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| © Hunters Race |
Sure, you sell products and services, but when your customers choose to buy from you over one of your competitors, they are buying from you. While you can market and sell a multitude of products, remember that your primary marketing campaign should be primarily focused on you. You are your own business and by promoting yourself properly and with perseverance you are securing a long and successful future in sales.
People generally buy from people they know and trust. This is why, even though shoppers can go on the Internet and buy something at a much lower price than the street price, they often choose to shop at the local store - a physical establishment. Your reputation has to be so strong that you essentially become a brick-and-mortar establishment to yourself.
By shamelessly promoting yourself, you create the image - the impression - that you want people to have of you. Cold calls turn into warm calls because people already feel like they know you. Do it right and you won't even need to call. . . people who want what you're selling will call you.
To engage in effective and shameless self-promotion, you must first find something within yourself to promote and then promote it, as explained in the following sections.
Identifying your unique selling point
In the good old days, you knew who you were dealing with. Maybe it was Ted the TV guy, Melvin the milkman, Beatrice the beautician, Clare the housekeeper, Fran the financial planner, or Ralph the real estate agent (still thinking of me, Incorporated). In a small town, there was usually one person known as the go-to guy or girl for every product or service. These days, especially in large cities, you can find dozens if not thousands of vendors to choose from. To stand out (in a good way, of course), you want to choose something about you that is unique or create a memorable personality. So when potential customers think of the product or service you are selling, they immediately think of you.
Several years ago I decided to make an 11 foot high, 500 pound nail my unique thing. I bought the Big Nail on eBay, stuck it on a trailer, and hauled it around town to participate in various fundraising events for special causes. I have also placed the Big Nail logo on all of my marketing materials. Needless to say, this created a lot of positive buzz.
Discover your Big Nail and make it the center of your self-promotion campaign. A clear, central focus on something that can really motivate you can generate a lot of energy and, more importantly, get a lot of attention.
Branding yourself
Think Martha Stewart, The Donald, Oprah, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton. As soon as you see or hear the name, that person's face probably comes to mind. And you can probably describe what each person does. This is because these people have a brand presence. Through their own self-promotion and considerable help from the media, these people have achieved celebrity status.
While you may not want to be a celebrity or want the paparazzi to photograph you while you are on vacation, you can achieve some level of brand presence on your own by creating your own buzz-marketing blitz :
Market yourself on paper. Start slowly with your own business cards and brochures. Distribute them to everyone you know and everyone you meet.
Promote yourself in the media. Are you an expert at what you are selling? You should be. Leverage your expertise in your marketing efforts. Offer to write articles for local newspapers and magazines. Call local television and radio stations and volunteer your services as a local expert for news related to your area ofexpertise. Offer to speak to local groups for free. I gave over 1,000 free speeches before I could charge a fee.
Promote yourself on the Internet. Every seller should have at least one website or blog. I have over 200 of them including AboutRalph.com (professional services site), BigNail.com (about branding), GetFlipping.com, FlippingFrenzy.com (about real estate and mortgage fraud) , RalphRoberts.com (a real estate site), and KolleenRoberts.com (a tribute to my oldest daughter). The Internet is an entirely separate world, a virtual world, where more and more people are spending more and more of their time. You need to be there to meet and greet these tech savvy customers.
Advertise everywhere. Wherever people who buy the products and services you sell spend time or get their information, you should be there. If your customers are watching TV, you should be on TV. If they're tuning into the radio, they should be able to hear your voice from time to time. If they read the newspapers, you should have an ad in the newspaper.