Advertisement Ideas: Getting Past The Gatekeeper!!!

As a sales rep for La Bonita Kidz and Teenz, www.labonitakidz.com, I do a lot of cold calling on the phone and I run into many gatekeepers. The first thing I learned is to be polite and friendly regardless of the tone of the person answering the phone. The second thing to understand is that like you have a job to do and that is to sell them on your product or service they also have a job to do. The third thing is to be honest and let them know why you are calling. You may get the we’re not interested response, which is fine. I generally answer I know your not interested at this time, however can I email you information for future reference. I have heard that person isn’t available. to this I will say no problem can I have their email address and can you put me through to their voice mail? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Getting Past The Gatekeeper!!!

Advertisement Ideas: The Fortune Is In The Follow Up!!!

In all that we do in business from advertising to networking we must realize that the fortune is in the follow up. As a sales representative for La Bonita Kidz and Teenz Magazine, www.labonitakidz.com, I approach many people about advertising. I have learned that the people I leave literature with will not call me back so I must contact them to close the sale. Today I stopped by a few places that I had approached a couple of weeks ago and left the copy of the magazine so they could see the finished product and decide if it would be a good fit for them. In the next few days I will call and email them to remind them of the opportunity to maximize their message.

Once you advertise and get people to do business with you it is important to cultivate that relationship as people will continue to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Are you gathering the clients information and sending a thank you note or other information about your products and services. By keeping in contact with clients/customers you will build a tribe and they will begin to recommend you and thus strengthen your brand. The key is to follow-up and be aware of who is doing business with you and to show them appreciation. With potential clients/customers you want to show them how your product and service will be of value and service to them without overselling. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: The Fortune Is In The Follow Up!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Take A Proactive Stance!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Take A Proactive Stance!!!

Looking at this list by Stephen Covey one realizes it is necessary to be proactive. The question is how do you take a proactive stance? The answer is by being awake & aware of what is going on in your market and planning your marketing accordingly. For example here is South Florida The Miami Heat are facing The Indiana Pacers tonight in Game 7 of The Eastern Conference Finals so doing a special promotion across your social media platforms, a text message campaign, and an email to your contacts offering specials on your products or services related to the game would garner interest. I was at Smokey Bones on Saturday Night watching Game 6 of The Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat lost and I thought if I was The GM I would have stood by the door and would have handed everyone a FREE Appetizer Card and invited them back to watch Game 7. I then thought if they had a sound system do some contests for prizes creating a buzz and getting people saying I was at Smokey Bones in Plantation and it was awesome they had great food, great service, and I had fun do you want to watch Game 7 with me there? The key is to look at what you can do to maximize your message, build brand awareness, customer loyalty, and create additional revenue. Business could of posted signs yesterday wear your Heat gear and receive 10% off of your purchase. If you had a service business such as Life Coaching you could have done a promotion $7 off each session you book today. Taking a Proactive stance and planning your advertising is imperative to having success. How many of you reading this are promoting something for 4th of July? Are you thinking about Back To School? Thanksgiving? Christmas? or Hanukkah? Chances are you are not and you are blaming others for the fact that your business may be off. It is no ones fault but your own if you are not taking a proactive stance. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Take A Proactive Stance!!!!

Advertsiement Ideas: Lessons From Celebrity Apprentice!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Lessons From Celebrity Apprentice!!!

On Sunday May 19, 2013 The All Star Celebrity Apprentice will be named. It has come Down to Penn Jillette and Trace Adkins. Both of them have been great competitors and represent great charities. Penn is representing The Inclusion Project and Trace is representing The American Red Cross. Through this season I have observed many lessons. As I watched the final task, which was to design a DELISH Ice Cream Flavor for Walgreens and then present it at the party I began to think who is going to bring in the most money? Trace used a lot of his key contacts on task one which he won teaching us to strategically plan when you can use your key contacts again. Penn has a huge contact list and is well liked teaching us that it is important to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Each player taught us a lesson that we can use to improve our personal and professional lives. Continue reading Advertsiement Ideas: Lessons From Celebrity Apprentice!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Create A Positive Presence In The Community!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Create A Positive Presence In The Community!!!

What have you done today to let people know who you are, what you do, and why they should use your products or services? Did you send out a tweet, post on Facebook, post on LinkedIn, post a blog entry, hand out fliers, attend a networking event, make calls to those you haven’t spoken to in a while, sent emails with a special offer, or did you choose to do nothing? If you are not reaching out to people on a regular basis you are missing out on growth opportunities. Remember in many cases you get a few minutes to make an impression that will last for a long time.

Advertisement Ideas: The Ways To Create A Positive Presence In The Community!!!!

The first thing to remember when creating a positive presence in the community is that customer service can make or break your company!!!!

On Thursday (4/25/13) I was out scouting locations to host a workshop when I went into Lefty’s in Coral Springs. I stood at the bar for nearly 5 minutes and finally walked to where a group was standing in the food prep area and asked if the GM was in I told her that I had been waiting for nearly 5 minutes and by the way 3 people just seated themselves and may need a server. Her reply was don’t tell me how to run my restaurant. At that point I said I guess I won’t be holding my workshop/meeting here and I left. An employee followed me out of the restaurant and confronted me about going to other restaurants in the plaza. I simply stated I do not want to argue with you I am doing fact-finding. A few moments later the GM came out and confronted me saying I had embarrassed her in front of one of her food suppliers. I stated that is business wishing her Namaste and walking away at which point she called me a liar. I went to my car and thought wow they weren’t that busy but they had time to be confrontational. Guess who won’t be patronizing Lefty’s. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Create A Positive Presence In The Community!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Mr./ Mrs. Business Owner It Is Time To Wake The F UP!

Mr./ Mrs. Business Owner It Is Time To Wake The F UP!!!

I can not tell you how many times I wanted to yell into the phone this week “Wake The F Up”, as I encountered many business people who just don’t seem to understand that everyone calling your business is a potential customer or may know someone who can use their product or services. In one instance I called Myotis Salon and Boutique at 9:30 AM and the gentleman answered the phone I introduced my self asking if I could speak to the person that handles the marketing and community outreach and was told you selling advertising I open at 11 AM you call back then. I found this to be strange as I know from my experiences the best time to discuss advertising and marketing is when you are not open so you can devote your time and attention to the conversation and be fully engaged. Think about it had the gentleman been open to receive or polite he would not be in this blog being used as a bad example of conducting business. He could have said sir I would like to speak with you however I am involved with a another project right now please call me after 11 AM. Remember it is not what you say but how you say it. I ask you do you think I am going to recommend his services to my female colleagues who could benefit from his services. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Mr./ Mrs. Business Owner It Is Time To Wake The F UP!

Advertisement Ideas: Your Business Doesn’t Have To Be Slow!!!

Advertisement Ideas:Your Business Doesn’t Have To Be Slow!

As I sell advertising for La Bonita Kidz and Teenz, www.labonitakidz.com, I hear over and over my business is slow I can’t advertise right now. I always think why is your business slow? The answer is simple because you are not advertising and you are missing opportunities. I also think the reason your business is slow is you are shutting out ideas because of your programmed response of I am not interested. By not being interested in opportunities and not advertising your business remains slow. The reality is that your business doesn’t have to be slow. You have the power to drive traffic by being creative and proactive. I have covered this in this blog on several occasions and those who have used some of the ideas have shown a spike in their business.

Having an awareness as to what is happening in the marketplace will help you to increase your business. Ask yourself what pain do I take away? After you answer this question then you can come up with a plan of action to promote yourself effectively and create a desire for your products or services. This month baseball season started and I began to think how can one capitalize on the fact that people are going to be following their favorite team for 162 games and how can I use this to my advantage? The answer was to promote things like Pitch Like An All Star, where I teach people how to improve their copy writing and presentation skills. Or Hit a Home Run With Your Publicity, where I teach people how to secure free publicity through effective media relations. By incorporating the baseball theme you create something that is relevant, entertaining, and resonates with your desired target audience. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Your Business Doesn’t Have To Be Slow!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Finding Your Why!!!

Advertising Ideas: Finding Your Why?

As I sat at lunch today (4/5/13) at The Progressive Black Men National Conference along with Clifford Townsend, a Mindset Coach and Speaker I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation by one of the alumni members about finding your why? As I listened to him speak about brotherhood and finding your why I thought what if a business could convey their why in advertising?

You can visit www.pbm1989.org to find out more information about Progressive Black Men and the work they are doing. You can even consider sponsoring them and having an opportunity to share your why. The key is to define your why.

In finding your why ask yourself why am I in this business? Ask why I opened my doors this morning? Ask why you are promoting what you are promoting. I have always stated that facts tell and stories sell. By having a why story you will resonate with people who can relate to you and thus want to do business with you. I am often asked JDOGG why do you do what you do? My answer is because I have a desire to help other people excel and I have learned if you help enough people get what they want you will get what you want. I also answer because I know that marketing works for people do business with those they know like and trust. By sharing your why with others they begin to know you, like you, and trust you. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Finding Your Why!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Jeff Zelaya Shares Tips On Maximizing Your Message

Advertisement Ideas: Jeff Zelaya Shares Tips On Maximizing Your Message!!!

Recognize these 4 men? They are Anthony Robbins, Les Brown, Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Wayne Dyer. They all share one thing in common and that is they are personal development speakers often referred to as motivational speakers. In the following entry Jeff Zelaya explores the anatomy of a Motivational Speaker.

Everything about a Motivational Speaker

by Jeff Zelaya- Guest Blogger

There are several individuals who think that there is no difference between motivational and inspirational speakers. These types of speaker might be the same and different from each other in various ways. Before, a motivational speaker is known as the one who is just speaking in front of people professionally. But, there are many professionals all over the world who said that a motivational speaker is more than just a professional who speaks in front of people. They motivate their audiences to do or believe in something or someone. This type of speaker is a professional speaker, trainer or facilitator. They are the ones who speak to their audiences and usually do it for a fee. Continue reading

Advertisement Ideas: Donald Trump, You’re Fired!!!

Imagine if you could get on Celebrity All Star Apprentice with your product or service and give Donald Trump a hard time and then say to Donald Trump You’re Fired? Imagine the publicity you would get and how you can leverage your experience in your future advertising programs and in all your literature. It is when you do something a bit outlandish that you are remembered and in many cases you build an audience of people who will do business with you because they admire your boldness. Donald Trump was given a gift from his father and parlayed that gift into what he is now. He has branded himself very well. There are those who really like him and those who do not however he is always in the forefront and garners much desired media attention. Look at his stunts he has been involved with:
Who could ever forget Donald Trumps feud with Rosie O’Donnell. This feud gave both of them a lot of media attention.Think about who you might be feuding with and how this can be turned into a brand building opportunity. Her is South Florida Dolphin Carpet and Tile was feuding with Home Depot and both parties received much media attention showing once again that controversy creates cash.

Donald Trump shaves Vince McMahon’s hair after a hair vs hair match that aired on a WWE Pay Per View with millions of viewers. True it was all scripted but think of how many people saw this and remember Trump for this. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Donald Trump, You’re Fired!!!