MarketingSherpa Blog

It’s going to be 100 billion sticky degrees out today, and everyone (besides we Sherpas) is on vacation right now, or leaving the office early. Even though I’m supposed to be working, all I want do is surf other people’s Blogs. Some faves:

* Robert Loch’s NetMarketing Blog. Robert is the grumpy voice behind much of DotComScoop, so I was expecting more attitude. Instead it’s useful links to best-of Net marketing news items (especially on search engine marketing topics). BTW: Robert if you’re reading this, it’s Olivier Travers with an extra “i”

* I know this because I’ve met Olivier in person (thanks for the wine!) and also vastly enjoy his WebVoice Blog where I almost always learn something new. For example, did you know some content sites in France are selling pop-under sites? That’s right, they pop-under an entire site instead of just an ad.

Survey Bonanza! Here are three different surveys you might be interested in taking if you are stuck twiddling your thumbs in the office while everyone else is on vacation:

1. Text or HTML? After learning that the vast majority of consumers prefer text-messages versus HTML emails, Lynda Partner of GotMarketing wondered why exactly. Take her quick survey here to explain your preferences. Answers to be detailed in an upcoming issue of Ezine-Tips.

2. What makes a site usable? The UK’s Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is surveying Web designers, online marketing professionals and related programmers. Click here to take their “attitudes” survey.

3. How much do marketing consultants charge? No published numbers on what the range is for consulting fees is available, so my own company MarketingSherpa (not a consulting firm, just publishers of info about marketing) is running a survey to learn more. Results will be published in a future issue of our MarketingFAME newsletter. Please take one or the other:

a. Survey for clients who might hire consultants

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=99436123778

b. Survey for practicing marketing consultants

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=97805123742

Job opening of the day: Wanna be the new Exec Director of AIM (Association for Interactive Marketing)? Current Director Ben Isaacson steps down Sept 13th and AIM’s parent the Direct Marketing Association is looking for a replacement. You must be located in NYC. The press release says, “Qualified candidates should possess public policy and association experience, preferably within an interactive environment. Interested candidates should contact Michael Faulkner at 212.790.1598, or via e-mail at mfaulkne@the-dma.org”

I’m not an affiliate of this site so this isn’t shameless promotion or anything. Just thought it was a fun link for marketers who’ve wondered who are these guys who cybersquat on the URLs we want for our promotions, and are they really getting rich? Wonder no more. Now you can buy the 150-page book The Insider’s Guide To Domain Name Speculation

Whenever I can do business online, I’m thrilled to do so. In fact, I picked out the realtor I’m buying my new house through online, and decided which houses to view in person after glancing over emailed digital photos. Naturally now that I need a moving company I went online to find one.

There I was late last night, so happy that I could post my request for estimates using a handy online form instead of having to call a bunch of moving companies individually on the phone. What a relief the Internet age is! Naturally I carefully checked the box saying “please contact me via email” to make sure I wasn’t bombarded by phone calls during my busy working day.

I got up, went to work this morning, frenzied on deadline, when I was bombarded by phone calls from almost a dozen moving companies who saw my online request. After call #3 (when I lost my temper and yelled at the salesman. Did I mention I’m frenzied on deadline?) I unplugged the phone and swore not to give my business to any company that called.

Please, if you work for any type of company that uses online sales lead generation forms, make sure your sales and telemarketing teams respect the “prefer to be contacted by email” button. Thank you very much.

When we started publishing our B2BMarketingBiz newsletter in May 2000, I assumed that the so-called online B2B Exchanges would take over regular business marketing. I figured, give it 5 years and almost everything will be sold online.

A letter from reader Dan Shorts, CEO SpaElegance reminds me of how wrong we all were. He writes, “We started 3 years ago as your typical Business to Business online marketplace for destination spas, cruise spas, dayspa and high end salons that offer spa services. With the best manufacturers on board and a marketing program that was hitting the mark, the online orders never seemed to come. We had all the site traffic and registrations we could ever need, but no online sales to speak of.”

However, when he switched tactics and used Web traffic and site email newsletters for lead generation purposes, relying on human being sales reps to close the actual sales, things took off. “We now have a difficult time keeping up with the demand.”

However, he still expects Web commerce to take over from human sales reps someday, it’s just a lot further out than 2005.

A new company called Habeas (as in Corpus) announced this afternoon that they are going to help stop the spam influx by offering a Sender Warranted Email service. At surface, it’s a lot like TrustE’s Trusted Sender program which was pretty much a flop except for happy PR ink for a few of the program’s signatories earlier this year.

Basically both programs give participating mailers a thingy (for want of a better word) to stick in all their outgoing mass emails. ISPs and consumers alike could set their incoming email filters to allow mail with the thingy in because it’s “good” email. And presumably any email without the thingy then goes into the “perhaps-bad” pile.

This sounds like a great idea on the surface. However, some problems are:

1. Auditing emailers to make sure they are correctly mailing, and thus deserve to use the thingy on their mail, would cost far more money than either organization proposes to collect. We assume the auditing function will be kinda lame. If a few spammers get through, well then nobody will trust the thingy anymore.

2. How do you define who’s a “good” mailer and who’s not? Frankly consumers’ definitions of what’s good email and marketers’ definitions don’t exactly overlap all the time. Even the term “opt-in” can be defined in about six different ways with critical differences.

3. You have to get critical mass to make any system like this work. Loads of mailers and ISPs and consumers all have to go for the gusto. Which is hard and expensive to do. Not to mention risking expensive law suits (which have shot down some of the blacklists attempting to help ISPs filter out spam). The whole critical mass thing has as yet proven impossible for email address changer systems (although a couple are working at it) and I think will be equally hard here.

4. A whole bunch of consumers will get so fed up with mass email that they’ll just filter out (not in) anything with the thingy. How handy; it’s like having a commercial zapper built in to your TV. (Oooh, isn’t that why Hollywood hates TIVO?)

That said, obviously we need a solution. I guess folks will keep throwing spagetti at the fridge door until a piece sticks.

Just heard back from the Habeas folks I blogged below. I’d emailed them a bunch of questions, such as how do you define opt-in. Lonn Johnston over there emailed back, “Basically double opt-in.” Which is *much* stricter than DMA guidelines that TrustE’s program said it would follow. Which will make consumers happier (DMA’s guidelines are notoriously emailer-friendly versus end-recipient friendly) and lots of mailers (including Sherpa) miserable if this takes off.

Lonn followed up his email with a quick call and promises to have more answers to my admittedly tough questions within a day or two, and I’ll be sure to post them here for you.

The best way to ask for a referral is to be prepared to do it. In order to be prepared, you should take a few simple steps to think about when you will do it, how you will get comfortable with the idea, how you will ask, and what you will do once you get the referral.

1. Evaluate your audience.

Are they really sold on you? Have you established your value? Do they understand what you do? Have you positioned yourself, your services and your right to have a relationship with the client or referral source? Have they given you the “high sign” that it is ok to ask?

For example, signs to look for:
“I really appreciate the work you’ve done.”
“Others should know how great this is!”
“I wish I’d done this a long time ago.”
“We are so happy with the way things went.”
“We are so happy with the way things turned out.”
“I think what you do is just great. I’d like to know more about your business.”

2. Consider the occasion.

Timing is important. The best time to ask for a referral from a customer could depend on the quality of the relationship that you have built with your customer.

One good time to ask for a referral is right after the sale is closed and your product and service is being delivered or installed. Perhaps the best time to ask a customer or client for a referral is after the product or service has been successfully implemented.

This is also the prime time to ask for a written testimonial to use as a sales tool. If it is a referral source, I will just say: never ask before you have established your value and have offered something of value to your new referral relationship. Remember to put favors on deposit in the “bank account” of your reciprocal relationship before you make withdrawals!

3. Determine the length and purpose of the meeting and your approach.

People are busy. How long do you anticipate the meeting will take? What is the purpose for the meeting where you will ask for a referral? How do you plan to approach your “ask?”

It is best in person, no doubt, but if you plan to meet over the telephone be prepared to let the person know how long you will take, the purpose of your call and what you would like to happen by when.

4. Gather facts.

If it is a client, what is the value of the work you did? If it is a network contact or referral source, what have you done for them lately? Where do you stand in your “balance sheet” on the Law of Reciprocity? Have you earned enough value in your business exchange relationship to be able to ask?

5. Make the script your own.

Nobody’s script will work for you. There are many different approaches and suggestions for asking for a referral. You have to find the one that works best for you and that seems most appropriate for the relationship you have and the style of the person you are asking.

Regardless of how you do it, the key points to convey are this:

a. Tell them you enjoy working with them.

b. Tell them you are interested in growing your business.

c. Ask them to describe the value of working with you or the benefit they or the company derived (if a client). Ask them to describe how they understand the benefit of your products or services (if a referral source).

d. Ask if they know of anyone else that would need or want similar benefits by working with you.

For sample scripts, please contact me personally:
karen@rainmaker-pro.com. Thanks!

Tip submitted by:
Karen Bergh
RainMaker Pro Inc.
http://www.rainmaker-pro.com

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