Not sure what direction to take career wise

[guru1000]

The Bottom-Feeders, described above, could not have asked for the million-dollar order and succeeded, as their thinking paradigms and intentions did not align with such a request.

 

[:-)]

Understood.

I now have a domain name and website (under construction) along with company email - all in the same name as my registered company.

Tomorrow I will secure my Virtual receptionist and free phone number along with business cards.

 

[guru1000]

Show Me Your Track-Record/Portfolio or How Long Have You Been in Business

Pete, past performance does not guarantee future results. If such were the case then all future traders would be billionaires.

I have limited business experience, but extensive academic experience. I hold a Master’s degree in … Education simply is a business tool that uses current market trends, concepts, and studies to create a concrete road map for best business practices. These 10 aberrations I identified are not minor marketing errors (Point to the the Xs in the diagram). These egregious errors can affect your business tremendously. ABC Corporation exercised poor business judgment by ignoring the red flags in their marketing literature, despite evidence to the contrary. We are all subject to the universal marketing laws governed by rhetoric. And I am here to serve you.

What you are retaining is not only this service. You are hiring an educated professional whose only intention to fully service your best business interests. I am the professional who will work 16-hour days, six days a week to serve you. I am the professional who will pick up the phone 2 a.m. on Sunday, not turn my phone off, and work all night for a newfound marketing literature needed for your client by Monday morning. I am the professional who you can call at any time in the near or far future to get an honest, qualified, and competent opinion of your new marketing venture. I am the professional who will stand by you and your business, prioritizing your business interests first before my personal time. I am your devoted partner in and out of business.

How do you quantify or place a value on such an allegiance?

Give me one shot here. Give me 1% of your confidence, and I promise you, that I will earn the other 99% (Say slowly with conviction and authority).

I Don’t Know or I’m Not Feeling Comfortable

I can appreciate that. What exactly is holding you back?

This objection may be meritorious. Try to extract what the prospect’s true contention is.

I Can’t Afford It

I can appreciate that Pete. Look, I’m not here to break the piggy-bank. I am willing to work with you via a payment plan. Even if you pay some of the installments after my work has been completed. I can break up the retainer in 2, 3, or 4 installments.

This meeting is about servicing your business needs to increase company revenue. Based on my review and analysis, I believe you stand to lose a great deal more by ignoring these red flags (Point to the Xs in the diagram). I also earnestly believe that these alterations (point to the bullets) in your literature will increase your net revenue exceedingly. Take _______ for example (Point to the most egregious misstep in the Diagram). By ___________ and correcting this aberration alone, you will increase your marketability because ______________. Give me the shot here; I believe you will have a striking result!

For other objections, begin with (1) “I can appreciate that,” (2) followed by a concrete example, (3) abstract development of why their objection is futile in comparison to the “potential threat” of not moving forward, and (4) close.

 

[:-)]

Ok. It's almost 7am here in the UK. My appointment is at 10:00.

I shall report back results after.

 

[:-)]

Right!

So I turned up to the prospect's place of business promptly on time. It was a good start as she remembered me from Friday's call and took me down to her messy office downstairs.

It didn't go exactly as per the script (so much information to remember under pressure) but it wasn't far off:

She had no literature other than the website which I had already studied. She talked about her ideas about using twitter, facebook etc and how she is taking courses in how to improve her marketing.

I talked about The Modern Flower Company who went bust due to bad marketing. I highlighted certain areas on her website that I could improve. I talked about E-florist and Interflora - the two flower companies whose business prospered due to good marketing.

She wanted to get straight to the point and asked how much. I mentioned £2-5,000 is my fee which she blew off before I could get to the £999 promotion. Even so, she said she was a small business that could not afford such a price. I reminded her the benefit of paying such a price was to increase the flow of business that would more than pay cover my fee. Still she objected to the price. She said she is looking to spend £200-£300. She said she didn't know anything about me or what I've done prior to justify such a price. I stuck to my guns however.

Predictably she asked about my credentials. My experience and what I'd done. I explained my theatre and film-writing background and education and she didn't say any more on the subject.

Basically it all came down to the price. On an online course I am taking they suggest I offer my services for free to local businesses or charities in order to build up a portfolio without which a copywriter is dead in the water. Here I may have sealed a deal for £200-300. I did what you said though and stuck to my price.

I told her to think about it and that I would make a follow up call in a few days and she was happy about it. We shook hands and I left.

I now have Virtual Receptionist. When the toll free number is confirmed I shall purchase business cards.

My next appointment is tomorrow 4pm with another florist which is confirmed.

 

[guru1000]

How many total hours would it take you to revise the language on her website?

 

[:-)]

How many total hours would it take you to revise the language on her website?

No idea. I've never done this before!

I'm a bit of a perfectionist and am still tweaking scripts I wrote over ten years ago!

However when it comes to writing other people's stuff I find it a lot easier. Provided she gives me a rough idea of what she wants I reckon I could rehaul it in a few hours or so over a few days.

 

[guru1000]

Congratulations!

You have far exceeded all the neophytes in any of my previous ventures. On average, it would take 10+ appointments before a prospect would accede or even present a counter-offer.

You, with no business experience, track record, business card, office line, website, and suit, were counter-offered 100/hour on your first appointment! Like I stated earlier, you are in a superb market. Unquestionably, your business has the potential for seven-figure annual gross revenue.
Sounds to me like the florist didn’t have more money to speculate with. This can be avoided in the future, when you have telemarketers who will further qualify the prospect:

Pete, at the in-person appointment, if you are thoroughly thrilled with the recommendations made by representative, what is the absolute most you would be willing to spend for our services?

For now, you will accept every prospect, irrespective of the counter-offer for two reasons:

1. To accumulate capital to re-invest into the business; and
2. To build confidence in your presentation.

Next time you encounter a counter-offer, proceed with:

Pete, every mutually rewarding relationship is built on trust and compromise. As a matter of business and principle, I request $1,000 for my services, you countered at $300; meet me in the middle at $500. Fair enough?!

<No> Pete, let me ask you one question. If I were to accept $300, which is below the threshold with which I would normally work, and I did revise your literature, and resultantly you did see significant growth, how many referrals would you send me?

<Many> Pete, if I accept $300, revise your literature, and increase your bottom line significantly, I want you to send me at least five referrals. Now is that fair enough?!

<Sure> OK, then, let’s proceed.

Call Prospect 1 in two days with the above.

 

[:-)]

Call Prospect 1 in two days with the above.

Ok. Will do.

In the meantime I shall let you know how I got on with Prospect 2 when I get back from tomorrows appointment.

 

[guru1000]

Eh ... when you succeed ... that is all I would need.

The battle is not over; the journey has just begun.

You will need a retainer agreement, which I will send to you in a couple days.

You will secure the VR, business cards, a suit, leads, and build your website.

Next, you will accumulate $5,000 in reserves. Then, we proceed to Stage 2, where you will hire your first telemarketer.

 

[:-)]

Yes.

VR is secured. Just waiting for the 0800 freephone number to come through after which I shall secure BCs.

Tomorrow morning I shall purchase a suit.

 

[:-)]

Should I open a business bank account?

Also I have friends who are running their own businesses. Should I approach them with my services?

 

[:-)]

Ok just hot back from prospect 2. Total waste of time.

Got to the shop only for no one to be there. When I called it was clear she had forgotten. However she told me she'd be there in ten minutes. Half an hour later she turned up.

Kooky looking with a stern face she was around late forties and an artsy type. Very bohemian. She took me inside and we stood at the counter and she prompted me to begin. I mentioned how her website was very simple and that was about as far as I got.

She launched into how that was the way she liked it and how she was building it up and had a writer etc. basically that my services were not required! I pointed out that this was not the impression she gave over the phone the two times I called her to which she insisted she had.

She also made silly statements like 'I don't want to appeal to just everyone. I'm targeting a specific market' which was fine but when I asked her which market that was exactly there was an incredibly long silence as she fumbled for something to answer me with before answering 'creative types' as if other people's money wasn't good enough. She also said she was happy relying on 'word of mouth'.

Basically she seemed pretty clueless yet wanted to give me the impression that she had it covered and that she'd worked in media and she had done a promotion with Nike in SOho recently and that her friend was a writer, qualifying herself as if I was the one hiring her! wtf?

I struggled to find anything to counter her with as it seemed to me that she wasn't looking for any help and she seemed quite on the defensive. As if my pointing out things lacking on her website was somehow an attack on her personally. Typical egotistical arty type.

Not wanting to waste any more time I told her I would touch base in a couple of months to see how her business was doing. She gave me her card, we shook hands and I left. I honestly can't fathom why she would waste her own time (never mind mine) with such a pointless meeting unless she really had nothing better to do than talk to salesmen. However, I'll probably keep tabs on her website to see if it improves over the months and try her again later.

Anyway, what I learnt from this? I can screen people like this better during the initial teletalk before making appointments like this.

So. Tomorrow I shall see if I can close prospect 1 after which it will be back to the drawing board.

 

[guru1000]

What Kind of Idea Are You?

When you walk into a room, who is Smile? Is he a commoner begging to sip the milk bottle, or is he a valuable mogul, who challenges, perseveres, transcends, and reverses his unpropitious fate; who entrenches the road with the will of his own design, notwithstanding the cost, with the willingness to embrace failure interminably, but the incentive of changing the world should he succeed?

Are you the kind that compromises, does deals, accommodates itself to society, aims to find a niche, to survive; or are you the cussed bloody-minded, ramrod-backed type of damnfool notion that would rather break than sway with the breeze? The kind that will almost certainly, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, be smashed to bits; but the hundredth time, will change the world!

That’s the great thing about life, isn’t it? You choose! Like with women, sales is strictly about owning the frame of interaction. Prospect 2 acted in her volition, as you permitted it! From the onset, you need to present an aura of grandeur (I AM SMILE. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!), and direct the conversation. It is most often not what you say, but from whom is saying it. In business, if it is a battle of the egos, you must champion the larger ego--ALWAYS.

The Straight-Line

The pitch is called the “straight line,” which represents that all pitches for all prospects are identical. The prospect will try to deviate from the line, swerve your focus, and diverge your thinking, but you must remain steadfast on course. You stick to the pitch and present your diagram. If the prospect does not fully permit you to proceed, you continue with:

Pete, on the phone I told you that I would need 15 minutes of your undivided attention. Allow me to finish my presentation, and if you have any comments or suggestions, please voice them when my presentation is completed. OK?!

If you deviate from the pitch, no need to proceed; deal is dead.

Law of Averages

Notwithstanding the above, it is a numbers game. You will not close most prospects. And that's OK, as long as you own the frame. For in-person appointments, you may close 1 out of 5, or 1 out of 10, etc. The Law of Averages differs with each venture. Keep in mind, you have only cold-called one day!

 

[:-)]

Ok. Do not deviate from the pitch.

 

[guru1000]

Status on Prospect 1?

 

[:-)]

Status on Prospect 1?

Ok. I stuck strictly to the script.

She said £500 was still too expensive.

I proceeded to the next line about referrals to which she said she needed to do her figures still and asked me to call back 1st week of September.

I know I could have said something to maintain frame but I didn't know what so I just said i'd call back then. I fvcked up again.

 

[guru1000]

How does your ego feel at this moment?

 

[:-)]

Well it was already shot to pieces after yesterday's appointment. So it couldn't have got any lower really.

I'm building up the website and drawing comparisons between script writing and advertising. The more I think about it the more similarities I find so I should be ok. If I can convince myself that I am qualified to do this then it shouldn't be a problem getting others on board because so far that has been my biggest obstacle. Self-confidence. Even a friend said today after I offered my services that you have to be specialised in that kind of field but scriptwriting is no different only that it sells ideas instead of products (product placement notwithstanding!)

I already have examples of marketing and copy i did for theatre shows that I wrote, produced or directed so that's a start. Thank god we used professional designers.

 

[guru1000]

Well it was already shot to pieces after yesterday's appointment. So it couldn't have got any lower really.

Billionaire Morty, an investment banker, once told me:

You will succeed only insofar as the number of rejections your ego can bear.

If I were to enumerate the amount of rejections both on the phone and in person in my lifetime, 100,000+ wouldn’t be an exaggeration. The banality, persistence—not talent-- is ALL.

And thus the focus on a rejection target emancipates you from outcome-dependence. Ergo, you set up two appointments your first day cold-calling by diverting your focus to 1000 hang-ups, not to the sale. The same concept applies to in-person appointments.

In concrete terms:

Goal: 1000 hang-ups or 20 appointments, whichever arrives sooner. Strive for rejection in both, but close tenaciously.

[M]y biggest obstacle. Self-confidence.

Self-confidence is forged through a track-record, engendered by base hits, spawn from a myriad rejections

but scriptwriting is no different only that it sells ideas instead of products

We are ALL salesmen.