[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
first by another member.
You then have the privilege of paying a $2,500 membership fee every
year, plus the fee for attending the three meetings. At these meetings you
might hear from the President or Vice President of the United States, the
Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, and many other politi-
47
Automatic Marketing
cal leaders and luminaries. The attraction of membership in the Council
is you will have plenty of opportunity to meet with and talk with Repub-
lican Party leaders and other influential people. The Council is marketed
as an exclusive organization. It s considered an honor to be invited to
join.
I m not sure it is an honor. But that s how it s sold. And the only way
you can get in is with a referral from another member. You will then re-
ceive a letter announcing that you have been nominated for membership
in the Council by so and so.
This strategy can be deployed effectively for all kinds of organizations
and associations.
One of my clients is a creator of educational programs for high-
achieving young people. The way we find students is to write to teachers
and ask them to nominate six of their best students to participate in this
prestigious National Young Leaders Conference.
The nominations come in from the teachers. The names and
addresses of the student nominees are entered into a computer database.
The nominees then receive a letter that begins something like this:
Congratulations!
I am pleased to announce that you
have been nominated to be a National
Scholar and Delegate to _____________in
Washington, D.C., this fall.
Your teacher, [Name], identified
you as one of her most outstanding
students. The Nominations Committee
then examined your academic record
and concluded that you qualify for
nomination.
You should feel proud of your
exemplary academic record and your
selection to be a National Scholar
representing the state of Virginia.
This letter is sent out in an impressive-looking invitation holder. The
package looks a lot like a wedding invitation. It includes a program
48
Benjamin Hart
schedule, an impressive list of advisors, even a short form letter from
President Bush welcoming the students, and an Enrollment Application.
Another letter is sent to the parents at the same time. The tuition for the
five-day conference is about $1,400.
The point is, this list is developed by way of a referral strategy. The
students are found by asking teachers to provide the names of (nominate)
their best students. This is how the prospect (invitation) list is built.
When this letter arrives, it has instant credibility because the teacher s
name is mentioned right away. If this child s teacher is involved in this
program, it must be worthwhile. This will be very powerful evidence for
the parent of the value of the program.
This is a potent way to use the referral strategy, and works well for of-
fers designed to appeal to the desire for exclusivity and prestige.
Strategic alliances
Form strategic alliances with vendors and companies that are in your
industry, but aren t direct competitors. For example, I have a strategic
alliance with a great mailshop called RST Marketing.
Mailshops are not printers (though some also print). Mailshops are
companies that take printed material, collate it, insert it all into envelopes,
affix postage, and mail it. Mailshops are a critical vendor for large direct
mail programs. RST specializes in producing highly-personalized, high-
impact mailings that don t look mass-produced. That s RST s niche.
Not only does RST produce all my high-end, highly personalized di-
rect mail pieces, but I send others to RST, and RST sends its clients to me
if they need copywriting, creative work, or marketing strategy. If RST
and I do a project together, we sometimes share in the profit.
RST has a sales force that also acts as a sales force for me. If a pros-
pect says, yes, we need a mailshop, but we first need a package to mail
meaning a letter written and a package designed RST says we can do
that too, through Ben Hart. It becomes a win-win relationship for both
RST and me, because RST is not in the sales letter-writing business and
I m not in the mailshop business. We need each other.
Sit down with a pencil and paper and write down strategic alliances
that would work for both you and another company.
49
Automatic Marketing
For a strategic alliance to work, it s usually best if the two companies
work in different areas of the same field or industry, where there are op-
portunities to combine efforts to create a whole that is more profitable for
both parties than the services would be if sold separately. A direct mail
marketer needs printing, a mailshop, a list company, a copywriter, and
graphic design. Very often these services are provided by different com-
panies. This opens up tremendous opportunities for a strategic alliance.
A strategic alliance can function like a breeder reactor, generating great
business for everyone.
Strategic alliances vastly improve overall marketing because no pros-
pect feels they are being sold an entire package, such as with a one-stop
shop agency. When RST says, You want Ben Hart doing your copy-
writing and creative work, this comes across as an unbiased recommen-
dation, not a sales pitch. I m assuming RST truly believes I m good at
what I do just as I honestly believe RST is the best at what it does. A stra-
tegic alliance expands your capabilities and makes you seem a lot bigger
than you really are. Plus, you don t have the burden of a lot of permanent
added overhead.
A strategic alliance is not a partnership or a marriage. It can be in-
formal most of the time, or deals can be formalized for certain distinct
projects and ventures. I m a big fan of strategic alliances as a vehicle for
generating more business for everyone involved.
Ask friendly competitors for overflow work
I m friends with all of my competitors.
I don t really consider them to be competitors at all. The truth is,
there s enough business out there for everyone. I like my competitors be-
cause they do what I do. We share the same interests.
When we get together, we share our secrets and our battle stories. We
have a great time. I love my competitors because we have the same prob-
lems, challenges, and interests.
In whatever business we re in, there are the Top Dogs and there are
those who are just starting out. Those who are just starting out are not a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl freetocraft.keep.pl
first by another member.
You then have the privilege of paying a $2,500 membership fee every
year, plus the fee for attending the three meetings. At these meetings you
might hear from the President or Vice President of the United States, the
Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, and many other politi-
47
Automatic Marketing
cal leaders and luminaries. The attraction of membership in the Council
is you will have plenty of opportunity to meet with and talk with Repub-
lican Party leaders and other influential people. The Council is marketed
as an exclusive organization. It s considered an honor to be invited to
join.
I m not sure it is an honor. But that s how it s sold. And the only way
you can get in is with a referral from another member. You will then re-
ceive a letter announcing that you have been nominated for membership
in the Council by so and so.
This strategy can be deployed effectively for all kinds of organizations
and associations.
One of my clients is a creator of educational programs for high-
achieving young people. The way we find students is to write to teachers
and ask them to nominate six of their best students to participate in this
prestigious National Young Leaders Conference.
The nominations come in from the teachers. The names and
addresses of the student nominees are entered into a computer database.
The nominees then receive a letter that begins something like this:
Congratulations!
I am pleased to announce that you
have been nominated to be a National
Scholar and Delegate to _____________in
Washington, D.C., this fall.
Your teacher, [Name], identified
you as one of her most outstanding
students. The Nominations Committee
then examined your academic record
and concluded that you qualify for
nomination.
You should feel proud of your
exemplary academic record and your
selection to be a National Scholar
representing the state of Virginia.
This letter is sent out in an impressive-looking invitation holder. The
package looks a lot like a wedding invitation. It includes a program
48
Benjamin Hart
schedule, an impressive list of advisors, even a short form letter from
President Bush welcoming the students, and an Enrollment Application.
Another letter is sent to the parents at the same time. The tuition for the
five-day conference is about $1,400.
The point is, this list is developed by way of a referral strategy. The
students are found by asking teachers to provide the names of (nominate)
their best students. This is how the prospect (invitation) list is built.
When this letter arrives, it has instant credibility because the teacher s
name is mentioned right away. If this child s teacher is involved in this
program, it must be worthwhile. This will be very powerful evidence for
the parent of the value of the program.
This is a potent way to use the referral strategy, and works well for of-
fers designed to appeal to the desire for exclusivity and prestige.
Strategic alliances
Form strategic alliances with vendors and companies that are in your
industry, but aren t direct competitors. For example, I have a strategic
alliance with a great mailshop called RST Marketing.
Mailshops are not printers (though some also print). Mailshops are
companies that take printed material, collate it, insert it all into envelopes,
affix postage, and mail it. Mailshops are a critical vendor for large direct
mail programs. RST specializes in producing highly-personalized, high-
impact mailings that don t look mass-produced. That s RST s niche.
Not only does RST produce all my high-end, highly personalized di-
rect mail pieces, but I send others to RST, and RST sends its clients to me
if they need copywriting, creative work, or marketing strategy. If RST
and I do a project together, we sometimes share in the profit.
RST has a sales force that also acts as a sales force for me. If a pros-
pect says, yes, we need a mailshop, but we first need a package to mail
meaning a letter written and a package designed RST says we can do
that too, through Ben Hart. It becomes a win-win relationship for both
RST and me, because RST is not in the sales letter-writing business and
I m not in the mailshop business. We need each other.
Sit down with a pencil and paper and write down strategic alliances
that would work for both you and another company.
49
Automatic Marketing
For a strategic alliance to work, it s usually best if the two companies
work in different areas of the same field or industry, where there are op-
portunities to combine efforts to create a whole that is more profitable for
both parties than the services would be if sold separately. A direct mail
marketer needs printing, a mailshop, a list company, a copywriter, and
graphic design. Very often these services are provided by different com-
panies. This opens up tremendous opportunities for a strategic alliance.
A strategic alliance can function like a breeder reactor, generating great
business for everyone.
Strategic alliances vastly improve overall marketing because no pros-
pect feels they are being sold an entire package, such as with a one-stop
shop agency. When RST says, You want Ben Hart doing your copy-
writing and creative work, this comes across as an unbiased recommen-
dation, not a sales pitch. I m assuming RST truly believes I m good at
what I do just as I honestly believe RST is the best at what it does. A stra-
tegic alliance expands your capabilities and makes you seem a lot bigger
than you really are. Plus, you don t have the burden of a lot of permanent
added overhead.
A strategic alliance is not a partnership or a marriage. It can be in-
formal most of the time, or deals can be formalized for certain distinct
projects and ventures. I m a big fan of strategic alliances as a vehicle for
generating more business for everyone involved.
Ask friendly competitors for overflow work
I m friends with all of my competitors.
I don t really consider them to be competitors at all. The truth is,
there s enough business out there for everyone. I like my competitors be-
cause they do what I do. We share the same interests.
When we get together, we share our secrets and our battle stories. We
have a great time. I love my competitors because we have the same prob-
lems, challenges, and interests.
In whatever business we re in, there are the Top Dogs and there are
those who are just starting out. Those who are just starting out are not a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]