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The bottom line of all advertising efforts is an obvious one: to attract customers and bolster sales. But often, small business advertising is wasted on a shotgun approach that doesn’t focus on the company’s best prospects: those who are ready, willing and able to purchase the product or service. In an attempt to reach “everybody,” these advertisers either miss their true market or spend far more than necessary to reach it.

Once you’ve targeted your market and know exactly who and where your prospects are, it’s important to clearly identify what you want your advertising to accomplish. Specific advertising objectives include:

You have complete control. Unlike public relations efforts, you have final word in determining where, when and how often your message will appear, how it will look and what it will say. You can target your audience more readily (working mothers, new home purchasers, small truck owners) and aim at very specific geographic areas. You can be consistent through advertising that presents your company’s image and sales message over time to build awareness and trust.

Similar to McDonald’s golden arches, a distinctive identity can eventually become clearly associated with your company. People will recognize you quickly and easily - whether in ads, mailers, packaging or signage - if you present yourself consistently through all the promotional vehicles at your disposal.

What Are Advertising’s Drawbacks?

It takes planning. You’ll pay less per ad in newspapers and magazines by agreeing to run several ads over time rather than deciding issue by issue. Likewise, you can achieve certain economies by preparing a number of ads at once. It takes time and persistence. The effectiveness of your advertising is measured over the long run. That’s because people don’t see every one of your ads. They only see some of them some of the time. You must repeatedly remind prospects and customers about the benefits of doing business with you. It’s this constant repetition and the cumulative effect that win the day. It is also the long-term effort that triggers recognition and helps special offers or direct marketing really pay off.

Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! His message and program has helped thousands and will help you achieve unprecedented success in both your business and personal life.

If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report “10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands.” After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

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Armed with knowledge of your industry, market and audience, a media plan and schedule, your product or service’s most important benefits and measurable goals in terms of sales volume (number of units sold), revenue generated or other criteria, you are ready for action. The first step is to establish the theme and, if appropriate, the specific tagline that identifies your product or service in all of your advertising.

The theme of your advertising reflects your special identity or personality as well as the particular benefits of your product or service. For example, cosmetics ads almost always rely on a glamorous theme. Many food products opt for healthy, all-American-family campaigns. Automobile advertising frequently concentrates on how the car makes you feel about owning or driving it rather than its performance attributes.

Likewise, a tagline rests on the single most important reason for buying your product or service. “Nothing Runs Like a Deere” (John Deere farm vehicles) conveys performance and endurance with a nice twist on the word “deer.” “Ideas at Work” (Black and Decker tools and appliances) again signifies performance but adds reliability and imagination to the statement. “How the Smart Money Gets that Way” (Barron’s financial publication) clearly connotes prosperity, intelligence and success.

Preparing the Ads

The initial design of your advertising, the creation of the tagline and the tone of voice you’ll use to establish your personality are so critical that it almost always pays to have professional help. Hire the best designer and copywriter you can afford at the start. Later, you can ask newspapers, radio stations or magazines to follow your guidelines in preparing specific ads if you can’t afford to continue relying on professionals. How do you know a good ad when you read, write, design or evaluate one? Most importantly, a good ad focuses on one message: the single idea you want this ad to convey. That idea may revolve around price, features, convenience, quality, enhanced technology or a time-limited offer. Support that idea with as much copy or illustration as time or space allows. Good ads rely on “The Three I’s”: Involve, Inform and Illustrate.

Involve the audience: A good ad arouses curiosity, lures in prospects and invites them to participate. It does that with words, images or sounds that are compelling and with information that aims at their strongest interests. Example: “Please Your Client and Your Accountant” appeals to the reader’s desire to be doubly successful by giving good service and making money.

Inform the buyer: Your prospect wants the answer to one question: “What’s in it for me?” This may be a faster, easier or less expensive way to attain a specific objective, “TransEuropa Express: The Fast Track to the Time of Your Life,” for example. It may also be something less tangible: stylishness, prestige, praise or the admiration of friends and colleagues. Look at clothing, soft drink and health club ads for good examples of this appeal.

Illustrate the benefit: Even people who aren’t paying much attention while turning the channel or the page can see your message in a micro-second if it’s well illustrated. Effective display means illustrating not only the product or service but the benefit as well. Example: Campbell Soup Company’s advertising shows mom and her kids in a traditional kitchen setting with a loving atmosphere and hot soup. Nordic Track ads portray a slim young man or woman exercising. Both imply that the customer will also look or feel that way by using the products being advertised. You can even illustrate radio and television ads with your choice of music and background sound effects.

Everyone persuades for a living. There’s no way around it. Whether you’re a sales professional, an entrepreneur, or even a stay at home parent, if you are unable to convince others to your way of thinking, you will be constantly left behind.Donald Trump said it best, “Study the art of persuasion. Practice it. Develop an understanding of its profound value across all aspects of life.”

Conclusion

Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others.

Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! His message and program has helped thousands and will help you achieve unprecedented success in both your business and personal life.

If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report “10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands.” After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

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