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	<title>Glenn Harrington is the Principal Consultant of Articulate Consultants Inc. Since 1996 he has specialized in consulting on authentic key messages as the basis for effective marketing, brand management, and client loyalty.
&lt;a target=&quot;_new&quot; href=&quot;http://www.articulate.ca/&quot;&gt;www.articulate.ca/&lt;/a&gt;
</title>
	<link>http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/author/index/480/Glenn-Harrington.php</link>
	<description>Glenn Harrington is the Principal Consultant of Articulate Consultants Inc. Since 1996 he has specialized in consulting on authentic key messages as the basis for effective marketing, brand management, and client loyalty.
&lt;a target=&quot;_new&quot; href=&quot;http://www.articulate.ca/&quot;&gt;www.articulate.ca/&lt;/a&gt;
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	<pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:33:27 +0000</pubDate>
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	<item>
      <title><strong>What Problem Do You Solve?</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Authenticity Rules
What Problem Do You Solve?

Remember the TV commercial with these lines?
•	Boy: What’s this stuff?
•	Brother: Some cereal. It’s supposed to be good for you.
•	Boy: I’m not gonna try it.
•	Brother: Let’s get Mikey.
•	Boy: He won’t eat it. He hates everything.
•	Both: He likes it! Hey Mikey!

How about the TV commercial with this line?
•	Elderly woman: “I've fallen and I can't get up.”

uncommon formula
These ads are famous for these lines. The first contributed to enormous success for Quaker’s Life brand breakfast cereal; the second, for the Life Alert Emergency Response pendant that auto-dials an emergency dispatcher. Importantly, they also share an uncommon though effective approach to marketing: Identify the problem that you solve considerately, then identify your solution.

common problems
Many affluent parents struggle to get their children to eat a good, healthy breakfast every day. For some, this includes a struggle to resist breakfast foods that offer little nutrition and better resemble candy. Likewise, many adults worry about their mother, aunt, or other elderly family member who lives alone and could suffer a fall or other calamity from which help would be needed to recover.

comforting solutions
In the cereal ad, after the boys discover that the hard-to-please Mikey likes it, a voice-over describes Life as a “nutritious, delicious” cereal that even picky children like Mikey enjoy eating. In the pendant ad, less memorable is the dispatcher’s reply, “We're sending help immediately, Mrs. Fletcher.” Both ads offer to save consumers from the difficulties that they credibly portray. Both also triggered many people to buy what they were selling. So, why is the same formula not used in more advertising?

not for creative ad execs
When marketers take the route of simple, truthful authenticity – such as sympathetically demonstrating that they understand the problem that their produ ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/5034/What-Problem-Do-You-Solve.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/5034/What-Problem-Do-You-Solve.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Loyalty Without Bribery</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Loyalty Without Bribery

Phrases such as points program, loyalty rewards, frequent buyer, and loyal customer are often used in similar contexts. The central idea is that a company that rewards consumers for making repeat purchases can secure steady business from them over time. While this may be true, real loyalty is seldom involved.

Some marketers describe incentive programs as extending a thank-you gesture to keep customers coming back. Experts in business psychology liken the practice to bribery. They point out that repeat purchasing is not the same as true loyalty. Indeed, loyalty does not depend on discounts or give-aways. Real loyalty can be spoiled by bribes.

Customer loyalty is a matter of business relationship management. In contrast to points programs and pay-your-bill-to-enter lotteries, there is a higher road to true loyalty. It is more profitable and requires a different view of the business relationship.

Many retailers use club membership cards with give-aways and points programs as buyer incentives. As intended, these generally do secure repeat business and keep customers from leaving for competitors. However, the benefits to these companies come at a considerable cost. Close study of card-based loyalty programs reveals the main advantage: consumer data from tracking customer purchases.

For example, when a grocery-chain customer has his or her card swiped at the till, a computer links the products purchased to his or her name. This contributes to consumer statistics involving the information that the customer provided in applying for the card. Thus, the give-aways and discounts associated with shopper’s club cards are a cost that grocery chains sustain to gain consumer information for targeted marketing campaigns as well as repeat customers. 

Though retailers and their suppliers naturally seek more and better consumer statistics to sell more products to more customers, and to keep them coming back, true customer loyalty is left out  ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Words Matter</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Words Matter

Despite the high volume of e-mail circulating all the time, there is often no substitute for talking with people. Information overload and the coping it necessitates itself makes in-person conversation more valuable. Indeed, in many organizations, big decisions are made only after in-person conversations. Many career people take this seriously. Herein lies an opening for misjudgment.
 
present with sincere gusto
It is not uncommon to find a white-collar worker who believes that tone of voice and body language are underrated in effective speaking. Some polish their hand gestures and rehearse specific tones of voice because they believe that substance without style is weak. It's not just content, they say, but delivery. Seeking an edge, some even have the famous 7% rule memorized.  
 
The 7% rule states:
•  55% of meaning comes from presentation
•  38% of meaning comes from tonality
•   7% of meaning comes from the words themselves.
 
Though this has brought confidence and success to some, there are still people who pay more than 7% attention to the words others speak. Neither is a fringe group. However, only the latter has the backing of scientific research.
 
still misunderstood
In 1967, Dr. Albert Mehabrian and his UCLA colleagues concluded studies in communication that yielded an astonishing result: The words you use in speaking to others do not matter nearly as much as the tone of your voice or your body language. As the press picked up the story, the idea was extended: written words also take a back seat to presentation and tonality.

good for shock value
According to Mehabrian and his team, the original studies were never well understood. They have always asserted that words matter very much. Perhaps they didn’t use the right presentation and tone, or perhaps the media were hunting for shock value.

single-word expressions only
The Mehabrian studies attempted to reveal the relative impact of facial expressions and tona ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Value, Efficiency, and the Billable Hour</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Value, Efficiency, and the Billable Hour

In the 1987 film The Secret of My success, Brantley Foster, a recent university graduate, finds himself laid off from his Wall Street job before his first day of work. Having just moved from Kansas to New York City, he persuades his uncle to get him a job. There, lessons regarding time, value, and money begin for attentive viewers of the film.

Work 2 hours; get paid for 7. 
Early in his work for the mail room of his uncle’s company, Brantley learns how to perform his job in a fraction of the time expected. He then keeps the mail room happy each day while using an alter ego to pursue activities better reflecting his ambitions – all in the guise of working full-time hours at his mail-room job.

Maintaining the illusion that it takes a full work day for Brantley to perform his job is important for the business insights that the film offers regarding time, value, and money.

•	Brantley’s employer values the work performed at the level of a full-time wage, unaware of the time actually needed to do the job.
•	The film shows how efficiencies found and practised can free up human resources for other activities.
•	Despite his university studies in finance and his eagerness to prove his merit, Brantley has no incentive to point out that there is a more efficient way to perform his job. He uses the freed-up time for his own benefit; not his employer’s.

These points apply to the fundamentally flawed but widespread situation in which tasks involving expertise are performed for clients who are billed by the hour. This article points to a better way for companies that charge by the hour.

Focus on time spent creates misalignment.
•	It is customary for clients to pay for the time taken to perform tasks while what they really want is not time at all. Rather, they want the benefits of those tasks performed expertly.1
•	Those logging billable hours for their work have a disincentive to use time-saving effic ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/4800/Value-Efficiency-and-the-Billable-Hour.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/4800/Value-Efficiency-and-the-Billable-Hour.php</link>
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      <title><strong>The Elevator Speech That You Whisper</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[The Elevator Speech That You Whisper

There are people who believe that a great elevator speech needs to be delivered with enthusiasm. They would like everybody on the elevator to hear it and be moved. That is why many rehearse their elevator speech to deliver with passion an exciting answer to the question, “What do you do?” 

In truth, the stirring performance that you rehearse for a traditional elevator speech might impress your spouse, and it might earn a ribbon at a Toastmasters meeting; yet, a compelling elevator speech – one that compels strangers to ask for your business card – is best whispered.

the traditional elevator speech
Here are good examples of the traditional elevator speech:
•	Jeff says, “I work with people who want to accumulate wealth by investing in undervalued stocks.”
•	Brenda says, “I help couples to furnish and decorate their new homes in a style that’s all their own.”
•	Jeanette says, “I work with growing companies that need to find talented people so that they can continue growing and become more successful.” 

Each of these elevator speech examples calls for impassioned delivery – with a smile, with zest. Because of that, Brenda could go on with examples of the exciting work she does as an interior designer and decorator.

The enthusiasm that makes a traditional elevator speech effective also requires self control to keep it brief. This is not the only challenge with a traditional elevator speech.

the question-answer trap
There are several basic problems with the traditional elevator speech. The first is to answer the question “What do you do?” succinctly. Like Brenda, many would like much longer than 30 seconds to describe themselves and their work.

The main problem, though, is that most people just don’t want to hear others talk about themselves – especially if it sounds rehearsed. That is why most people seldom ask, “What do you do?” That’s also why many who develop a s ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Authenticity Rules: A Reality Check for Creative Advertisers</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Authenticity Rules: A Reality Check for Creative Advertisers

One lovely day in the summer of 2002, I had an in-person business meeting scheduled with an Englishman. He was a new client and I had been advised by a colleague who also rode motorcycles not to reveal myself as a motorcyclist until after a new business relationship had been cemented. Yet, it was a beautiful day and my motorcycle was a 2001 Triumph, made in England. I considered the sunshine and the English connection (if my client noticed that I arrived on a Triumph) an excuse to ride to the appointment.

pass test in a blink
Within minutes of my arrival, the Englishman led me out to the parking lot to show him my motorcycle. When he read the name on the gas tank, he whispered, 'A Triumph.' Then, taking on a dubious tone, he turned to me and said, 'Aah, but was any of it made in England?'

Fortunately, Triumph had placed a tiny Union Jack decal above the taillight. I pointed to it, said yes, and witnessed a change in facial expression that suggested I had just passed a critical test.

What my made-in-England Triumph  has is the perception that authenticity equates with value. This is true of much more than motorcycles. Indeed, the perception of authenticity equates with value among informed and uninformed consumers in any market – so much that it often makes deep wells of creativity unnecessary in effective marketing.  

authenticity = value
Because the concepts home-made and locally-grown trigger the impulse to buy, a small hand-made sign offering home-made relish made from locally-grown cucumbers helps to sell more hotdogs at a hotdog stand. Likewise, a poster of Shaun Cassidy from 1977 might sell at a garage sale today. The same poster autographed by Shaun Cassidy can fetch a high price on e-bay. These are further examples of how authenticity increases value.

You want the real thing?
Authenticity relates to truthful origins. The word comes from the Greek   authentikos  which means or ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/4696/Authenticity-Rules-A-Reality-Check-for-Creative-Advertisers.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/4696/Authenticity-Rules-A-Reality-Check-for-Creative-Advertisers.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Questioning the Billable Hour part 3: Seven Industries</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Questioning the Billable Hour part 3: Seven Industries

Situation A: Is Faster Service Worth More? 
Your computer is not working properly. You have tried to understand the problem and find a solution that you can implement yourself. Yet, after trying, you are no closer to a solution, you find the situation aggravating, and you decide that there’s no point in continuing to attempt fixing the problem yourself. Your time and attention are better spent on productive activities and should not be wasted on this computer problem any more.

The computer technician that you call asks a few questions then says to bring the computer in to his shop. He charges $60 per hour and predicts the computer ready in two business days. Once he has the computer, he will diagnose the problem then call you with an estimate. 

Q1  As you consider not having your computer on hand for two business days, and the opportunities to use it  productively that you must forego, would you be willing to pay more to have it fixed and back in use much sooner?

Q2  If the computer technician offered to fix your computer within 24 hours, satisfaction guaranteed, for a fixed fee agreed in advance, how attractive would that be to you?

Situation B: Evaluating Your Next Car
You and your spouse are shopping for a new car. Having visited a few car dealers, conducted research on the web, and spoken to a trusted person at your usual auto-service shop, you and your spouse have narrowed your search to two cars, both of which you have taken on a test drive together.

Q1  As you consider the value of each car, do you care how quickly or slowly either car was built, or how much time the manufacturer put into design &amp;amp; engineering?

Q2  As you consider the asking prices of the cars, does it matter to you how much time the car salesperson has spent on the sales process with you?

Situation C: the Value of a Salad
At a restaurant, you order a supper salad. The menu says that the salad costs $7.99.  ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/4641/Questioning-the-Billable-Hour-part-3-Seven-Industries.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/4641/Questioning-the-Billable-Hour-part-3-Seven-Industries.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Questioning the Billable Hour part 2: The Carpenter’s Invoice</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Questioning the Billable Hour part 2: The Carpenter’s Invoice, A Parable about Pricing

Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1975: A man owned a house with a squeaky dining room floor. He paced that floor listening intently for the location of the squeak.

Each time he thought he found it, he would pull up the carpet and drive a nail into the floorboards. Each time, the squeak eluded him.

Eventually, he called in a carpenter.

The carpenter paced the floor, pulled up the carpet, and drove a single nail into the floor. The squeak disappeared.

The carpenter billed the man $50. The invoice said, “Driving one nail: $3. Knowing where to drive the nail: $47.”

Having experienced how the problem had already caused him more than $50 worth of trouble, the man happily paid right away. 

- Glenn R. Harrington, [URL=http://www.articulate.ca/]Articulate Consultants Inc.[/URL]
http://www.articulate.ca/


Questioning the Billable Hour part 2: The Carpenter’s Invoice, A Parable about Pricing

Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1975: A man owned a house with a squeaky dining room floor. He paced that floor listening intently for the location of the squeak.

Each time he thought he found it, he would pull up the carpet and drive a nail into the floorboards. Each time, the squeak eluded him.

Eventually, he called in a carpenter.

The carpenter paced the floor, pulled up the carpet, and drove a single nail into the floor. The squeak disappeared.

The carpenter billed the man $50. The invoice said, 'Driving one nail: $3. Knowing where to drive the nail: $47.'

Having experienced how the problem had already caused him more than $50 worth of trouble, the man happily paid right away. 

- Glenn R. Harrington, Articulate Consultants Inc.
http://www.articulate.ca/
]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/4640/Questioning-the-Billable-Hour-part-2-The-Carpenters-Invoice.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/4640/Questioning-the-Billable-Hour-part-2-The-Carpenters-Invoice.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Questioning the Billable Hour part 1: The Sketch Artist</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Questioning the Billable Hour part 1: The Sketch Artist, A Parable about Pricing

Paris, France, 1948: A young woman strolls along a downtown street and notices a man busily sketching a bowl of fruit. She stops.

'Do you sketch portraits?' she asks the man. 'Yes, I do,' he replies, not looking up from the paper. 

'Will you sketch a portrait of me, for me to take to my father? I am on my way to him now.'

The artist looks up from his drawing. 'Yes. Have a seat.'

Three minutes later, the man presents a portrait to the young woman.

'It’s very good,' she says, not noticing the signature: Picasso. 'How much do I owe you?'  He replies, 'Three thousand francs.'

'Three thousand!' she exclaims. 'But it only took you three minutes!'

Looking into her eyes, the artist retorts, 'No. It took me all of my life.'

- Glenn R. Harrington, Articulate Consultants Inc.
http://www.articulate.ca/


Questioning the Billable Hour part 1: The Sketch Artist, A Parable about Pricing

Paris, France, 1948: A young woman strolls along a downtown street and notices a man busily sketching a bowl of fruit. She stops.

'Do you sketch portraits?' she asks the man. 'Yes, I do,' he replies, not looking up from the paper. 

'Will you sketch a portrait of me, for me to take to my father? I am on my way to him now.'

The artist looks up from his drawing. 'Yes. Have a seat.'

Three minutes later, the man presents a portrait to the young woman.

'It’s very good,' she says, not noticing the signature: Picasso. 'How much do I owe you?'  He replies, 'Three thousand francs.'

'Three thousand!' she exclaims. 'But it only took you three minutes!'

Looking into her eyes, the artist retorts, 'No. It took me all of my life.'

- Glenn R. Harrington, Articulate Consultants Inc.
http://www.articulate.ca/
]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/4639/Questioning-the-Billable-Hour-part-1-The-Sketch-Artist.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/57/4639/Questioning-the-Billable-Hour-part-1-The-Sketch-Artist.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Key Message Blunders - Part 3: Promoting Features Not Compelling Benefits</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Key Message Blunders - Part 3: Promoting Features That Do Not Provide Compelling Benefits 

In promoting their company or its products and services, many people choose to present their achievements rather than how they solve their market’s problems. In doing this, they place unimportant distractions where a simple, relevant key message would be more effective at advancing their promotional efforts. 

Consider these examples:

* 'Award-winning graphic design' – on all stationery and promotional collateral of a design agency. 
* 'Proud of what we do' – in the advertisements of an accounting and management-consulting firm. 
* 'Laboratory tested' – on the package of a skin-care product. 

The unimportance of such statements is intuitive to anybody but their authors.

For instance, a prospective client for the renewal of a website might respond to example 1, “How does your having won awards address my needs?” 

The same would apply for people who would respond to example 2, “Does your pride somehow lead to me getting a good deal?”

When encountering example 3, one might ask, “Shouldn’t I assume the laboratory testing of any skin-care product before it appears on store shelves?” 

The crux of the problem is that many businesses are proud of their accomplishments and lose focus away from clearly communicating how their market can rely on them to provide great value.  

Unless a promoter can present to their market a simple, relevant, compelling promise to satisfy their market’s needs, then they should not promote features that do not provide sought-after benefits.

The awards you’ve won or the professional designations of your key people might provide reassurance after the buying decision has been made. Yet, for any enterprise to acquire new clients and earn the loyalty of its market, the focus of key messages ought to be on providing solutions to challenges that the ideal client faces.  

 
- Glenn R. Harrington, [URL=htt ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/4625/Key-Message-Blunders--Part-3-Promoting-Features-Not-Compelling-Benefits.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/4625/Key-Message-Blunders--Part-3-Promoting-Features-Not-Compelling-Benefits.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Key Message Blunders - Part Two: Over-promising</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Key Message Blunders - Part Two: Over-promising

Many people like to present their company or its products and services as a wonderful surprise or as exceeding anybody’s expectations. The problem with such over-promising is that it implies low or misguided expectations as well as gullibility in the reader. This can strike people as a subtle insult. Even more certainly, it triggers skepticism. There is a better way. 

Consider these examples:

* 'Our mission is to exceed your expectations for quality and service every time' – on a company's website, customer receipts, and in-store banners. 
* 'Something special for everyone!' – as a slogan promoting a community event. 
* 'Why shop anywhere else?' – on the billboard for a shopping mall. 

Example 1 triggers a confounding dual response: uncertainty and skepticism. &amp;quot;How could they know what my expectations are?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Why be so presumptuous about how easily my expectations are exceeded?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Do they really think that they can catch me off guard in my gauge of quality and service?&amp;quot; Such thoughts come to mind when people encounter statements like this and can be counterproductive in marketing. 

Example 2 suggests that anybody could attend this event (e.g. concert, convention, rummage sale, community picnic) with anybody else accompanying and find satisfaction. Something special for everyone! makes too broad a promise to appeal to people as individuals with individual needs, tastes, and preferences. Its generic quality weakens it considerably.

In example 3, a rhetorical question implies that one shopping mall is a superior place to shop for any reason, for any aware shopper, under any reasonable circumstances. What could be more effective at evoking skepticism, outright rejection as false, or insult? These effects on market perception can be counterproductive.

When a promoter can promise an experience that consistently, appreciably distinguishes them from alternatives, over- ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Key Message Blunders pt 1: Presumptuous Use of &quot;Your&quot;</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[When Key Messages Fail: Three Common Blunders - Part One 

1. Presumptuous Use of Your

In promoting their company, many people like to present its products or services as already adopted by or already belonging to their market. This is how the presumptuous use of your often appears in slogans and mottoes. The basic problem with this is its confounding falsity. There is a better way. 

Consider these examples:
* Your view - with a photo of the view from a new condominium development. 
* Your family pharmacy - on the storefront sign of a drugstore.
* Your outdoor store since 1946 - on the billboard for a camping outfitter.
* The falsity of such statements is intuitive to anybody but their authors.

To example 1, one might respond, 'No. Not my view.' 
The same would apply with example 2. One might respond, 'No. Not my family pharmacy.' 
When encountering example 3: 'Not my outdoor store. Not since 1946, either.' 

The crux of the problem is that the word your always speaks to the reader as the recipient of the message. Your never speaks for the reader as the thinker of the message in self-reference. 

Moreover, your never means my or our. Hence, 'Our new president' could be a perfect slogan to accompany a photo of the recently appointed president of a company in that company's internal newsletter. 'Your new president' would register awkwardly.

A good key message plants an intuitively acceptable idea into the mind of the reader instantly. 

Unless a promoter can present to their market what actually belongs to or has been adopted by every person in their market as their own, then the use of your has no place before the market’s eyes. It is effective at confounding people and ineffective at getting into their minds favourably.

Better to articulate an authentic, basically relevant key message that reflects the thoughts and feelings shared by people who match the ideal client profile.


- Glenn R. Harrington, Articulate Consultants Inc. www. ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>A Compelling Elevator Speech: The Real Thing Happened to Me - by Linda ONe</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[ A Compelling Elevator Speech: The Real Thing Happened to Me 
by Linda ONeil

Dozens of business people were rehearsing scenes like this in the hotel ballroom as I stepped into the elevator. As the elevator doors opened, I stepped into an impromptu encounter with Glenn Harrington of Articulate Consultants Inc. I did not know who he was. As the elevator doors closed, he gave me a gentlemanly grin. Then I got the real thing.

Hello, I said with a smile. Having just come from the conference in the ballroom, where people were learning about elevator speeches, my RADAR was on. He smiled a silent hello. 

As the elevator approached his floor, he spoke: What do you do? The table was turned. I gave a pretty good elevator speech, answering with a convincing spin on my importance. (He later told me that he used the three-foot rule by asking me that.) Then, I asked him the same question.

You know, he began, theres a whole bunch of people, right now, trying to work out the best way to describe themselves in 30 seconds or less. They are investing their time and their hope in a great answer to that question. They want memorable content and convincing presentation, and they think that the results are going to be wonderful. I nodded.

The truth is, he continued, a compelling elevator speech doesnt sound especially eloquent or look like a flash of light. In fact, a compelling elevator speech isnt about you at all. Its plain talk about the problems you solve, plus a word about how you rescue people from those problems, followed by a simple question. No rhymes. No bombshells. 

What sort of simple question? I followed. He replied, Does that matter to you? I told him, Yes; I want to know, please. He told me, Now you do know.

Thats it. Thats Glenn Harringtons formula for a compelling elevator speech  in an actual elevator. After naming three pains you relieve, make a benefit statement that positions you as the rescuer to people who suffer those woes. Then, ask a questi ..]]></description>
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      <title><strong>Five Steps to Successful Print Advertising</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[1. Clearly identify who you want to reach
Whatever product or service you advertise, identify the ideal customer as specifically as you can. The nature of your product or service may define this group for you.

For example, if you sell dentures that cost extra for colour-matching to individuals' natural teeth, then you should consider advertising to wealthy individuals who value natural-looking teeth. Your advertising should appeal to their image-consciousness.

By clearly identifying your target market, you can increase the response to your ads.

2. Find a publication that your target market reads
Ideally, you will find a publication whose reader profile perfectly corresponds with your customer profile. Moreover, many of your established and prospective customers read it regularly, and none of your direct competitors advertise in it; its frequency provides good exposure, and its ad rates entail an acceptable level of risk.

3. Treat your ad as a teaser
Advertising can perform a variety of functions - from increasing name recognition to evoking specific actions within a specific time. In any case, successful print ads communicate just enough to entice their audience.

An insurance broker, for example, might entice a specific group to call for information. A law firm might entice its target group - possibly law-school grads- to visit its table at a career fair. A consulting agency might entice prospective clients to book a free needs analysis. Know them and your creative hook should come to you like plain sense.

4. Make a commitment and stick to it
Consistency is critical in print advertising. Most successful advertisers buy ad space in blocks of time that begin at six months. Many advertise constantly for years. For print advertising to work, you need patience and perseverance - especially in the first few weeks. If steady advertising just isn't a fit, then buy big advertising - a higher risk. Many do both and adapt their ads as times change. Whatev ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/1014/Five-Steps-to-Successful-Print-Advertising.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/1014/Five-Steps-to-Successful-Print-Advertising.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Why Most Newsletters Don't Work - part two: Effective Newsletter Content</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Client newsletters do generate results. Yet, many business people who issue a newsletter find it frustrating to generate the results they want. This is why most newsletters are cancelled after a few issues. Many eventually conclude that newsletters just don't work. Those not willing to give up on their newsletter need to get real about newsletter content.

what newsletters do
A good newsletter might never cause a spike in sales. However, if you watch other indicators over time - such as business per client, referrals from newsletter readers, and client retention - you would see how a newsletter performs as an investment in client relations. Newsletters shape market perception. Good newsletters help to build and maintain hundreds of business relationships with meaningful engagement.

What to say?
For many, a newsletter is demanding and time-consuming - especially when content that the issuer wants to communicate elicits difficult-to-measure results.

Some report news to readers already swamped with news. Some offer persuasive articles or clever commentaries to readers who really don't need to be sold. Some offer lists, tables, and graphs. These, too, come with the risk that readers might not care. So, if a newsletter is best used as a tool of brand management, with what content?

the cost of off-the-shelf content
In a lot of situations, it is tempting just to buy good content, if you can find it easily at a reasonable price. But what is the reputation-shaping effect? Your clients can tell when your message is not really yours.

meaningful, brand aligned
Because a client newsletter is a medium for business communication, and because it assumes a business relationship between the issuer and the reader, a newsletter is a medium for client relationship management. Your clients can tell when you're involved in your newsletter. Hence the need for original, brand-aligned newsletter content.

the cost of do-it-yourself content
Some decide to keep the connect ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/1013/Why-Most-Newsletters-Dont-Work--part-two-Effective-Newsletter-Content.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/1013/Why-Most-Newsletters-Dont-Work--part-two-Effective-Newsletter-Content.php</link>
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      <title><strong>Most Newsletters Don't Work - part one: Success and How to Monitor It</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Some people think newsletters don't work. Often, they're right. In a world where most newsletters don't work, it is common to be confused about how to define newsletter success.

What's it good for? Over the past ten years, I have paid attention to newsletters. I can tell you why most don't work. It starts with confusion about what newsletters are good for. Confusion about how to monitor success comes from that.

How many next-day phone calls? Many marketers expect a newsletter to generate results as soon as it arrives. Most newsletters do. However, when the results expected are new sales and referrals following each issue, most newsletter issuers eventually conclude that newsletters don't work. By the way they gauge success, they're right.

Check your perspective. From a sales perspective, an ineffective newsletter should be canned. But first, consider other perspectives. For example, think from the perspective of the impression left on readers. What impression would it make on you to receive two or three newsletters, then none at all, from your accountant? your lawyer? your investment advisor?

What newsletters do Because of mismatched expectations, many who issue newsletters conclude either that newsletter success is harder to achieve than they imagined, or that newsletters just don't work. Yet, I see something in these situations that often escapes people struggling with an unsuccessful newsletter: A newsletter shapes people's perceptions of you.

Four Brand Effects It can do other things, such as announce news and complement advertising; still, every newsletter is a reputation-shaping instrument of brand management. Any newsletter will: *leave a first impression, or *mould an already-formative impression, or *validate a formed impression, or *confuse a formed impression.

A newsletter makes an impression. How does this fit into a context where more sales and good referrals are wanted now? Consider the following example.

Maintain meaningful contac ..]]></description>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/1012/Most-Newsletters-Dont-Work--part-one-Success-and-How-to-Monitor-It.php">http://www.buildyourownbusiness.biz/post/index/50/1012/Most-Newsletters-Dont-Work--part-one-Success-and-How-to-Monitor-It.php</link>
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      <title><strong>What Makes A Compelling Elevator Speech: Escaping or Avoiding Pain</strong></title>
      <description><![CDATA[What Makes A Compelling Elevator Speech: Escaping or Avoiding Pain. by Glenn Harrington of Articulate Consultants Inc.

Imagine riding an elevator with strangers. One asks you, &amp;quot;What do you do?&amp;quot; You have until the elevator reaches the next floor to answer the question. If you answer compellingly, then you could get sales leads or referrals. The goal is to answer so that you are asked for your business card before the elevator stops.


To be asked for your card by a stranger after a self-introduction that lasts no longer than thirty seconds: that is the mark of a compelling elevator speech. That is also where most fail.

Good, but... Consider Jeff's elevator speech: &amp;quot;I work with people who want to accumulate wealth by investing in undervalued stocks.&amp;quot;

This is what Brenda says: &amp;quot;I help couples to furnish and decorate their new homes in a style that's all their own.&amp;quot;

Jeanette says, &amp;quot;I work with growing companies that need to find talented people so that they can continue growing and become more successful.&amp;quot;

Each of these is good enough that Jeff and Brenda and Jeanette can give out their business cards. They concisely describe their customers and the benefits they provide. Yet, these elevator speeches lack the power to compel most people to ask for a business card before the elevator stops.

For example, unless you are already somebody who wants to accumulate wealth by investing in undervalued stocks, Jeff might only be remembered for his sharp suit and irrelevant career.

Empathy gives it power That compelling power comes from describing with empathy the emotional discomfort or pain that you relieve. That is the core of a compelling elevator speech: pain relief.

Here is Brenda's elevator speech again, with pain relief added: &amp;quot;I help couples to furnish and decorate their new homes in a style that's all their own - and they don't have to do all of the shopping.&amp;quot; Many people would like relief from t ..]]></description>
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