We have manufactured over 5700 of our exactly 4 minute per day exercise machines, but that is in 21 years. Any ideas how to speed the process and get more sales? Recently Special Forces (military) got a few of our maschines. See video of our factory: www.NewRomVideo.com

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Jay’s Answer: The first thing that caught my eye was your website’s appearance. The price point of your product puts it into a “luxury” category, yet your website’s look and feel doesn’t match the positioning of your product. This detracts from the confidence of your message.

Since the product isn’t seen regularly by your prospective customers, you need more social proof that what you’re selling is a “smart investment”. Your testimonials aren’t current. Given the “luxury” positioning, having celebrity endorsements (ideally, unpaid) would amplify your message.

If speed of workout is a major benefit, then it would seem that a gym owning a number of machines could have more clients using the facility without increasing the wait time of the workout. In addition to health clubs, this would point to Navy ships (that have onboard gyms) as likely beneficiaries.

If you want to do something remarkable – buy back the machines from people that don’t want them – and resell them at a discount to others. It shows that you’re not trying to simply make sales, it shows that you’ll be around for the long haul and only want the equipment in the hands of people who love it.

I’m trying to come up with a clever name for a newsletter which will be used internally within a child care company. So, an internal communication to operations staff, or even child-care centre team members about current goings-on, any new centres opening, general news etc etc. Can you think of a clever name for this newsletter? The name of the company is Universal Childcare

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Jay’s Answer:

• Child Centric
• Our Small Focus

I developed a website with which we can buy minutes for mobile phone & for paying bills online…in return I am offering free sale coupons which can be used at subway, McD etc..please suggest me a good & attractive tagline for my website . my primary target is to teen-agers,especially youth(aged between 17-25). When a customer comes and buys minutes or credit for his/her mobile,i will give free coupons worth 5$,10$ etc..which can be used at stores with which i link up (ex:- mcd, kfc, pizza hut,subway etc). And my domain name is “cellbook”. so,i need an attractive tagline for my website..which should be very attractive..

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Jay’s Answer:

• Buy Minutes And Save Money
• Get More For With Minutes
• Take a Bite Out Of Your Cellphone Minutes

Along with a couple of friends we are starting our new travel company..cannot think of a good tagline..we would really be grateful to you if you can suggest us something good..we have great deals on holiday packages and we specialise in tours..we thought a few like..best deals always and travel deals simplified. i look forward to your reply. Our company name will be travista.

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Jay’s Answer: The name you chose is already the name of a worldwide travel company: travistaworldwide.com – if this isn’t your company, you’re likely to find that you’re attracting your prospective customers to their website or have their lawyers request that you change your company’s name.

As to a tagline, “specializing in tours” and “best deals always” are promises that many other travel companies make as well. That’s why you’re having problems creating a great tagline for your business.

Instead, you need to start at the very beginning of your marketing strategy:

• WHO specifically are you looking to attract to your business?
• Where are they located? Where do they travel? How often do they travel? How exclusive are their travel needs? The narrower your niche, the easier it is to market to them.
• HOW do you differ from your competition?
• If you’re offering the same things as everyone else, then you need to find something that no one else does (that people care about) and do it well. For example, do you send your customers movies about the area they’re planning to visit for free? Perhaps a bonded housesitting (or petsitting) service at no additional fee?
• WHY should they believe you?

Anyone can make a claim, but few can back it up. What proof can you present that shows what you’re saying is true. Consider testimonials or 3rd party independent investigators.

I have been in the mortgage business for 8 years in Hawaii. I have focused mainly on high-end jumbo loans and have become almost too niched. No one thinks of me for conforming or average loans. I am starting my own company. I am looking for a name that exudes professionalism, confidence, knowledge, trust, etc. I want to cover the entire market not just jumbo. We may want to get licensed in other states so the name has to cross state boundaries. I am really looking for something new and fresh. Any help would be appreciated.

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Jay’s Answer: Here are a couple of names to play with:

• The Loan Wizard
• Mortgage Master

I went through your entire blog trying not to be redundant, but I still need help with a tagline for our new company, Successful Strategic Solutions.  We are a training and business consulting company, offering everything from customer service training to executive leadership.  We offer training in-house as well as offsite.  We are a strategic partner with a global company, and  have access to a full array of training tools, including workbooks, assessments, e-learning, etc.

Our current tagline is “creating solutions for your success”.  However, we have been told that the company name tells you nothing, and the tagline doesn’t really say much either.  Currently we are focusing mostly on leadership training, with sales training being second.   We thought about saying something along the lines of:

1) optimizing your biggest expense and asset
2) unlimited resources for your success

However, I don’t think those say much either.  I saw your great suggestions, and am excited about what you will provide for us.

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Jay’s Answer:  You’re right – your name doesn’t say anything about your target market nor does your current or proposed taglines. It only adds to the mystery of what is it you do? Here are some quick ideas to play with:

• Effective Business Leaders Made Here
• We Build Stronger Leaders and Salespeople

I have opened my online store last month and I still doesn’t have any tag lines.. I sell fashionable dresses and blouses in a very affordable prices. The name of my shoppe is “The Bubbly Shoppe”. The concept is something like, when women buy clothes in my shop they will be happy, It’s like it will be one less lonely girl in the world. Something like that.

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Jay’s Answer:

• Women’s Clothing That Makes You Smile
• Change Your Mood. Change Your Clothing Fashionably.

(Photo by Highways Agency)

I recently planned to have some work done on my car and thought it was time to find a new auto mechanic, so I did my homework. I talked to friends, checked on various social media websites for recommendations, etc. I called the top-rated one and explained what I specifically wanted done and asked for an estimate. The helpful salesperson told me the cost, explained what the cost included, and even compared themselves to the competition. Satisfied, I scheduled the service. After arriving, I was warmly welcomed and presented with a written estimate that was significantly higher (almost twice the cost that was stated over the phone). I was shocked. What would you have done?

I negotiated the price down to the estimate, but promised myself I wouldn’t be a returning client. Why? They lost my trust from the beginning. They gave a number of excuses (we were busy, we guessed at the charges, estimates aren’t promises, etc.) but the bottom line was how I felt. And they weren’t taking care of that feeling at all.

If a prospective client asks you for an estimate, what should you do? If you have a schedule of charges, then it’s easy to say “a basic haircut cost $40, and includes a wash, rinse, and blow dry”. If the charges vary based on specific details, then get the information you need to make an intelligent estimate. And if necessary, put some “wiggle room” into the charges (“Our basic service runs $1500, but it’s hard to give a firm number until we sit down and go over all the details.”). Whatever number you quote will serve as a psychological “anchor” to your prospect. That number will stick in their head as the true cost, unless you’re able to clearly articulate the possible additional charges.

Don’t be tempted to offer artificially low estimates to get people to your business. You might win the sale (pressure them when they’ve invested the time to come to you) but lose the long-term business (and risk the wrath of them bad-mouthing you to their network). Better to under-promise and over-deliver.

(Photo by JUCCE)

Imagine you’re about to take the stage to give your short talk and you’re not (yet) a household name. Should you have someone else introduce you onstage or should you introduce yourself?

The “safe” way is to have the moderator or a friend introduce you, perhaps using a short biography you’ve written to help guide them. It’s safe because the audience already knows the person introducing you, and therefore presumably trusts them. The person introducing you can also lavish praise on you that would look egotistical if you did it yourself. But this introduction comes with serious costs: you’re not in control of the content, the delivery, nor the tone. And more importantly – it robs you of the opportunity to make your own first impression. Someone else has defined who you are and the content of your speech. In a way, they’ve stolen some of your “thunder” by sharing the limelight with you for these first critical minutes.

The “usual” way to introduce yourself is to recite the litany of your achievements. The idea is once people see your expert credentials, they’ll trust what you say to be backed by experience (and not simply opinion). This is also safe, because it’s what people expect. But this usual way also has major flaw: you’ve robbed yourself of the opportunity to make a dynamic first impression. You’ve taken the first minutes talking about you and not about what the audience is there to hear – something about them.

The Speak With Passion way is to start with a story that frames you. Let’s say you’re an expert on a radical new way to manufacture widgets. People have been building the widgets the same way for decades. It’s tried and true. In fact, it’s the industry standard and seen as a best practice by all the experts in the field. But you discovered something that wasn’t obvious at first glance, and spent the last five years re-inventing the process. You have some modest success, but all the leaders in the field see what you’re doing as either stupid or reckless. They don’t see what you see. So instead of introducing yourself with credentials, tell your audience about your “Aha!” moment five years ago:

“I’m a true believer in best practices, but I know one of ours is flat-out wrong. I need to share my insights with you because otherwise we’re soon all going to be dinosaurs. You see, five years ago I knew, like you know, how to build great widgets. I studied with the best and even won some notoriety. Business was good, but something bugged me about the process. I didn’t want to believe that I saw a mistake – because who am I to contradict the established way? But this is what I discovered…”

This format of self-introduction has some key points:

• You make yourself an “everyman” instead of a “superman”. We’re used to hierarchy – the smarter, more powerful, richer, better looking people are at the top, and generally the rest of us look up to them. Instead of putting yourself on a pedestal, give your audience the opportunity to do so.
• You make the focus your passion and not yourself. By focusing on what you’re interested in, your audience will naturally feel your passion and be excited by it. Remember that the audience doesn’t really care about you – they care about themselves. Take care of that need early on.
• You share your epiphany as a personal story. You could tell people what they need to do differently, but that lecture format can come across as dry and boring. By sharing a story, you give your audience the gift of seeing the world through your eyes. They may reject your “aha”, but they won’t reject you as a person. Your personal story is also more memorable than facts or processes.

Instead of trying to sell people from the stage, share yourself with the audience in a way that they care about. The end result is something that benefits everyone.

(Photo by Jon Mitchell)

It happens so quickly. You meet someone at the print shop. You notice a flyer on a bulletin board. Colorful packaging catches your eye. An odor catches your attention as you walk down the street. A song plays on the radio. You click on a new link. Almost before you’re aware of it, you’ve already decided how you’ll react. How can this affect your business marketing?

1. Realize you can’t influence everyone. You want only those people to pay attention who want need what you’re selling. So, first focus on these people. What do they look for? What problem are they trying to solve? How do they generally solve their problem? Are they visual communicators?
2. Be consistent. In a blink of an eye we measure a number of inputs. But what catches our attention are things that are out-of-place (wrong color, wrong sound, wrong image, etc.). Either ensure your marketing message is totally consistent or ensure that you’re creating dissonance intentionally.
3. Be honest. If you trick someone into a relationship with you (if only for a few minutes on your website, for example), they’ll remember you for all the wrong reasons. If you have something worth sharing, share it. If you don’t, don’t fake it – create something.

Since it’s hard to look at your own marketing efforts with fresh eyes, consider finding a peer to be your “focus group of one”. While it’s not a big sample, you’re looking for a gut reaction from someone whose professional opinion you value.