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July 29, 2011 |
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Marketing With Your Blog - Tips That Will Help You Build An Audience
 Many of today's smartest entrepreneurs use blogging as a clever and effective marketing tool. Putting together blog posts that resonate with a defined target audience is what this subtle, informal type of promotion is all about. Getting the most out of the time you spend blogging is important - your investment should pay off through new connections, a stronger brand image, and more sales at your consumer durables business.
Luckily, with the right blog, all of these things (and more!) are entirely possible. In some cases, Internet blogs go viral - they become a veritable worldwide phenomenon. This happens when a person's content proves be exactly what the public wants at that moment. Let's look at some ways to make your business blog go viral this season:
Scout Out The Landscape - You don't go into battle without a game plan. Similarly, beginning to blog with no idea what your competitors are up to is foolhardy. Before you begin to create a game plan, you must do a little "recon" regarding the movements and activities of your closest competitors. Luckily, this is easily done.
Use the power of Google to find out where your competitors are building their blogs, and what kind of following these blogs have. Look at comments under their blog posts - is anyone leaving feedback? A successful blog will get interaction from interested readers - they will want to express their point-of-view about blog topics. Take a look at what competitors are doing right - and wrong - and use what is positive on your own blog page. Once you've done this part of "scoping out the landscape", you should take a minute to Google the blogs of the biggest players in the consumer durables game. If they have blogs, you can learn a lot from their approach. Mimic the tone and content of the best in the business, and you will be on the right track.
Don't Be Too General When Your Write Blog Posts - People who surf the web and check out business blogs have seen it all. They will back away from "canned" content that doesn't really meet their specific needs. Consider your area of expertise - chances are, you have something really special to share with other people. Whether it's your ability to spot hot trends in durable products, or your talent for finding great deals on coveted electronics...there is something about you that stands out...find this quality and use it in your blog posts.
While it might seem contradictory to write posts about your area of expertise, without being self-promotional, it can be done. It is a delicate balancing act, but it is possible. It's important that you answer a question people might be Googling to get the answer to. An example might be - "What's the best stainless steel fridge on the market?" If you can answer a question like this with hard facts and knowledgeable opinions, your blog post will get traffic - and respect.
Link For Greater Success - In order to generate sales from your blog posts, you should always set internal links that go straight to your business website...to the exact product you mentioned in your blog. If you want to take linking further, find some outside, or external links, and add them into blog posts. Make sure your external links don't compete with what you sell in any way, shape or form...they should just be interesting websites or resources your blog audience might enjoy learning more about. A smart mixture of internal and external links is a recipe for blog success.
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Top Five Habits Of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs
 Making it as a business owner/operator is a hard job that can also be extremely lucrative. Getting the most out of the time you spend building and maintaining your enterprise is the key to a successful career and a healthy bottom line. If you're interested in accumulating wealth and growing your brand, you'll enjoy these top five tips from some of the most success businesspeople in the world.
5.) Plan Everything Out - Keeping your business realistic and targeted is the key to a brighter future for your company. Take your cue from the best in the business and adopt the "six P" planning strategy. Based on the tenet, "Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance", this plan is based on asking yourself a series of important questions that will help you pinpoint areas to improve in your everyday operations and long-term forecasts. These questions are simple, but highly relevant.
Ask yourself, "What am I selling?" and write down the answer. Are you offering the best prices, or premium customer service that costs a little more but still pleases your clients? Decide exactly what you are trying to give to the marketplace, and write down your observations. Then decide, "Who is my ideal customer?" Examine the similarities and difference between your company and your main competitors. What's different about your company? This difference should be a crucial selling point in your mission statement and marketing materials. If you're not highlighting this "standout" quality, you're not doing your business justice. Plan a new campaign that factors in what you sell, who you want to sell it to, and how you are better...
4.) Learn To Measure Performance Accurately - It's a fine line between micromanaging and keeping tabs on what's important. When you create the right systems for measuring performance accurately, you'll be in a position to do your job more effectively. Look at your current setup - do you have integrated tracking systems that let you know exactly what products are moving, and which are gathering dust? Do you have a performance evaluation schedule in place for every single employee? Then examine your marketing situation - do you know how to trace which ads are getting results? Refining your tracking and analysis programs is an essential skill you should work to improve.
3.) Hire Carefully - Rich and successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with brilliant people who can help them move up in life. They seek out complementary skill sets and different personalities, creating a mix that works for their business and their long-term goals. Don't get complacent about hiring or firing - expect the best and make your business an appealing place for bright, driven people to seek out employment. Attend job fairs, visit colleges...do whatever is takes to attract the right team members. Then, take care of them with proper team building, benefits, and incentives.
2.) Keep Everyone In The Loop - Your staff can make or break your consumer durables business. It's important to foster a sense of community and camaraderie amongst your employees - if you keep some people in the loop, and exclude others, you will not be displaying the kind of leadership that brings wealth and business growth. Staff members need to feel valued and important - in some cases, this matters more to them than the number on the bottom of their pay stub! Keep this crucial fact in mind at all times, and make sure every employee is a part of things at your company. When all your employees are "in the know", everyone benefits.
1.) Know Your Own Strengths And Weaknesses - Sit down at your desk and write down a quick list of your key strengths as an owner and entrepreneur. This short list should be things you know you do well. These traits will add value to your company every day. The things you don't do well should be delegated to others. Look at your list - are you delegating the right tasks? If you're hanging on to jobs you don't excel at, you are hurting your business. Proper delegation is the key to prolonged success in your industry. Keep your strengths at the forefront and put the right people in charge of the things you don't do well...your whole business will be in better balance when you follow this important tip.
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Salesmanship Tips - Selling An Experience Can Boost Your Margins
 People buy more than a product when they choose a consumer durable and invest in it...they are buying an experience. Sometimes, this experience can be about ease, comfort, or excitement. Emotions will vary based on what is being sold, and how it is being sold.
One thing is certain - when you plug into the "experience" while pitching to a prospective client, you will connect with them on a deeper level. You can offer more to clients when you learn how to sell to their emotions. Here are some tips on selling a positive experience to your customers:
Learn Descriptive Language - The best writers take you into their world by describing what they see, hear, feel, and know. You can bring the client into your experience sales pitch by using the right descriptive language for the product. Walk through your showroom, and find ways to "romanticize" your descriptions of your inventory.
You don't have to be flowery - just think of appealing words and adjectives that work with each product. Then, combine these words with an experience. A "sleek, modern" stereo will offer clean lines, high performance, incredible sound, and an opportunity to relax and unwind with the power of music. Sell the stereo and the experience of owning it.
Use Testimonials - If you're not actually selling out on the showroom floor, gather your sales team and ask them what's been said about your products lately - have they received any praise or testimonials from customers? Write down the compliments on a dry-erase board so everyone can see them. Then, tell your sales staff to integrate these testimonials into their sales pitches.
If a client is hemming and hawing, let them know that "so and so thought this microwave was the best one he'd ever owned". Reinforce the positive attributes of your products by bringing in honest and authentic comments from other clients. Don't use last names when you use this pitch - your clients deserve privacy. If you're not getting enough feedback about your products, start surveys to get more information. Testimonials are experiences in a nutshell - these can help to push "experience" selling. |
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Add In-House Financing To Your Sales Pitches
 In today's consumer cautious marketplace, nothing is more appealing than sheer affordability. Customers worry about their financial futures, due to the shifting sands of economic change...
Reassure your clients that your business really cares. Partner with Crelogix to offer the ultimate in point-of-sale financing. You can provide instant online pre-approval for loans...right at your storefront. When you let clients know that low, monthly payment plans are there for them, you will ease their doubts and fears and push a sales pitch forward. It's just common sense to make your inventory easy to buy. If you're not currently offering in-house financing to your clients, you're really missing out on an excellent sales tool that builds instant rapport with clients from all walks of life.
Joining with Crelogix is so easy...the transition to in-house financing is smooth, seamless, and pleasant. Since we offer a cutting-edge online system, known as MyCrelogix.com, our services are available to your company (and your clients) every day of the year...day or night. Our system is there when you need it, and it's so user-friendly and intuitive. Your staff won't need much time to learn the ins and outs of the Crelogix system. In no time at all, they'll be able to punch in data about clients, and give them an immediate answer about whether or not they qualify for a consumer loan.
Once a customer has signed on with Crelogix for a loan, the responsibility for loan administration is ours alone. You're free to concentrate on what you do best: running your business and selling products. We handle all the details so you don't have to!
Slick marketing is easier when you have in-house financing at your retail outlet. Letting clients know that you offer payment plans onsite is an excellent advertising strategy that will drive more business to your door. But the biggest benefit of our affordable system is the way it closes deals. Buyer hesitation melts away when you can give clients a ways to afford their dream items...with the power of Crelogix. |
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Crelogix is Expanding
 In an effort to better serve our valued partner relationships, we are asking you, our readers to recommend an exceptional achiever to be part of our team at Crelogix Acceptance. We seek to recruit and select the most competent, industry knowledgeable and expert professionals in the Power Product sales industry. Do you know a independent sales agent, a regular provider of services or supplies to your shop, someone that you feel confident in recommending to us? We would like to hear from that candidate.
More details are available on our website or click on the link below.
http://www.crelogix.com/positions.aspx |
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Contact our Team!
 Andy Lalli
Managing Director
Consumer Durables
T: 800-667-6640 x2910
F: 800-360-9129
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Scott Larson-Zutter
Sales Associate
T: 800-667-6640 x 2210
F: 800-360-9129
E: slarson-zutter@crelogix.com
Linda Richards
Sales Associate
T: 800-667-6640 x 2333
F: 800-360-9129
E: lrichards@crelogix.com
Terence Koh
Sales Associate
T: 800-667-6640 x 3841
F: 800-360-9129
E: tkoh@crelogix.com
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