Ken Templeton’s “The Referral of a Lifetime,” which I also highly recommend, in that it reads quickly, in a story format.

In fact, I would have finished it in a single day if not for the fact that I am in the midst of my busiest month of the year! As such, I had to force myself to stop reading at times and do some work. Thus, it took me about 3 days to finish.

The bottom line is this. If you are in business (which I imagine is about 97.2% of the people reading this blog) then you absolutely must read this book. It is not an option, it is an absolute mandate.

Go buy it right now. If by the time you are reading this, society is in a post-apocalyptic state and there is only one remaining copy left and it costs you three gallons of petroleum, a radioactive cow, and the roof-mounted gatling gun from your road warrior car, it is still a tremendous bargain.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. When he isn’t making the world a better place through his knowledge of marketing and branding, he juggles, does magic, and eats fire. Pretty cool, eh?

Posted in: Review.
Tagged: · · · ·

The Key to Success in Life

May 27th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

Life is full of mysteries. We spend our lives trying to unravel these mysteries, and unlock the secrets of living a long and prosperous life.

After pondering these mysteries for much of my adult life, I have finally reached a conclusion as to what the most important skill is for being successful.

Before I go on to reveal this amazing secret of the cosmos, let me start off by saying that one of the most vital ingredients for success in life is your attitude. Attitude is not a skill that can be honed and developed, it is a choice. As a result, I am not going to focus on attitude in this post. The key to having a good attitude is very simple. Have a good attitude. Make the conscious choice to have a positive attitude. Case closed.

So now, the moment you have all been waiting for with baited breath. (Side note: where did that expression come from? Why would anyone ever want to be referred to as having breath like bait. Eeeew!)

The most important skill one can cultivate to enable success in this life is . . .

The fine art of Communication.

Being able to communicate, to properly and effectively transfer your thoughts to another, will be the biggest asset in your meteoric rise to success.

Communication skills come into play in every aspect of life.

  • When dealing with customers
  • When selling to prospects
  • When writing copy for marketing
  • When talking to co-workers
  • When sucking up to the boss
  • When explaining to your wife why you were out so late last night
  • When teaching your children why it is not a good idea to jump off the top bunk
  • When convincing your brother-in-law to lend you $100 for something really cool
  • When bluffing your opponents out of a big pot in poker when all you had was a busted flush
  • And so forth

So how does one become a good communicator?

Some people are naturally gifted. If you are not one of those, you can read books, take classes, or do a multitude of other things. Just do a Google search for “becoming a better communicator” and sift through the nearly 1.9 million results. (That isn’t an arbitrary number; I actually did a Google search and that’s what came up.)

The point is this. You can take all of the sales courses, technical training, and all that other stuff in your quest for success. But if you are a poor communicator, you’ll have an uphill climb.

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. He also thinks he’s a pretty good communicator. How arrogant, eh?

Posted in: Miscellaneous.
Tagged: · · ·

The Fine Art of Getting People to Say Nice Things About You

May 20th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

Testimonials should be a significant part of your marketing plan. Social networking sites like LinkedIn have an area specifically for this. Leveraging social proof like testimonials can really give your marketing a boost. This is because anything you say about yourself is immediately suspect. However, anything a real person says (as long as it doesn’t make ridiculous claims) is immediately considered legitimate.
But how many times have you asked for a recommendation or testimonial and gotten something like “Joe Smith gave great service. I would use him again”?

OK, it ain’t bad. But it ain’t great. It doesn’t really say anything.
Good testimonials follow a formula which, if adhered to, can produce outstanding results. The formula is as follows:

Old Problem + Solution = Results + Monetization


OK, I know that just looks like a bunch of gobbledy-gook. So let me break it down for you.

The Old Problem is the issue that needed to be addressed. Was your business not getting enough leads? Was your lawn being choked by weeds? Did all of the new tax codes have your brain spinning? Why did you seek out the services of Joe Smith?

The Solution is what Joe did for you. Did he revamp your marketing plan? Did he give special care to your lawn and educate you on how to maintain it? Did he handle your business taxes?

The Results are what happened from Joe’s help. Have you made more sales? Is your lawn vibrant and green? Did you receive a huge tax refund?

Monetization is the bonus, the whipped cream on the top that really sells the testimonial. It isn’t always possible to monetize the testimonial, but when you can, it makes a huge difference. Monetization is the exact figures or dollar amount that came about from the Results listed before.

When applying this formula, you now get a quality testimonial.

“My business was not generating enough leads from our current advertising. Joe Smith designed a new ad campaign for us and our sales have tripled in just a few short months. From our newspaper ad alone, we have made $2,391 in brand new sales!”

But how do you  get people to follow the formula?

The answer is simple - tell them!

When I ask for a testimonial, people often ask me what they should say. I then give them an example (which follows the formula) and tell them to tweak it using their own words. By giving them an example based on their own experience, they are more likely to follow the formula and give you a top-notch testimonial!

Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online and a writer for Beneath the Brand blogs. When he isn’t making the world a better place through his knowledge of marketing and branding, he juggles, does magic, and eats fire. Pretty cool, eh?

Posted in: Marketing, Social Media.
Tagged: ·

← Earlier Posts