When it looks, tastes,

smells, feels, and 

sounds like garbage

 . . . guess what?

     Many people think advertising is the root of all evil. You’ve heard the complaints. They think advertising is at fault for fostering and nurturing societal problems. They wag their fingers at the TV and scold the announcers for having such low-life values. They bang their fists on desktops when they’re overrun with email spam. They poke their pens through newspaper ads that they find offensive.

     Sound at all familiar?

     But advertising is merely a reflection of society. Think of advertising as a mirror. That’s all it is. That’s all it’s ever been.

     The truly talented advertising creative and strategic planning people in this world all know that this is true. They don’t pretend to control anything. They don’t see themselves in the “agent of change ” roles that entrepreneurs play.

     They merely imagine ways to playback to society what’s going on in society.  

And we are living in angry times.

Not for the first time, and not for the last, but we are clearly not a nation of happy wall-to-wall campers right now!

     Our economy sucks and even as we continue to hear daily claims of recovery and promises of improvement, it continues to get worse.

     We have a catastrophic oil spill in our backyard that any halfwit entrepreneur or small business owner would have pounced on and resolved by now, but delays piled on top of delays and indecision added to incompetency and inexperience have pushed us into a corner. These accumulated screw-ups — like the floundering economy and accompanying empty promises — offer us no end in sight.

    Instead of solutions, we have brinkmanship, excuses, and rhetoric.

     Instead of action, we have talk.

     It’s coming from our President, from our Vice President, from our governors, from our U.S. and state senators, from our congressional representatives and state representatives. Nonaction and ineffective do-nothing conduct festers wherever politics lives.

     It is taking it seems forever, but we’re finally starting to see media people becoming disconcerted. They’re starting to realize that they are rapidly turning into the vocal minority . . . and that posture doesn’t sell newspapers, or generate paid advertising revenues.

     So the next time you hear someone complain that advertising that’s filled with innuendos of sex and violence and racism is causing the murders, drug deals, rapes and disrespect of others, tell that person to just look around at what’s going on between friends and neighbors and regions and nations and to think about not adding fuel to the fire.

     Society creates society’s problems — not advertising. When times get better, so will the advertising.

     And guess what? There are actually three things you can do about it:

1)  Don’t endorse, buy or encourage others to buy products or services that are promoted with questionable and bad-taste advertising. This includes tasteless Hollywood and video game productions.

2)  Clean up your own act. Get someone with extensive business experience, who truly understands the impact of words, to put an eagle eye to your marketing themes and messages –all of it — sales presentations, news releases, website pages, email promotions, ads, commercials, business plans, mission statements. Get that person to tweak what you’re using to make sure you’re representing to your market and customers and employees and communities what you want to be representing.

3)  Do something to help see that new leadership is given rise to better representation of small business interests. There are 30 million of us! If every small business does SOMEthing, anything, it will make a difference. America was built on and by small business, and will only right itself by relying on the innovative pursuits of small business. Step up to the plate before November.  

www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You. God Bless America and our troops. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!

Tweet it or beat it.

     I write. Among many other things (mostly marketing, advertising, PR, sales, blogs, and websites), I write books.

     So the other day, when I received notice that some Southwestern-based “writing” business was a new Twitter “follower” of mine, I proceeded to do a quick check to validate their legitimacy and see if there might be some compatible interests.

     Unlike the quest to win popularity by amassing huge numbers of any “followers,” I have instead always pursued a course of selectivity. I choose only those followers who share interest in entrepreneurial leadership, writing, personal and professional growth and development and/or small business ownership and management ideas and issues.

     By sacrificing quantity for quality, I have of course -in the process- learned to accept the humility of trading off my options to compete in the who’s-got-the-most-followers type of confrontation with Ellen and Lady Gaga. But, hey, I cut my own mustard. Besides, some say I have better legs than both of them!

     Okay, back to business— so my little Googlization due diligence effort produces a website for these “book writers,” which I scan quickly and then decide to click back that I’ll follow them too. After all, their business, I discovered, like part of mine, writes and ghostwrites books for other people too. Hmmm, maybe I’ll learn a thing or two by watching their “Tweets.”  

     Now let’s sidetrack here a minute to explain for the benefit of all non-Twitterers (there are maybe 27 or 28 of you on the planet?) that some people who get new followers think they need to respond to each new follower with a direct message (DM) “thank you” note.

     Some think that because you have clicked on them to follow their little posts, that the flood gates are now open for them to to rush into your Inbox with some bombardment of sales spiels, like “Thanks for following. Now that we’re friends, here’s how to get 283,000 new followers by a month from Tuesday for three easy payments of just $29.95 plus tax and handling charges of $117 per order.”

     Still others respond to your (no doubt brainless) decision to follow them by replying with a (shudder) robot message that thanks you profusely and may offer a “gift” at a website that usually sounds something like http://UBmybestnewtwitterfolloweronearthoranyplaceelseintheuniverse.com

     Then there’re the hard-sell follower guys: Hi. Thx for follow. When U need to clean your pipes or fix your drip, call Flushoff Plumbing at 800-Brown-Down. Starting to get the picture? Twitter kinda has it all.

     So what to my wondering eyes do appear within minutes of my click to be a follower of this book writer business but one of those DM thank you notes that says:

“Who do you than needs to write a book?”

     Huh? I’m not thinking you guys are going to be on my shortlist of likely collaborators or some shing star stable of literary talent I might refer others to. What’s it add up to? An unforgivable screw-up with no second chance at a miserable first impression.

     How careful are you and your people with the wording in your messages? If even a self-proclaimed book-writing business doesn’t use Spellcheck. chances are that many companies which have nothing to do with writing or publishing, don’t use it either.

     A word to the wise is that using Spellcheck makes you look good –especially to prospects and customers. Not using it makes you look unprofessional and dumb. Sloppy messages communicate to the recipient that the sender doesn’t care enough about her or him to bother with ensuring clear communications. 

     Sloppy messages may work for friends, but not for business. 

Happy Twittering!

 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US 

Thanks for visiting. God bless you and God bless America.        

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance”– Thomas Jefferson.        

Go for your goals and make today a great day for someone!

Are you driven,

or just driving?

     Next time you slide in behind the wheel, think about how many similarities there are between operating a motor vehicle and running your business. Why? Because it will give you a new or renewed perspective on many if not most of the things you do every day, and shed some new light on old issues that may be clogging up your business works.

     Most of us tend most of the time to ignore business clog-ups, thinking they’ll just go away (or not thinking about them at all), but — like any plumbing problem — things unfortunately have a way of coming to the surface at the least inopportune moments.

     This is not to suggest that your business should be preventive maintenance-driven (unless you’re a doctor, lawyer, accountant or mechanic) because giving that kind of mindset your priority wouldn’t leave much room for fueling up on innovative thinking. But, much like a periodic tune-up for your car, you may want to do a little service work on your business. So, try this . . .

     What does your car have in common with your business when it comes to you exercising control? How much do you really have? What’s controlled by others? Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? Does that work for you? Does it work for your business?

     What is and isn’t safe about operating your car as opposed to operating your business? What is and isn’t productive? Economical? What is and isn’t a good direction for you to take? What laws and circumstances confound, delay and punish you? How often do you need to fuel up? Do you use economy or high-performance ingredients? Attitudes?

     How much baggage and how many passengers can you comfortably carry over what distances? How frequently do you need to detour from the routes you planned? In getting your driving and business missions accomplished, how dependent are you on mechanical and computerized functions? How adept are you at handling inevitable glitches? Are you dependent on others for this? How so?

     How dependent are you — driving your car and driving your business — on your instincts, intuition, experience, training, knowledge, observations, communication skills? How easily distracted are you –driving your car and driving your business — by outside influences (everything from sirens, cell phones, traffic patterns, B to B services, social media, industry trade and community activities, to weather reports, headline news, sports scores and issues, and tire rotations)?

     How much are you willing to pay to be able to pursue certain directions in the driver’s seat of both your business and your car?

     If you just scan these questions and answer only a couple, odds are pretty good that prompting some quick assessment thinking on your part will pay back your periodic time investments for giving yourself check-ups and arranging occasional servicing.

     Bottom line: Your car? Change the oil every couple of thousand miles; drop it off for regular servicing and keep aware of performance and tire pressure issues. Your business? Change the routine every couple of months; hold regular weekly “how goes it?” status meetings (Mondays better than Fridays); hire occasional consultants to bring fresh perspectives to your doorstep a few times a year. Keep aware of performance and pressure issues.    

www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless:  You, America, and Our Troops. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!

WORD DIFFERENCES

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

      Small subtle “TWEAK” changes in your website wording can make a monumental difference in your site visitor traffic, the all-important numbers of “quality” visits, search engine rankings, inquiries, sales leads, revenues, revenue streams, and profits.

     First of all, talking about “small,” here’s some free advice that should be obvious, but it is obviously not:  human beings older than 30 do not like to have to squint to read a sales pitch. Period. A gift certificate or love letter, maybe. But not a sales pitch.

     Your website’s job one is to make it as easy as possible for prospects to become customers.

     Tiny text? Unless you’re building a family practice in ophthalmology or optometry, give it up! And don’t let some artsy techie convince you that people are used to reading .7 size type, and that the smaller it is, the more space that’s available for design impact.

     If you need more design space, cut back your text. Most sites talk too much anyway.

Now, here’s the biggest difference you can make a difference about, that word differences make:

     Get rid of all language that could even be remotely associated with being a distant relative to your Uncle Braggadocio! This means killing any words in any marketing materials, broadcasts, news releases, traditional media, websites, emails, banners, billboards, sandwich boards, matchbook covers, skywriting . . . you get the idea . . . that suggest, sound, or look like:

I~ME~MY~MINE~

WE~OUR~OURS~US

     Oh, sure, well that’s easy. Easy, perhaps, depend-ing on where you live, but not in most places on this planet! Pull up any ten small business website home-pages. Odds are good that the text content language contains more than a couple of these kinds of references. In fact, there are probably as many strewn across corporate giant sites as well, come to think of it.

     The point is this: NOBODY CARES how great you are or how great you think you are so stop talking about yourself and lock into answering each prospect’s and customer’s only concern: “What’s in it for me?”

     RE-phrase your messages to instead emphasize words that suggest, sound, or look like:

YOU~YOUR~YOURS~

YOU’D~YOU’LL-Y’ALL

     Instead of “Our team of trained professionals,” try “Your team of trained professionals.” Instead of “Our program is designed to help our clients…” try “Your program is designed with your needs in mind… ” Instead of “We analyze your needs,” try “Your needs are assessed based on the results you seek.”

     Instead of “You can count on us,” try “You can be certain.” Instead of “My paintings will look great over your mantle,” try “Your friends will envy your great taste when they see the paintings you select here.” Instead of “We work as your partner,” try “You get a partnership attitude, not just a sales pitch.”

     As many words as you use to tell your story and deliver your message, there are that many opportunities to tweak what you have and make it work better. If you see your son consistently stepping out of the batters box as he swings for strikes instead of hits, wouldn’t  you want to see a knowledgeable experienced person help him adjust his stance and his attitude at the plate?

# # #

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”    [Thomas Jefferson]

Hal@Businessworks.US         931.854.0474

Guidance to 500+ Successful Business Startups

Creating Record-Sales for Clients Since 1981!

Once you’ve gathered it,

what do you do with it?

     We’ve all experienced it, some more than others. Leaders, campaigns, competitors, gamblers, teams, and combatants “get on a roll.” 

     Webster’s defines it as “strength or force gained by motion or through the development of events.” The Flip Dictionary says it’s “drive, energy, force, impetus, motion, thrust, tide, velocity.” Roget’s Thesaurus adds “push, drive, impulse, go, and speed” to the list.

     As a human attribute, it can be here one minute, and gone the next . . . it’s all about MOMENTUM.

     One baseball team gets two runs and goes ahead, gaining momentum in the game, but the next two batters strike out and the third out is made by an amazing outfield catch. BOING! Momentum shifts.

     Momentum untangles a sales pro from an ordinary day and throws her into the control seat of a speeding locomotive.

     Like a giant hand gently pressing your spine forward, momentum is a psychological phenomenon that produces surges of self-confidence-boosting thoughts and behaviors.

     No one goes home at 10am after making a big sale at 9am. That’s when he trots off instead to see all the non-committal hanger-on prospects, that’s when the sales lead generation task becomes challenging and inviting.

     Those are the moments of “Well, let’s not stop here; now I’m on a role; lemme into that pipeline! Now’s the time to go get those other sales that I’ve been dragging my feet on.”

     Business leaders of every description thrive on momentum. When everyone in a department “clicks” and the workload is happily and productively dispensed with, leaving time for a celebratory water cooler or snack room gathering, that’s momentum in action.

     The funny part is that the same thoughts and actions that serve to gather momentum also work to sustain it.

     Making conscious choices to do whatever it takes to make things work to your favor, and then making those choices again and again and again and again throughout the hour, and the day, and the week, and the month…is all the magic you need. Even in sales.

     I know, I know, sales –that is, selling– is a multi-faceted, job function that demands more than attitude. Or does it?

     Sure, your appearance and product/service know-ledge, promptness, a genuine smile and handshake, a couple of attractive “deals” up your sleeve, and a strong listening skill-set are all critical ingredients, but the attitude you choose to practice dictates how well those multi-facets perform!

     And what’s this to do with leadership? Sales and selling are just part of the business. Perhaps, but every business needs every person in the business to be selling all the time, every day.

     Selling needs to be as much the responsibility of the owner and the operations head and the financial head and the IT head as all the other functions they perform. Even in big business.

     Talk to yourself. Tell yourself you won’t settle for sedentary status quo hours and days and weeks. Remind yourself that you’ve got what it takes and that it’s all inside your head.

     No one else and no event can control what you think. What you think and how you act are 100% your choice. Choose success and productivity and keep choosing it.   

www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless:  You, America, and Our Troops. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!

If you seek

sales fireworks,

check your sparklers!

     Business owners constantly want more sales results than they’re typically ready to put their shoulders to the wheel for, in terms of the marketing words (their “sparklers”) that they’re using.

     The average response to meeting the need for coming up with the right sets of words to represent business products, services, and ideas is a lazy one. Either wing it, delegate it, or hire some fancy high-priced group of self-proclaimed experts.

     None of these work.

     When you wing it, it’s like not fastening the screws that hold your product parts together, or not providing the terms of the services you offer.

     You are not in business doing what you’re doing to be a great marketing writer any more than you’re in business to be a great lawyer or accountant (unless of course your business is a law or accounting practice!).

     So why waste time and energy (and ultimately money) trying to be something you’re not, when you have the option to be driving your business to a successful destination?

     Okay, so you won’t wing it; you’ll hand it off to that assistant instead . . . someone who’s always writing some book, or poetry, or funny Facebook posts. When you delegate the task, regardless of what you think might be signs of talent rising up from someone on your staff, you should expect to get the inadequate results you get.

     I can assure you after seeing hundreds of these dynamics, what you get back will simply not be professional enough a representation of your business strengths put into the customer benefits language needed to succeed at producing the sales results you seek. What you get, in fact, could very well end up undermining your other sales-building efforts.

     When you hire a fancy group — advertising or marketing or PR agency — you are probably playing about 85% odds that the group you hire will be very skilled at not letting you know that they are more preoccupied with winning themselves some type of marketing, advertising or PR award than they are with helping you make sales.

     When “getting sales” is what’s important, being “pretty” and having the best designs don’t always count for much.

     Odds are also that they will be fantastically talented at not letting on that they don’t really know how to help you make sales. Ask them if they’re willing to work on a expenses plus performance incentive basis. That question usually separates reality from fantasy.

     If the words you’re using don’t sparkle enough to spark action, find a wordsmith. Do some homework and scout around for an experienced individual who has a proven track-record in writing words that get sales results for clients.     

     You need fireworks? Start with someone who knows how to spark sales with sparkler words . . . words that attract attention, words that create interest, words that stimulate desire, words that bring about action, words that prompt satisfaction.

www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You and America and Our Troops. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!

Does your marketing

Snap, Crackle and Pop?

     Do the words you’re using for your marketing pieces and programs toss off enough zing and sizzle to get through the clutter?

     Are you using the right words in the right ways? In other words, HOW you say what you say is at least as important as WHAT you say!

     Canadian educator/philosopher/futurist Marshall McLuhan, considered the first father and leading prophet of the electronic age, taunted us 50 years ago with his proclamation “The Medium is the Message!” Certainly there is no greater proof of that today than the Internet. Considering how visual the medium is, it’s astonishing that words stand alone as king of Internet sales.

     Or do they?

     If your homepage is still using lame old words like “Welcome to” and “Now introducing” and “Announcing” and “Therefore” and “However,” your Internet efforts are not king of much worth talking about; you might need to chat with some teenagers.

     You definitely need to throw down your walker and start listening to what the world’s most successful marketers are saying: NOTHING RUNS LIKE A DEERE and I’M LOVIN’ IT are about as close to self-talk back-pats as you’ll find.

     Take this YES/NO Test . . .

• What are your marketing messages all about? Are they busily pounding chest with repetitive references that use THE 6 KILLER WORDS: I/me/my/us/we/our?  (Instead of focusing on “you” and “your”?) ___YES ___NO
• Do your ads, brochures, web pages, on-hold phone messages, news releases and direct mail beat the drums with braggadocio about “how great we are”? ___YES ___NO 
• Is the message emphasis on how much we can do for you, why / how we earn our reputation, how reliable (trustworthy / attentive / respectful / courteous) our exceptionally trained and experienced professional people are? ___YES ___NO

     If you answered “YES” to any of the above, your website and the rest of your marketing program are positively not working for you in a way that’s even close to achieving your potential. In fact, they are likely to be working against you!

     Unfortunately for most business owners, this whole world of promotional text and copywriting, website content, branding, slogans, jingles, public relations news releases, mission and vision statements, ebooks and feature articles, might as well be the makings of another Harry Potter book . . . Cauldrons of Text Turmoil perhaps? 

     So what’s the answer? How can you give your business a “Snap, Crackle, Pop” dose of Rice Krispies to make more of what you already have, and to keep costs within reason? Start with using AIDAS as your yardstick. Do your marketing words attract Attention? Do they create Interest? Stimulate Desire? Bring about Action? Deliver Satisfaction?

     Where are they weakest? Now you have the groundwork for maximizing the creative development time and energy of an experienced, qualified business writer. Spell out what you need, and agree to terms. This is MUCH smarter than hiring and giving free rein to a marketing, PR or ad agency/group who will feed you many unnecessary and expensive steps to (maybe) get to the same ends.

     The medium IS the message. Don’t let service providers run you around in circles to discover the truth of it!

# # #

  302.933.0116   Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You. 

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Ask Any Writer . . .

 Here’s my vote 

for the all-time top

branding theme lines.

     I get asked all the time about branding themes and theme lines because they are the single most important set of words a business can have, and because they are the hardest of all words to write if they are to have great impact.

     The only business writing forms that come close in terms of difficulty and potential power are advertising billboards, website banners, and new venture business plans.

     In fact, the simpler they seem, the harder they are to write. Contrary to popular opinion, no one just goes into a closet for a couple of hours and comes out with these brilliant messages.

     In fact, it can often take weeks of fine-tuning to get to the kinds of branding theme lines represented here.

     The following list of 19 (Will yours be #20?) are all perfect examples of the art and science of marketing word craftsmanship, and I submit them here for your enjoyment, consideration (see if you figure out what they all have in common; answer at end), and most assuredly for inspiration:

• You deserve a break today at MacDonald’s.

• Think outside the bun – Taco Bell

• You’re in good hands with Allstate.

• American Express – Don’t leave home without it.

• AT&T – Reach out and touch someone.

• Greyhound: Leave the driving to us.

• Campbell’s Soup is M’m M’m Good!

• Clairol – Does she or doesn’t she?

• Energizer Batteries – It keeps going, and going, and going…

• General Electric – We bring good things to life.

• Kleenex – Don’t put a cold in your pocket!

• Lay’s Potato Chips – Betcha can’t eat just one!

• Maxwell House – Good to the last drop.

• Morton Salt – When it rains, it pours.

• New York Times – All the news that’s fit to print

• Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee

• Schlitz – The beer that made Milwaukee famous.

• Sun Microsystems – We put the . in dot.com

• Armour Hot Dogs – The dog kids love to bite.

      Besides all of these having a certain positive and proactive message to share that directly relates to or ties to the benefits of the products and services offered, they also each possess a definite word delivery rhythm that is easier felt than explained . . . almost a poetic balance with a direct or directly implied promise attached.

     And what else do you notice?

     Because there are no rules in business, and least of all in marketing, there are always exceptions. In this list, however, as will be found in almost every other comparable list of outstanding branding identities, please also note that each uses seven words or less.

     And those that include the company or brand name within those seven words or less are the true diamonds in the forest of glass!

What are some of YOUR suggestions for this list? Click on “Comments” below and include them in the window! The best will be added to a sequel list!

302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You. 

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Is your business

constipated?

     Have you withdrawn from your industrial, professional, or community contacts in order to economize time and effort, and consolidate expenses?

     Have you pulled your business back from expansion ventures and marketing budgets in favor of maintaining salaries and benefit plans?

     These questions are reminiscent of the old story about the successful hot dog wagon vendor whose son returned home from college filled with fresh learnings from his economics class:

Dad,” he said, “my business professor says this economy is going belly-up and that small businesses will suffer the most. He says small business owners should pull in their sidewalks, cut back on expenses, and stop advertising because there really is no hope.”

Well, the father thought to himself, I guess I’d better do as my son says. After all, I saved up all my money to send him off to college to learn about what business decisions to make. So, the father cut back on hot dog and bun quality, and took down his sign.

In two weeks, he was out of business, and telling everyone how smart his son was to have predicted the hot dog wagon shutdown.

     Now if any of this is even remotely familiar, I am not at all suggesting you run out to stock up on laxatives, enemas, and prune juice. But maybe it’s close to the point where you may want to evaluate how much you’ve given up in the process of thinking about giving up.

     If you’re continuing to draw a consistent salary while cutting back quality, service and marketing, you’re going to win the national spelling bee with an example of how you use the word, “disaster.”

     Look again at your business priorities.

     In fact, no matter what your current status of business “regularity,” it’s a good idea to re-check what exactly you and your business are actually doing? Who is in fact doing what? And in what order of  importance?

     Do your daily priorities match up with your adjusted goals? If you must continue with marketing cutbacks, are you at least substituting other less-expensive-than-media alternatives . . . like blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, BizBrag, MerchantsCircle, and email blasts?

     Are you and your people making yourselves more visible in your industry or profession? In your community and neighborhood? Are you letting go of old ideas about how to cope with a tight economy? Hopefully. . .

www.TWWsells.com or call 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US 

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! God Bless America, and God Bless Our Troops “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!