shindar1016

Plan＃13   Hire and fire the experts

In the final analysis, nobody knows your business better than you. Never let a “marketing expert” or “consultant” talk you into doing something you feel is wrong. And never delegate 100 percent of your marketing to an outsider—it simply won’t mean as much to them as it does to you.

To hire good advertising or marketing professionals:

＊     Make certain their status comes from hands-on experience, not from theory.

＊    Find out whether they can separate a customer from their money---by how well they sell themselves to you.

＊    Look for someone who considers marketing, advertising, promotion and publicity as a way to generate sales---rather than ends in and of themselves.

＊    Stick with direct response advertising---so you can tell whether or not they are actually generating sales.

Avoid any marketing expert:

＊    Who is more interested in making his or her portfolio look good---rather than generating sales for you.

＊    Who is worried about industry awards.

＊    Who hates long copy with loads of detail

＊    Who loves “white space” in ads.

＊    Who can’t supply a list of satisfied, successful clients---whom you can call and talk to about their experience in working with that marketing expert. Don’t be shy in checking sources, and don’t fall for any confidentiality considerations. The best marketing people are always actively sought after and will have a long list of past clients.

 Key Thoughts

1. Marketing begins not with any particular media or strategy; it starts with putting together the best, most promotable message possible that truthfully represents the goods you’ve got.

2. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to promote, until you get good. Otherwise you just speed up the rate at which the world finds out you’re no good.

3. When you ask a group of businesspeople to list their assets, they quickly write down such items as equipment, furniture, leasehold improvements and inventory. Many never get around to listing their customers. This lapse is often reflective of trouble in their business.

4. Do what you do so well that people can’t resist telling others about you.

5. Every business hits its own times of need when a sales surge is important. It’s always preferable to sell your way out of a financial problem than to borrow or to sell off equity. Often, that can be done.

6. There is only so much you can learn from other people’s experience. You can observe and investigate and research and consider expert advice, but there are some things you’ll never know about for sure unless you try them. Every business should assign some time and money to outright, unashamed experimentation.