Manhasset Minuteman Press

There's an extremely powerful strategy to grow your business called the foot-in-the-door (FITD) strategy. FITD plays on psychology to get to the sale. This strategy works well because it gets past the prospect's natural resistance to being sold. The process starts with getting a person to agree to a small request that doesn't take them outside their comfort zone. From there, you build up to larger requests and bigger yeses. Savvy business owners, marketers, and salespeople have used FITD in one form or another for years, whether they have knowingly defined it that way or not. Some may refer to this strategy as a "loss leader." The difference is that a loss leader typically involves selling something, often at a very low price or below cost. Retail businesses have used loss leaders successfully for many years. FITD works best when the first offer is for something free. Examples of FITD If you've ever been to the mall food court around lunch or din

Some self-appointed experts proclaim there's a vast difference between the brave new digital world and more traditional media like print. Although there are obvious differences in the way messages are delivered, fundamentally there are more similarities than it may seem. At the core, it all revolves around communication. We are still trying to communicate the same things: Persuading recipients to open our communication Encouraging people to read our relevant messages Convincing our target market to believe the point we are trying to get across Driving people to take action on our message There's no denying that the Internet has changed how we communicate. However, it would be a mistake to believe that digital should completely replace message delivery methods like print. As studies have shown, most people trust print more than email and social media. Anyone can send out a tweet, blast an email, or publish a Facebook post, but only legitimate businesses will inv

No business starts with the mission of becoming run of the mill and ordinary. But somewhere along the way, after the excitement wears off and the daily routines take over, some businesses seem to lose their way. Running and managing a business isn't for the faint of heart. The daily tasks of keeping the operation flowing smoothly and bringing in enough revenue to keep the lights on while managing customer demands has a way of making one forget about the dream of creating an extraordinary business. But the reality is that the customers of today want more than just a product or service. They want an experience. Simple delivery of goods and services may bring a customer in, but it takes more effort to turn that buyer into a steady client who will come back often. Businesses that provide a way for the customer to feel like they're part of something special (and maybe even a little extraordinary) attract the kind of clients who not only return themselves but also ref

It's no secret that one of the best ways to grow a business is through strong referrals. Whether these referrals come to you through a system you have in place or because of the solid reputation your business has built over the years, each referral is a precious gift. You have one chance to turn this opportunity into a client who will in turn refer others to your business. If you drop the ball in some way, not only will you lose this chance for new business, but you could also discourage others from referring business to you. Therefore, you must handle these warm leads with extreme care. Here are six key steps to consider as you guide a referral into becoming a real customer. Respond quickly. Nothing will stop a referral process faster than slow response and showing a lack of urgency in communication. Lead360 conducted a study of 25 million data points which showed that successful conversion rates are 391% higher when a lead is called back within a minute, 120% within two

"To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace." - Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell's Soup Great companies need outstanding employees in order to grow. The problem is finding and retaining that caliber employee. Most small businesses don't fully understand the process of hiring top-notch employees. "Effective organizational leadership is simple: 1. Have a vision of where you want to get to. 2. Clearly and persuasively communicate that vision to employees. 3. Be consistent in your behaviors as you strive to achieve that vision." - from A Roadmap for Employee Engagement by Andy Parsley Many make the mistake of hiring an employee without clearly thinking the process all the way through. They neglect to think about what they actually want from the new hire. Hiring in this way sets the new employee up for failure before they ever walk in for their first day of work. This turns out to be a waste of time and resources for everyone. To h

Referrals are one of the best ways for growing a small business, yet most companies have no formal process in place to make sure this great source for quality leads continues. Waiting for leads to fall in your lap is not a systematic referral-generation strategy! Some people feel guilty about asking for referrals because they falsely believe they are simply asking for favors. The truth is, if you believe that the products and services you provide deliver real value to people and will benefit those who use them, you're the one who's doing the favor in asking for referrals... not the other way around. Achieving that mentality is the first step toward building a solid foundation for your lead-generating referral system. Here are six steps to turn up your referral-generation machine. Define your most ideal referral. Your chances of finding referrals increases if you know who you're looking for. The tighter you can articulate the demographic characteristics of your m

Your target audience is being bombarded by sales and marketing messages every day. Some estimates state that a person is exposed to more than 3,500 messages on average every single day! No wonder we develop strategies to filter out the hype and all the noise so we can get our work done. Otherwise our days would be consumed with sales presentations and various pitches to buy something. This constant barrage of marketing has taken a toll on salespeople, too. Traditional sales methods that once worked well have been losing traction and are not effective anymore. But you still need to sell -- and you need to get your message across to your prospects. How can you do that without alienating them at the same time? One way to do that is to educate and help your prospects instead of simply selling them. Educating your audience with relevant and useful information that will help them make a more informed buying decision allows you to establish yourself and your company as an expert who p

The answer is simple: They're everywhere. And it's up to you to find them. In his biography of Bill Russell, author Murry R. Nelson writes about the NBA legend's athletic struggles in high school and about one teacher/coach who helped to bring out the best in the young man others had overlooked and taken for granted. After failing to make the school's football team, Russell decided to try out for basketball instead. There were 15 spots available on the junior varsity team, and Russell, who had never played organized basketball before, was number 16 on the depth chart. But his coach "saw something in him as a person" and allowed him to split time with another player in order to make the team. He also helped Russell join the local Boys Club, where he could "practice his game on an indoor court." "In return for the faith and 'investment' [the coach] made in him," Nelson writes, Russell "provided a constant drive and en

Even if you've already heard these statistics before or intuitively know them to be true based on your own experience, it may still be a bit startling to see them here again: It can cost up to 7 times more to acquire one new customer than to keep a current one. The likelihood of a prospect buying from you is between 5 and 20%. The likelihood of an existing customer buying from you again is between 60 and 70%. Based on these numbers, it's clear that nurturing and cultivating your existing client relationships can go a long way toward improving the health of your company's bottom line. However, many companies devote most of their marketing budgets to new customer acquisition, rather than trying to keep existing customers coming back. New leads and customers are important, but your existing customers should also hold a very high place on your list of marketing priorities. How can you keep customers coming back? Sending simple thank you cards to show your appreciatio