Volume 1, Issue 5
Table of Contents

Cover Story:
The World is Flat
When it comes to Global business, the view looks good

RBD Round-Up:
RBD is On the Air!
WRCR teams up with RBD Co-publisher for weekly show
RBD Business Survey
Take part in RBD's 1st On-line Business Survey

DEPARTMENTS:

Economics Round-Up
• The Local Economy
Construction industry confidence rebounds, managers predict greater optimism
• The Smart Investor
Investing From Within: The key to becoming a smart investor
• Economic Viewpoint
It All Adds Up: The Fed takes delight in the economic numbers

Business Round-Up
• The Work-Life Minute™
Small business owners need innovation to battle burnout
• Marketing By Design
There Ought'a Be a Law: Marketing is nothing more than long-distance selling

Ask The Experts
• Business Start-ups
Negotiating a lease - from the tenant's view
• Expensing & Depreciation
Tax incentives for small business

Retail Round-Up
• Who's Hiring?
Summer employment program offers benefits to all
• New In Town

Invest in Your Community
• Provident Bank Charitable Foundation
Works to support help from People to People
• Red Cross Celebrates March
Partners with local business people for the good of all

Odds & Ends
• From The Publishers
• Letters to the Editor
• Rockland Newsmakers

Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:

The President’s Desk
The State of the RBA

RBA/United Way Golf Outing
The Rockland Open: Monday, May 21st

RBA Happenings
• Committee and Council Info
• Calendar of Events
• New Members

Person-to-person. Face-to-face. That’s the only way to learn how to sell to people. Then, and only then, should they take a stab at writing marketing copy.

Webster defines marketing as: “The process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service”. With respect, this author offers a slightly different definition. Marketing is nothing more mysterious than selling long-distance.

First-rate sales people have an inherent sense of what buttons to push and how best to push them. They understand their consumers’ pain points and take great pleasure in finding new and innovative ways to “make the pain go away”.

There are so many “answers” to marketing’s never-ending questions that it’s impossible to count them all. Self-help books, audio tapes and CDs, newsletters; everyone’s got the answer. Ready for this? So do you.

If you’ve successfully sold your product or service for any length of time, then you know which messages reach out to your customers and which ones fall on deaf ears. But, when it comes to advertising, direct mail, or the other barrage of communication vehicles, you don’t trust your own instincts. But, you should.

It’s not really all that complicated to market your business effectively. Just remember, if you wouldn’t say it to a potential customer or client in person, don’t say it in your marketing materials.

A good marketer understands the importance of effective sales techniques—not just the what, but the why as well. The biggest difference? The sales person gets to say it in person, responding to the customer’s objections or questions in a real-time conversation. Not so the marketer, who must make do with a brand and a few well-chosen words.

So, how do you decide what words to use? Start at the beginning. Think about ideas. Not The BIG IDEA—not yet. Just ideas. Lots of them. Scribble them on napkins in diners. Keep an idea pad by your bed at night. Schedule an hour of your time during the work day for this. Treat it that importantly. Challenge yourself. How many ideas can you come up with in an hour? Good ones, bad ones, obvious ones, impractical ones. List them all.

Next, cross out all the obviously bad or impractical entries and make a fresh list with the “good” ones. Now, cut this list in half by having the courage to throw away anything less than exciting or funny. Be harsh. Think about it from your potential customers' point of view - not yours. Assuming these ideas truly reflect your marketing message, the only criteria remaining are potential impact on your targeted market and the practicality of an idea’s execution.

Remember, you want to grab their attention. You don’t want to offend, but you do want to disturb their sense of normalcy and forcethem to pay attention to what you’re saying. If you can do that—whether in print ads, radio spots, flyers, bumper stickers, or even sales conversations—then you have a chance at closing the sale.

After all, that IS the only point of The BIG IDEA. Grab Their attention long enough to accomplish your goals.

It’s not really all that complicated to market your business effectively. Just remember, if you wouldn’t say it to a potential customer or client in person, don’t say it in your marketing materials.
Determine your chief sales message (price benefits, quality, convenience, problem solving, etc…) and get it out there. Find that Big Idea that will grab people’s attention and force them to hear your message. Then say what you’d say if they were sitting right in front of you.

That’s the Biggest Idea of all. RBD

Steven Powell is the president of Co-oper8 Marketing Group, an award-winning design and marketing firm based in Goshen, NY. Steve also hosts Marketing By Design, a weekly talk-radio show on both Rockland and Orange County stations, and is Co-publisher of this magazine. Learn more at: www.c8group.net.