Sex, Lies and the Secret Truth About Marketing

by Barry A. Densa


It doesn’t matter which business you’re in; what service or product you’re selling—if you want to net six or seven figures every year, drive your competition into bankruptcy and tears, be voted best marketer of the year and be awarded the Noble Peace Prize and an Oscar—you’ve got to be absolutely great in bed!

Where was I? Ah, yes...

Unbridled sex is not what I’m talking about here! I’m talking about how to be a successful marketer. And the bed and mattress is your market. And your partner is not your wife, husband or lover—it’s your customer.
But, if you insist...

Let’s Talk About Sex (Though strictly as a marketing metaphor)

So if you’re easily offended, do not read the next sentence. Now, imagine going to bed with someone you don’t like, who you can barely tolerate, someone you don’t want to talk to or be with—but you sleep with them anyway—and only for the money.

What does that make you? Yeah, exactly.

Yet, even within that business sector, the “business owner” who has a big and generous heart for her clientèle, who’s willing to at least act as if she’s making love to them, well, she’s going to fare far better than her competition—who looks at her customers as just another “John”.

Make Love to Them—Don’t Screw Them!

If you truly care about your customers and you wish to have a quality relationship with them, then their needs and concerns, their pains and deprivations will and must touch you—and drive you to create a solution (read: product or service) that will aid and benefit them. And if you do this, well then, they’ll love you forever (read: buy from you, and be loyal to you and recommend you). Why? Because your efforts are a labor of love—and it’ll show, and it will be reciprocated.
On the other hand, by not caring about or respecting your customers, your motivation is certainly exploitation and self-gratification.

And therefore you’ll foolishly offer them only what you believe they should have or want—that which will please and benefit you more—and them far less, if at all.
And all your relationships will then be shallow and short-lived. And your life will be filled with a tiring succession of unsatisfying first dates (and they’ll all be ugly, dumb, poor—and fat!)
Of course, if you’re an artful and cunning low-life liar, you might succeed in stringing a few gullible dates along for awhile longer. But, in the end, even the ugly, dumb and poor ones will resent your empty promises, and even the fat ones will quickly abandon you for a far more caring, considerate, compassionate and entrepreneurial lover. Because he’ll make them feel beautiful, smart, rich—and skinny! (Remember: you’re replaceable. Do a Google search and see for yourself.)

What’s Sex Without Passion?

Boring. Mechanical. Unsatisfying. Unconvincing. And it won’t get you any more nooky. Passion is what “ka-chings” the cash register on both sides of the bed. (Hey, this is a marketing class; I’m allowed to co-mingle my metaphors.) Passion is uncontainable, infectious, firm, strong and untiring. Romeo had it. Valentino had it, Gable, Harlow and Monroe had it. Depp and Theron, Pitt and Jolie have it now. Pee Wee Herman never did and never will. Passion is the key to every lover’s memorable nights. And the marketers secret to undreamed of success. Passion is honest and true—it can’t be faked! It comes from a belief deep within. Some may mimic its sounds and appearance—but such artifice will always ring hollow, cold and shrill. Real passion leaves no doubt. It’s hot. It’s seductive and inviting. You don’t have to sell it, though you may have to contain it. Express it through your business and to succeed.

Whoa! How Do You Do That?

Okay, for the finale, we’re abandoning all metaphors. Bottom line: To be a successful marketer—a high six or seven figure income marketer—you’ve got to fully believe in and have a deep and abiding love and passion for what you do, what you sell, and to whom you sell it. Your belief and passion has to be so strong that just the scent of it will knock down all doors, all obstacles, all disbeliefs—and all objections. Of course, if you don’t fully believe what you’re selling is the best—the best you can produce and your offer the best you can make—then it clearly isn’t! And to say otherwise is a damnable lie. And you’ve got to be the sleaziest of con artists, a sociopath to the nth degree, to get excited about a lie—to package it and sell it as truth. How can you transfer your excitement, your palm sweating, knee-weakening passion to your customers—instilling in them an unalterable and compelling desire to buy—if you know deep down inside what you’re telling them and selling them is a lie? Listen, if you’re just trying to make a buck by pulling a fast one—you’ll die poor. Passion isn’t a shirt you put on in the morning—it’s the skin you sleep in at night. Passion is what your customers respond to, because passion comes from your heart—from belief, confidence and love. Love your customers and love what you do and be in love with what you have to offer and the world will be yours.

sources: http://www.site-reference.com/

by Hilum Mburu

As the World Wide Web evolves to a global village, every business that is serious about harnessing the power of the internet to tap into a greater market must meticulously plan for their online presence. Having an effective web site requires strategy from choosing the designer and aesthetics to the basic ease of use mechanics.Building an effective websites may seem like a daunting task but it need not be. The following points will help you succeed during the planning stage.

Choosing a Web Designer

An effective website that works is a result of experience, skill, and creativity so choosing the right person to help you get going is essential. The designer should have a thorough knowledge of internet technologies and web standards backed up with a great portfolio which should give you a glimpse of their strengths and weaknesses. A good designer will listen to your needs and make helpful suggestions toward key decisions you need to make at the start of the web design process. The designer will help you articulate your goals and ideas and focus them into an effective website that will help you establish your online presence. There are many qualities that one should look for but all in all you should look for an experienced designer, a graphic design expert, competent technical skills, a good portfolio and site management abilities

Type of Web Site

You need to ask yourself what do I want my website to do for me? There are different types of websites, static, dynamic, e-commerce driven and blogs. Static web sites are the most typical web sites on the Internet and are comprised of text, graphics and images. Dynamic web sites on the other hand are database driven and return results depending on end-user request. Dynamic web sites usually use some form of active script to access the database and return results such as ASP, PHP, and Cold Fusion. A popular type of dynamic web site is called a Blog. Blogs are interactive websites which allow for user input via comments section, these are very useful for learning about the needs of your clients and meeting them satisfactorily. Blogs can be developed as entire websites or as plug-ins or a section on a website. Many web sites offer free blogging such as Word Press E-commerce web sites sell products and services. E-commerce sites are often a type of dynamic web site and utilize a database, but not all however. Some e-commerce sites can be setup simply using PayPal or Google Pay.

Aesthetics

Now let get into the fun part, your website should be visually appealing to your visitors. Remember that the goal of your website is to inform the visitors not annoy them with flashy graphics and screaming colors, so keep the graphics to a minimum. Use simple and clean layouts throughout the site that will enhance the presentation of your content and that will enable the visitor quickly find the information they are looking for before they get annoyed and move on. Now, balance is the key here and not eliminating graphics altogether. Using bland layouts that are boring will have the same effect as over usage. If you have hired a designer trusting in their judgment and listening to their input will help you steer clear of issues.

Content Presentation

The visitor is looking for information and how easy they get it is determined by the presentation. Be clear and concise that one is able to decide if what you are offering is the service or product they are looking for. Use titles and headings in your content to help your visitors scan for the details they are looking for. Keep the content fresh and updated to win the confidence of the visitor. Provide useful content to the visitor that calls them to action, provide solutions to their problems and they will definitely come back for more. Refrain from duplicating your website with your brochure, use a personal language that shows them exactly what they will get from your site. Marketing jargon and vague descriptions is a no-no, you should use a conversational language because your visitors have come for details.

Navigation

Navigation is a road map with clear landmarks, roads that intersect and even suggested routes. Keep in mind that your visitors don't necessarily come through the homepage since they can come through search engines, bookmarks, links from other websites and so on. Make sure that you carry your navigation element uniformly in your site visitors need to know where they are, where they can go and how to go back to their entry point. If your visitor has to stop and ask for directions then chances are they will never get to where they are going in your site. A consistent navigation on each page will make your site more intuitive and appealing.

Search Engines

Search engine optimization should be addressed from the beginning. Search Engine Optimization or ‘SEO’ is important because it assists your site in being 'found' and ranked by search engines. This is done by optimizing your pages to be indexed by the search engine robots that the big search engines like Google use. A few techniques used are; do a keyword research (words or phrases used by users to look for a service or product) then use the keywords in titles, links and in the content. Use 'alt tags' for images and then make sure you have good quality content.

E-Commerce

If you are intending to sell your products and services through your website, then you need to plan this well in advance. E-commerce is a great way of increasing sales and exposing your products and services to a global audience. There are various ways that you can accept payments online these include, bank transfers, credit cards, online checks, and so forth. E-commerce can be full of hidden fees and dangers such as having an unsecured web site that is allowing transaction information to be intercepted. Third party services such as PayPal allow webmasters large and small to setup an e-commerce site quickly and safely. In conclusion if you will keep all these elements in mind during the planning stage of your web site and do adequate research you will find the building process to go far more smoothly.

Sources: www.site-reference.com

by Hilum Mburu

As the World Wide Web evolves to a global village, every business that is serious about harnessing the power of the internet to tap into a greater market must meticulously plan for their online presence. Having an effective web site requires strategy from choosing the designer and aesthetics to the basic ease of use mechanics.Building an effective websites may seem like a daunting task but it need not be. The following points will help you succeed during the planning stage.

Choosing a Web Designer

An effective website that works is a result of experience, skill, and creativity so choosing the right person to help you get going is essential. The designer should have a thorough knowledge of internet technologies and web standards backed up with a great portfolio which should give you a glimpse of their strengths and weaknesses. A good designer will listen to your needs and make helpful suggestions toward key decisions you need to make at the start of the web design process. The designer will help you articulate your goals and ideas and focus them into an effective website that will help you establish your online presence. There are many qualities that one should look for but all in all you should look for an experienced designer, a graphic design expert, competent technical skills, a good portfolio and site management abilities

Type of Web Site

You need to ask yourself what do I want my website to do for me? There are different types of websites, static, dynamic, e-commerce driven and blogs. Static web sites are the most typical web sites on the Internet and are comprised of text, graphics and images. Dynamic web sites on the other hand are database driven and return results depending on end-user request. Dynamic web sites usually use some form of active script to access the database and return results such as ASP, PHP, and Cold Fusion. A popular type of dynamic web site is called a Blog. Blogs are interactive websites which allow for user input via comments section, these are very useful for learning about the needs of your clients and meeting them satisfactorily. Blogs can be developed as entire websites or as plug-ins or a section on a website. Many web sites offer free blogging such as Word Press E-commerce web sites sell products and services. E-commerce sites are often a type of dynamic web site and utilize a database, but not all however. Some e-commerce sites can be setup simply using PayPal or Google Pay.

Aesthetics

Now let get into the fun part, your website should be visually appealing to your visitors. Remember that the goal of your website is to inform the visitors not annoy them with flashy graphics and screaming colors, so keep the graphics to a minimum. Use simple and clean layouts throughout the site that will enhance the presentation of your content and that will enable the visitor quickly find the information they are looking for before they get annoyed and move on. Now, balance is the key here and not eliminating graphics altogether. Using bland layouts that are boring will have the same effect as over usage. If you have hired a designer trusting in their judgment and listening to their input will help you steer clear of issues.

Content Presentation

The visitor is looking for information and how easy they get it is determined by the presentation. Be clear and concise that one is able to decide if what you are offering is the service or product they are looking for. Use titles and headings in your content to help your visitors scan for the details they are looking for. Keep the content fresh and updated to win the confidence of the visitor. Provide useful content to the visitor that calls them to action, provide solutions to their problems and they will definitely come back for more. Refrain from duplicating your website with your brochure, use a personal language that shows them exactly what they will get from your site. Marketing jargon and vague descriptions is a no-no, you should use a conversational language because your visitors have come for details.

Navigation

Navigation is a road map with clear landmarks, roads that intersect and even suggested routes. Keep in mind that your visitors don't necessarily come through the homepage since they can come through search engines, bookmarks, links from other websites and so on. Make sure that you carry your navigation element uniformly in your site visitors need to know where they are, where they can go and how to go back to their entry point. If your visitor has to stop and ask for directions then chances are they will never get to where they are going in your site. A consistent navigation on each page will make your site more intuitive and appealing.

Search Engines

Search engine optimization should be addressed from the beginning. Search Engine Optimization or ‘SEO’ is important because it assists your site in being 'found' and ranked by search engines. This is done by optimizing your pages to be indexed by the search engine robots that the big search engines like Google use. A few techniques used are; do a keyword research (words or phrases used by users to look for a service or product) then use the keywords in titles, links and in the content. Use 'alt tags' for images and then make sure you have good quality content.

E-Commerce

If you are intending to sell your products and services through your website, then you need to plan this well in advance. E-commerce is a great way of increasing sales and exposing your products and services to a global audience. There are various ways that you can accept payments online these include, bank transfers, credit cards, online checks, and so forth. E-commerce can be full of hidden fees and dangers such as having an unsecured web site that is allowing transaction information to be intercepted. Third party services such as PayPal allow webmasters large and small to setup an e-commerce site quickly and safely. In conclusion if you will keep all these elements in mind during the planning stage of your web site and do adequate research you will find the building process to go far more smoothly.

Sources: www.site-reference.com