13 Nov 10 Which School of Marketing Thought You Belong To?

There coexist two schools of marketing thoughts. One propagates the ideas of blasting the audience until one becomes insensitive or one turn into a buyer. There is another school of thought that cajoles you to build relationship with your audience and treat them the way you will treat your better half. Which of the two schools of marketing thoughts do you agree with?

Before you show your loyalty to one and thrash the other one calling it a complete waste of money, I must tell you that neither of the two is wrong, and either of the two could be dangerous. It all depends upon your approach, and how you handle the tool. Let me throw some more light on the two schools to help you make informed decision on the marketing tool to use.

“Long sales page is what cut it for us”

This is the view of old school of marketing who believes in the power of mass media advertising, long sales letter, and multiple direct mail copies. Marketers subscribing to this school of thought believe in handling all the customers’ objection through a elaborate sales page. They are of the view that they get only one chance and limited opportunity to influence customers’ decisions, and they should use it to maximum.

Sales cycle is often shorter here. People either buy or they don’t from marketers of this school.

“We are close buddy. We will not sell you”

This is what the other camp of marketers believes in. Marketers swearing by “relationship first” maxim often lead you in believing that they have your best interest in their hearts, and no matter what they will not try to sell you anything. It is only when you have spent some time with them that they start recommending (read selling) products to you.

Sales cycle for this kind of marketing ranges from long to very long. People, because they trust this group, often buy more than one product from them.

Which side are you on?

So, which group of marketers do you belong to? The “long sales copy” one or the relationship one? As said earlier, there is nothing right or wrong about the either of the two. It all depends upon how you use it.

For me, I believe in both of them.

Tags: Audience, Best Interest, Decisions, Direct Mail, Hearts, Loyalty, Mail Copies, Marketers, Marketing Sales, Marketing Tool, Mass Media, Maxim, Maximum Sales, Media Advertising, Objection, Old School, People, Relationship, School Of Thought, Waste Of Money

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17 Oct 10 Freelance Writing – How to Meet Tight Deadlines

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

— The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Like the celebrated science fiction writer Douglas Adams I too love the whooshing sound made by a deadline when it passes by. But my clients do not share this view, and I am sure, neither does yours. And thus we are forced to work around time. But despite all our good intentions, we fail to meet deadlines, at time.

This particular problem chases many freelance writers, and quite many of them fail to out-speed it, which leaves them panting and gasping for more air. And at this point they wonder — is it possible humanly possible to meet the deadline?

Because of dejection, they get no as an answer despite the fact that deep in their hearts they know it is possible. This article is for those people. It will help them manage their deadlines, and if you are one of them then for sure, you will stop fearing deadlines after reading this.

Do not chew more than you can swallow

I know this is oft quoted maxim, but still it is not oft used. People, more often than we think is possible, end up taking more than mouthful. And this cannot be truer for anyone than for a freelance writer. Partly because of greed, and partly due to morbid fear of losing a client, a freelance writer ends up taking more projects than he can finish in a day.

Allocate adequate time

This is another problem. In a rush to convince oneself of having free time available for one more client, a freelance writer often end up allocating adequate time to a project, in the planning phase, which come to haunt him when he starts working on it.

Cannot say no

This is another reason behind a freelance writer’s failure to meet the deadline. It is the fear of losing a client, a freelance writer end up accepting unrealistic deadline, which they can never meet.

These are the three main reasons why you are constantly behind your deadlines. Remove them from your daily routine, and you will always be on time.

Tags: Adequate Time, Chases, Dejection, Douglas Adams, Fly, Free Time, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writers, Good Intentions, Greed, Guide To The Galaxy, Hearts, Hitch Hiker, Maxim, Morbid Fear, Mouthful, Planning Phase, Rush, Science Fiction Writer, Tight Deadlines

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15 Jul 10 How to Craft an Effective Speech?

Whether it’s at your marriage anniversary or at office seminar – you have to deliver a nice speech, everywhere. It’s the art of delivering a substance of 2 minutes in 2 hours, laced with confidence, good vocabulary, interaction, spontaneity and interesting ideas. Don’t try to mug up the whole speech. Make it spontaneous, relaxed, and natural. Develop a speech which will leave impression behind in the hearts of the people.

Guide to a perfect speech generation:

Map the audience

Find out whom you are going to deliver your speech to, how old they are, and which part of the country they are from. The better you analyze your audience, the easier it will be for you to prepare the speech. It will help you to develop the perfect style, set the mood, and connect with the audience by including relevant jargons. Most importantly, it will help you to pick up the apt topic, as per the interest of the audience. It must add value to their lives whether by solving a problem or setting new goals and vision. Develop an emotional connect with the audience.

Pick a relevant topic

Topic should relate to the audience. Don’t pick up a topic you are not comfortable with. You can turn spontaneous only when you have some command on the topic. Pick up a topic of interest. It can be an outcome of your personal life, general topic, current topic, or a browsed topic from Internet, magazines and newspapers. Unless you are passionate about the topic, don’t pick it up.

Set the objective and time frame

Every communication has a set objective. Speech is not an exception either. Set specific objective like what you want to achieve or want the audience to do. It will help you develop the structure of the speech, limit the content, streamline your thoughts, and march towards a desired outcome. Make important points and elaborate them, but don’t stretch too far. Too much elaboration bore the audience.

Use your imagination and build story

Hues of imagination instill life into a speech. Stretch your imagination and let it fly high. Grab attention of the audience right from the beginning. Use vivid examples while explaining the points you put across. Talk about personal experiences. Make it dramatic and personalized.

Relax and speak

Don’t appear as if you are rushing. Relax while you speak. Don’t talk in too high pitch. Don’t get too nervous, little bit of fear is okay. If initially you are to scared start practicing in front of family, friends, and mirror.

Last but not the least, enjoy!

Confidence oozes when you enjoy the session. It shouldn’t seem like a burden but an enjoyable activity. Make eye contact to appear confident and bold. Be yourself. Don’t get tempted to be like someone else.

And soon you’ll find you are the master of speech delivery.

Tags: Audience, Confidence, Desired Outcome, Effective Speech, Elaboration, Hearts, Hues, Imagination, Interaction, Internet Magazines, New Goals, Objective, Office Seminar, Perfect Style, Personal Life, Relevant Topic, Speech Generation, Spontaneity, Time Frame, Vocabulary

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