with the Give to Get Approach: Part 1 Too many small business owners go through a frustrating and never-ending struggle to attract customers and sales. It doesn't have to be that difficult. This article will help you avoid this struggle and show you how to join the select group of marketers who understand the Give to Get Marketing philosophy that enables them to make a very comfortable living with integrity, a lot less frustration and little or no rejection. The traditional approach Imagine a knock on your door. Upon opening it you see a salesman standing there with a large brief case, and an even bigger smile. He flings open his case to display samples of his widgets and says, "My name is John Smith. I'm the owner of the Acme Widget company. We've been in business for 22 years, and I'm here to tell you that we're the best there is when it comes to widgets. In fact, our widget makers are all board certified and we've won 16 awards. "We sell small widgets, medium widgets, and large widgets. As you can see, our widgets come in blue, green, yellow, red and our most popular color, lavender. Our widgets start at $9.95. "How many of our widgets would you like to buy today?" If you're like most folks, you'll emphatically say, "None, thank you!" as you proceed to swing the door shut. Before you get a chance, however, Mr. Smith shoves his business card into your hand and blurts out, "Our widget store is open Monday through Friday -- 8:00am to 5:00pm! Our store address and phone number are at the bottom of my card. You can stop by our store to buy our widgets, or you can call for more information about our widgets at any time! Have a nice day!" Wow. What a frustrating and depressing way to try to make a living. This One-Step Strategy is everywhere What you've just witnessed is what we call the "Buy My Product" approach; also known as the "One-Step" Strategy. Mr. Smith was hoping to have you buy his product in one, quick and easy step. This approach is incredibly expensive and ineffective. Instead of attracting prospects and customers, it actually repels them--and yet this "One-Step" approach is used by the majority of small business owners when trying to market their businesses--and most of them aren't even aware that they're using it! If you're struggling to attract customers and sales, there's a good chance that you're using this One-Step strategy yourself without even knowing it. If you are, that's why you're struggling. I'm not saying that you go door to door, like Mr. Smith. But, this ineffective approach is evident in nearly every ad, flyer, brochure, post card, direct mail letter, and web page used by most small business owners. 
Here's how to recognize a"One-Step" marketing piece: -- the headline is usually the name of the company -- there's often a list of company or product features or brag points -- there's often a picture of the owner(s) -- the company address and phone number are at the bottom -- there's often a tag line that says "Call for more information." Sound familiar? It's the same exact door-to-door approach used by Mr. John Smith of Acme Widgets. It has just been put into printed form. And this printed form of the One-Step strategy gets even worse results than John Smith gets--and his results are pretty dismal. At least John Smith knows that people are hearing his message, even if they are not receptive to it. Most One-Step marketing pieces don't even get that far. Why people are repelled by the One-Step Strategy There are many reasons why people are repelled by the One-Step Strategy, but here are just a few of the more obvious ones:
While it may be hard to ignore Mr. Smith after opening your door, it's easy when his One-Step spiel is printed in an ad, flyer, brochure, post card or direct mail letter. With a split-second glance, you recognize a One-Step marketing piece and you do what you couldn't do with Mr. Smith at your door--you ignore it and turn the page or toss it into the trash. This is the action most people take with One-Step marketing pieces. My best advice to you for attracting customers and growing sales, is to review your marketing efforts and identify any that are based on the One-Step Strategy. Then stop using them. Eliminate the One-Step and Sales Resistance If you want to eliminate sales resistance then you must eliminate the One-Step approach. Replace it with the marketing strategy we lay out in our Give to Get Marketing Solution, and you'll start attracting customers to your business like a magnet. We'll show you how to easily get people who 'want' the benefits of your product or service to actually contact you. Get all the details here. Click Here for Part 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2000-2023 by Joe Gracia - All Rights Reserved. All content, graphics, and HTML code are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit written permission. For Reprint Policies and Details Click Here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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