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[E271]Entrepreneurs Guide To Sewn Product Manufacturing

by Tsufit, Tsu

It's noisy out there!
And every business wants to get noticed. We're living in an "overcommunicated" society. Consumers are on information overload. That's what marketing gurus, Al Ries and Jack Trout, told us 25 years ago. And that was before the Internet and Blackberries and Podcasts. So how can you grab the attention of your audience?

Ever wonder why the telephone companies use frogs and dimes and monkeys and beavers and geckos in their ads? Why? Because you can't SEE phone service.

We have to learn to create a visual when we speak, so that people can see what we're saying. We can't present ourselves in black and white like in a kid's coloring book. Pick up a crayon or two and color yourself in!

Whenever I say this, someone always asks me, "But Tsufit, what if I don't have any color?" You do. You just have to find it. Sometimes you have to really dig for it.

A client came to see me a few years ago because she had to give a speech about her Speaker's Bureau to a bunch of professional speakers. She was shaking in her boots (OK, so I'm exaggerating a bit) because she, herself, wasn't a professional speaker and her previous speaking engagements hadn't gone well. She came to me to help her add a bit of color to an otherwise dry "how to" speech.

When I interviewed her I found out that she had grown up on a tomato farm and that when she was a kid, she helped her dad pick the tomatoes and take them to market.

I said "Isn't that more or less what you're doing now, only with speakers? Picking them and taking them to market." So we came up with a whole tomato analogy for speakers, how some are still seedlings, some are still green, some are ripe and plump and juicy and ready for market and others are just plain rotten! She did the speech and reported that she had a whole line up of people waiting to speak to her afterwards. She had found her color!

If you can't do it on your own, ask a friend to interview you or hire a coach. Ask yourself questions about what you wanted to be when you were a kid, your hobbies, what's quirky about you, what's unusual--even if it has nothing to do with your business; we'll make those connections later. When I was a lawyer, I had a mug that said "Lawyers and Painters Can Turn Black Into White". Now I show people how to turn black and white into color.

Use your words as paintbrushes. Like I said, when you speak, when you write, pick up a crayon or two and color yourself in!

What do you do?

You run! Of course you run. But, let's say he catches you by the arm. What do you do now? You struggle! You try to get away! Natural instinct, right?

Too many entrepreneurs are chasers! They chase their potential customers with cold calls, and emails and faxes. And what do their prospects do? They try to escape! No one likes to be caught! It's dopey. Because what works, is exactly the opposite.

Business is a seduction.

If you learn the art of attraction, you'll never have to make another cold call again.

Cold Calls Leave You Cold?

I'm not saying cold calls don't work. They do. But cold calling is chasing. Cold calls diminish the caller and creep out the "callee". They're an intrusion. They're UNcomfortable and they're UNnecessary.

Today, most products and services are bought not sold. We have no patience for the Willy Lomans or the used car salesmen of the world.

So how do you attract new clients? You gotta know the 3D's.

1.Don't Bore Them.
2.Don't Bore Them.
3.For G-d's Sake, Don't Bore Them!!

Business doesn't have to be boring! As famous adman David Ogilvy said “You can't bore people into buying.

Ever been to a Business Networking Event at your local Chamber of Commerce? They don't call them the "Bored of Trade" for nothing!

Up stands Yackety Yackerson. Followed by Blahy Blaherson. Then Yada Yada Yanderson. Then it's time for the keynote speaker. Boreme Some Morrison!

Sometimes I find myself at one of these meetings, stuck between an accountant in a blue suit and a financial planner in a grey suit and I'm thinking, if one of them drops a little scrambled egg on his lapel, at least it'd add a touch of color!

How do you make sure you're not one of them?

Be careful what words you use.
Don't be using words like...

* Technology
* Solutions
* Advanced,
* deliverables,
* value added,
* "best customer service"
* module,
* HR
* IT
* communications
* integrated
* core competencies
* corporate
* systems
* soft skills
* "We service small to medium sized businesses"
* "For all your blah blah blah needs"

What do these words have in common?

* Colorless
* Meaningless Filler
* We don't know what you mean
* We don't believe you anyway
* Can't see them!!
* No flavor
* No story

And don't be giving us a shopping list of your benefits either. Me, I'd rather be stuck in the dentist's chair, listening to Barry Manilow, than in a business networking meeting full of people spouting their benefits out all over the place. These are often the same guys who force feed you a brochure or two or ten, just in case you want to rush right home and read all about their business or maybe take a few pamphlets around to the neighbors after dinner!

Don't feel stupid if you've done it. We've all done it. But it's NOT what gets you clients. You gotta learn to attract new prospects by creating a colorful persona and brand so that clients will chase YOU!

Article Source : branding promotions

Tsufit has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Trucks and For Women Entrepreneurs. TSUFIT is a coach specializing in helping entrepreneurs and keynote speakers and authors captivate their audiences. To receive Tsufit's 11 F.r.e.e. Secrets from the Spotlight, short practical tips on how to attract rather than chase your prospects, go to. Tsufit's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.