This post written at the New Media Expo in Ontario California. 

I recently sat through a painful seminar where a conference speaker was addressing the topic of sales, more specifically how to promote yourself, your products and your services via the Internet.

The conference speaker opened with “The best words to use to get your emails read”. His top pick as the number one word was “free”. He went on to say that the using the word “free” will get people to pay attention to your email as it’s a word that attracts a reader.

Apparently this conference speaker does not get the volume of spam email that I receive. I’ve been offered free Viagra, money, closing costs, long distance, college degrees, travel and my all time fav – “consultation”. Do people really fall for “free consultation”. Does this really entice anyone? Let me get this straight, you’ll actually “talk” to me – for free? WOW!

The word “free” is not a persuader, quite the opposite; it will instantly put the reader in a defensive posture. It puts the ever famous question in our heads – “what’s the catch”. People are not stupid - annoying, bothersome and sometimes irrational, sure, but not stupid. We all realize that nothing is free and that “free” typically comes with a cost.

The word “free” is something you should avoid at all costs in any marketing message; at the very least it should not be your opener. Not to mention the fact that it’s a word email filters flag as potential spam.

The conference speaker went on with other equally valuable bits of wisdom like how it’s okay to lower your price to get a customer. The theory behind this “can’t lose” strategy is that once you make someone a customer it is easier to do business with them in the future, which is true, it’s easier to sell to someone you’ve sold to in the past. The issue is that you’ve set a precedent, now this customer will always want the lower price.

There is a bigger issue with lowering price - it devalues your service or product. Assuming your product or service is fairly priced, lowering price sends two messages to a consumer. First, you’ve built in extra profit so you can discount and second, they will not get the support they need because you are not making the money you need.

Prices of products and services are set based on more than the cost of goods. You as a professional in your field have value and you must factor that in. I don’t want to buy something from someone that does not have the experience to support my needs. I see tremendous value in the experience of the person I’m buying from, in fact I count on it to insure that I’m not only buying the right thing but using it to its fullest potential thus getting my moneys worth.

A product or service is only as good as the person behind it. Realize that your value to a consumer goes far beyond your offering. I once read a story about Pablo Picasso that really stuck with me. Picasso was sitting in a park in Paris sketching the surroundings. A woman walking her dog recognized him and asked, “Would you mind sketching my dog, I’d be happy to pay you”. Picasso took pencil to paper and 60 seconds later there it was, her dachshund was now an original Picasso. The woman was delighted and asked, “how much do I owe you?’  To which Picasso replied, “two hundred francs”. “TWO HUNDRED FRANCS!” the woman exclaimed, “but it only took you a minute!” Picasso calmly replied, “no my dear, it took my whole life.”

Don’t underestimate the value you bring to the table. Charge a fair and reasonable price and give your customers the advice and service they need and you’ll have customers for life as well as raving fans.

As far as this so called speaker goes, as a professional conference speaker I was deeply offended by his lack of knowledge (I got over it) but what did I expect – his talk was free.

International bestselling author and legend, Jack Canfield and author Larry Bailin discuss Jack’s book “The Success Principals”, Chicken Soup for the Soul” and his latest phenom “THE SECRET” as well as his upcoming September 26^th appearance in Edison NJ (tickets still available) as part of the Move Ahead 1 seminar series

This Podcast is part of the Moments in Marketing series and is worth a listen. Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame and more recently “The Secret” will be appearing live in New Jersey later this month but I got a chance to have a discussion with him about one of my favorite business books “The Success Principals”.

Listen to Larry and Jack 

This post written from Starbucks in Newark Liberty International Airport, Terminal C.

Marketing has changed dramatically in the past few years. Social networking and social media continues to stir traditional marketers into frenzy.  Conventional marketers such as ad agencies have barely come to grips with the proper usage of the Internet as a sales and marketing vehicle. They continue to disregard cornerstones of successful website design such as usability, load times, strategic content development and search engine friendliness. Instead these traditional marketers tout the benefits of creativity and unique design elements that go against the grain. Creativity ends up blocking communication and no one but the agency benefits.  The proper usage of the web continues to elude a lot of marketers but they seem to be slowly coming around as businesses become better educated on what works and what does not. 

Now throw social media into the mix. BLOGs, viral video, Podcasting and social networking sites such as MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook etc. Most agencies I come in contact with have no idea how to deal with this ever changing medium. Businesses for the most part have no idea what to do in this space and more often than not dismiss the notion altogether citing reasons such as. “Only kids are doing this stuff” or, “We don’t have the time for that”. 

The fact of the matter is your average business owner is a wimp, afraid of spending money and failing or afraid to admit that they just don’t understand it enough to make a go of it. They don’t know where to turn since their traditional marketing channels are as bewildered as they are so they do nothing and hope for the best. 

Hope is not a strategy - Get over it! In the fledgling days of the commercial Internet there were many businesses that simply dismissed the internet as kids stuff or a fad. The ones that looked beyond conventional wisdom and took a chance online are reaping the rewards and the naysayers are licking their wounds and try to play catch up. 

As the title of this article states, “it’s hard out here for a wimp”, business is not for the faint-hearted, it’s tough and marketing is risky, but how is this different from any other time in history? Business has always been complex and marketing has always been a gamble. You cannot dismiss new ways to connect with customers as fads or simply ignore them and pray your business will flourish as it has in the past. The greatest business leaders of our time did not achieve greatness because they were timid. Good businesses do not become great businesses with a play it safe strategy. 

You think social media is going to go away? For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re right. Sites like Second Life or MySpace will eventually fade away. The fact still remains, they exist now and so does the opportunity. One of the foundations of marketing is identifying opportunity and exploiting that opportunity until it no longer has value. When it stops working – move on. So who cares where these sites will be in six months or a year? They are here now and represent an opportunity. 

You simply cannot keep doing the same things over and over again and expect to thrive. In order to grow you must keep moving forward. Don’t have time to BLOG, find the time. Don’t have the time to create a social media strategy, hire someone to do it for you. Contrary to popular belief it does not take that much time to get out there and make connections with your customers. A few hours a week is all you need to get started. 

Yes some people do get carried away and spend far too much time seeking out online friends and get completely wrapped up in the social aspects of this type of Internet marketing. I won’t deny that you can go overboard to the point where you are wasting so much time with social networking that it becomes counter productive. That’s why you never venture into any type of marketing without planning. It’s critical that you create a strategy for this type of marketing. Outline a detailed blueprint of where you want to be, how to properly use the tools and how much time can be allocated to these efforts. 

Your customers are out there connecting with new and exciting medium and you need to be there too because, you can be sure your competition is. 

You don’t have the time – make the time – before all you have it time (think about it). 

This post written from Starbucks in Cocoa Beach, FL

According to all the profiles I’ve read on match.com, no one is overweight anymore. It seems the obesity epidemic is over! What great news, we can now put the trans-fats back into our fries and roll those candy machines back into the schools.
Either the armies of singles on match.com are a genetically enhanced race of super singles or I’ve just stumbled onto the most talented group of salespeople I’ve ever seen!

When the motivation is right, ordinary people become extraordinary marketers. Not wanting to live alone is apparently a strong motivator. I’ve never seen a collective group so adept at marketing themselves. Everyone describes their “body type” as, “fit & toned”, “athletic”, “slim” or my favorite….. wait for it…….”a few extra pounds”.
You can sift through hundreds of profiles and never come across a, “plump and proud”, “chubby and cheery” or my personal fav, “large and in charge”.

A few extra pounds?!? What does that mean? Are you literally carrying a stubborn 3 extra pounds that just won’t go away? Don’t these people realize that the end game here is to “meet” someone live and in person? What happens then? No wonder online dating gets such a bad rap. You think you’re meeting Bo Derek and you end up having a latté with Bo Diddley.

The profiles are equally as inflated. No one has ever been at fault for a breakup or divorce. Everyone is looking for that special someone that “gets them”. Everybody is kind, understanding and just about the most terrific mate you could ever ask for. WOW! You can’t go wrong. Just pick one at random – you can’t lose!

Match.com singles are not the only great salespeople out there.  I’ve always touted the people pushing goods on the television shopping networks to be among the best sales people in the known universe. They have levels of enthusiasm that rival the winning team’s fans at a Super Bowl where the game is won with a hail Mary pass in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. I’ve always been impressed by the ability of Home Shopping hosts to be hyper-amped up about an air mattress one second and equally as jazzed about a set of china the next.

The baseball card collectible guy, Don Wagner is truly something to see. Best known for his intensity and my all time favorite catch phrase, “Be Dialin” Don Wagner could sell trading cards of local crack addicts and people would buy them! His enthusiasm level for what he is selling is off the charts! I am glued to the television when he’s raving about the latest collection of limited edition, rare, hard to find, gonna be gone forever, sure to be worth millions in the very near future baseball card collection.

In sales and marketing we all know that believing in your product is a must but in today’s noisy world belief alone just doesn’t cut it. We are deluged with grandiose online profiles and hyperactive pitchmen. We need to take it up a notch. In order to market we must have excitement that can be seen, heard and felt.

Excitement sells and passion is contagious. When the people you are marketing and selling to can feel the level of excitement about your product, service or even yourself, they get excited about it too.

If you’re chunky be chunky but be excited about it! Tell the single masses about your passion for great food and desire to hit the gym with the right person. Passion shines brighter than anything. When it comes to marketing always be honest about yourself, your product or service and always market with unyielding gusto! When others experience your fervor, connections will be made faster than the waistlines at the China Buffet.

This post written from Starbucks in East Brunswick, NJ

So the madness begins! The lines for apples new iPhone have already started forming. All over the country people have started camping out on line in font of their local apple store to be one of the first to own the much anticipated iPhone.

The iPhone is set to go on sale on Friday June 29^th at apple stores and AT&T locations around the country. The iPhone is a revolutionary new device that combines a touch screen cell phone, web browser, email client and iPod into one ultra cool device.

As a certified gadget guy I have to say I would not mind owning one, unfortunately the phone does not really ft my needs. Even though I’m an avid iPod user (have an 80 gig iPod with over 20,000 song 50 TV shows and a few movies and I’ve had 4 iPods before this one), heavy cell phone user and a gadget nut, believe it or not I’m not the target customer for an iPhone.

The reason that the iPhone is not right for me is that the iPhone is not a good “smart phone” for business users (so don’t ditch your Blackberries just yet). There is no sync software to sync a calendar or contacts with any major CRM system, not even Outlook or Microsoft Exchange. You can only sync the iPhone contacts and calendar with apples iTunes software. The iPhone also lacks a core feature; voice dialing, and any road warrior will tell you voice dialing is a must have for calling and driving.

As a power iPod user this phone would be a poor replacement for my current 80 gig iPod. The two choices are 4 or 8 gigs; I have playlists bigger than that!

The reason that I’m not right for the iPhone, the iPhone (at least the first generation) is for the “cool factor” crowd. Just look at the people waiting in line waiting for one or take a look at the phone features apple is highlighting in thier commercials. Users sliding through pictures, surfing the web and my favorite, watching videos on You Tube. The commercial shows an iPhone user watching a skateboarding dog. Great, now I can take my A.D.D. on the road.

The iPhone is the device that will bridge the gap between iPod haves and have-nots, giving apple an even tighter grip on the already staggering market share they have in the digital music space. This device will increase Podcast listenership and force businesses to take a second look at designing websites that will work better on a smaller screen. The iPhone is going to shake things up.

Apple is going to make a huge customer connection with the iPhone. The marketing is dead on target for the person they want to buy. They did a great job. I love the phone and can’t wait to see the version (or the marketing) they come out with when I’m the target customer.

As much as I like the iPhone I do think they failed in one area, they chose AT&T as the initial service provider. I switched to AT&T a year or so ago when they had their no risk try us for 30 days campaign. I hated it. I’ve never dropped so many important calls in my life. I returned the phone well within the 30 days (I think is was more like 10 days) It took over 9 months to get them to stop sending me bills. AT&T’s marketing slogan is, “more bars in more places” which is perfect because after using their service I needed a stiff drink!

It’s easy to make a judgment about anything if you just look on the” surface”. What’s below the surface is typically not as easy to see or even understand much less identify opportunity. Microsoft has introduced a new way of computing called “Surface”. On the surface, “Surface” is an extremely cool technology. Quite possibly the coolest I’ve ever seen. I was mesmerized while I watched the video demonstrations on the “Surface” website. Once the wow factor was gone I immediately began identifying marketing opportunities for this new technology. Microsoft has identified targets for “Surface” such as hotels, bars, restaurants etc. After pondering for awhile you can easily think of hundreds of marketing and practical uses for this technology. One thought is in the entrepreneur space. Surface may bring back the short-lived “Internet Cafes” that popped up in major cities during the dot-com frenzy and disappeared just as quickly as the money burning business models of the day. “Surface” provides a more social element that was lacking in these café’s and may just be the magic bullet needed to make this seemingly doomed business model a success. 

Yet another example of how critical it is to really know your customer.

The Volkswagen Beetle hit the US in 1949 however it was not until the sixties that the bug-like rear engine car would make a social impact amongst soon to be avid VW followers.

Since the sixties the Volkswagen brand has become very “cult-like” with a following of loyal consumers that refuse to drive anything else. To the VW customer the brand stands for affordable non-conformity, hip and some may even say… cool.

VW commercials historically played to the type of customer that would take to the VW brand, the cool hip budget conscious non-conformist. They have had some amazing advertisements that really spoke to the target VW audience. Even the 1998 re-launch of the “New Beetle” created, well, Beetle Mania.

Volkswagen had done it again. Connecting with a new generation of loyal followers with the New Beetle. The target for this vehicle was clear. The children of the flower power generation. The New Beetle even came with a flower vase attached to the dashboard.  VW had always counted on their loyal 1960’s followers to pass down their love of VW from generation to generation. Over the years they’ve introduced many vehicles that hit the mark with their clients. The Rabbit, Golf, Cabriolet and wildly successful Jetta. Volkswagen truly knew who their client was, at least I thought they did.

In 2004 VW came out with the $80,000.00 Phaeton. The thought process was that as the “make love not war” types grew up they would now want a luxury vehicle and who better to buy it from than their old friend VW. VW was counting on the loyal VW buyer and the power of the brand to convert from affordable non-conformity to incredibly expensive semi-conformity. Well surprise, surprise, It turns out that when you can afford to drop 80 large on a vehicle, non-conformity be dammed, you’re not driving a VW.

The fact is that no one will pay BMW prices to be treated like a VW customer. You want the total experience and everything that comes with it. Ask any Lexus dealer, their clients would not take kindly to plastic seats and styrofoam coffee cups in a Volkswagen “service lounge” while their friends and collogues ate gourmet wraps, drank espresso, played the front nine at Pebble Beach in a full sized virtual golf simulator then sat on the leather sofa and watched CNN on a 50 inch plasma TV at the local Lexus “service center”.

VW missed the mark big time and it cost them plenty. The Phaeton was a huge failure in the US only selling a few thousand nationwide. Volkswagen stopped thinking like a customer. They took a top down approach when in today’s world you have to build bottom up to understand your customer’s needs. Somewhere along the way VW lost touch with their customers and what a VW customer really wants – to be hip and cool - in an affordable non-conformist kinda way.

Take a cue from VW. Listen to your customers, never stop trying to understand and fill their needs. Volkswagen wanted to sell cars for $80,000 but they learned from their mistakes. The Phaeton is history and now they drive around screaming “3 V-Dubs under $17,000!” – Welcome back.