AdBayUSA ————–Dale W. Woys

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

Business gurus are fond of saying, “Work smarter – not harder.”  But I don’t know … I think there is something to be said for hard work.

Assuming you and I work equally smart, I’d think whichever one of us worked the hardest would come out ahead.  Hard work is good for what ails you.

When your business or job isn’t going the way you want it to, buckle down and redouble your efforts.  You’ll be more productive, and at least some of your extra efforts will be rewarded – and hard work will have saved the day.  Goethe wrote, “Whoever strenuously endeavors, him we can rescue.”

Combine hard work with persistence – never giving up – and the odds of you getting the result you want increase geometrically.  Ironically, a lot of people who work hard like to pretend that they don’t.

A famous Mail Order Marketer, in promoting his programs, boasts about how you can make millions of dollars with hardly any work.  But digging deeper into his background you know that this guy works at least 12 hours a day, 6 days a week – and often late into the night.

A famous copywriter is pictured lounging in his pool in a magazine profile of him.  Yet he seems to be continually at his PC banging out successful ad after successful ad for his clients.

Sylvestor Stallone who was well known for his movie “Rocky” worked night and day to sell the script for his movie without success.  In fact, he was so down and out he had to sell his dog.  He would not sell the script unless he was allowed to be the actor and turned down offer after offer of up to one million dollars for the script alone.  He finally accepted an offer for $40,000 if he could be Rocky and he then bought his dog back (for many times the selling price) which is the same dog you find in the Rocky series).  We see the actors on TV accepting awards and think what an easy life….  What people are unwilling to admit is that 90% of these actors, actresses and athletes have paid a very steep price for their success.  Much steeper than any of us are willing to adhere to which is why we are in front of our TV with a bowl of popcorn watching them succeed with  their life’s and not working on our own dreams and desires.

Most things that are worth having or achieving require hard work. If they were easy, everyone would have them.  Hard work alone does not guarantee success. You also have to work smart, of course.  But if you are not willing to put your nose to the grindstone,  your chances of failure are large indeed.

Business or career floundering?  Not where you want it to be?   Work twice as hard.  You may get twice the results.

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

DALE W. WOYS - PRESIDENT - ADBAYUSA

According to a brochure from Appleton Coated, a paper company:

>> Consumers receiving a printed catalog are 2X more likely to buy online than consumers who do not receive a catalog.

>> 67% of online action is driven by offline messages.

>> 80% of Americans read or skim direct mail, and 38% find direct mail interesting.

>> 75% of consumers say they have made a purchase as a result of direct mail.

>> Consumers rate direct mail as 3.9 on a scale of 1 to 5 for the acceptability of various communications channels – above all other channels.

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

Whenever I am writing copy, I like to gather lots of statistics on my topic. The great thing about statistics is that you can always use them to support almost any sales point you want to make in your promotion. In fact, the same statistic can often be interpreted either to make a sales point or its opposite!

For example, the statistic of number of units sold is often cited to prove that a product is popular and therefore must be good. In the good old days, McDonald’s restaurant signs would proclaim “Over 1 Billion Sold.”   Advertisements for books frequently tell us that the book is a “New York Times best-seller.”  The logic is that because the product is so popular, people think the product is good, and therefore it must be good.  (Of course it is not true: there are many restaurants that make hamburgers better than McDonald’s.)

Ironically, a statistic that says the exact opposite of “this product is a best-seller” – a number showing it does not sell well – can also be used to make the case for superior quality. Perhaps you have received in the mail a catalog for Harry & David, the mail order gift fruit company selling Royal Riviera Pears.   The copy says, “Not one person in a thousand has ever tasted them.”  It makes the product sound exclusive, special, rare, and desirable.  But what it really means is very few people buy them!

Here’s another example of how to use statistics in your favor.  Many years ago I was asked to write a brochure for a company that holds a patent for a TV Holding Advertising Device.  I did competitive a research study for manufacturers of TV stands.

I found out that there were hundreds of TV stand manufacturers out of there.   But the patent this gentlemen held makes this product unique so in the copy I wrote: “MATHIS TV ADVERTISING is one of the largest TV ADVERTISING STAND manufacturers in North America” – turning a potential negative into a bragging point.

Here are a few additional guidelines for using statistics and numbers to make the case that your product or service is superior:

>> Write numbers using the largest units of measure … “a quarter of a century” sounds longer than “25 years.”

>> Round off to make numbers sound larger … if the client tells me their newsletter has 2,015 subscribers, I talk about the “thousands of satisfied subscribers.”

>> Use “negative statistics” … say what the product doesn’t do or have, rather than what it does do or have. For instance, club soda has “no sodium, no artificial flavors, no calories.”

>> Prove statistical points with pictures … compare two quantities with a bar chart, or show a price chart illustrating how shares of the stock you recommended went up.

>> Say it multiple times … give the persuasive statistic at least three times: in the body copy, in the chart or graph, and in a caption for the chart or graph.

>> Make unexpected comparisons to dramatize numbers … a speaker giving a talk on health told his listeners “more people have
died from malaria over the past century than are now living in the United States” – much more memorable than just giving a
number.

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

“Most people die at 20 and are buried at 80.”

Doesn’t that just bum you out?

I don’t know who first coined the phrase, but it stops you in your tracks — mostly because it’s true.  After all, most people get used to a humdrum, “normal” life and never find a way to change.  That’s where you’re different.  The entrepreneurs life is about more than working for yourself and being in control of your time. It’s even about more than being in control of your money.

Truthfully, it’s about developing the courage to not only ask yourself what you really want in life, but also to decide how you’ll get it.  If it’s a grand, golden desire that churns your stomach and makes you salivate with longing, then it’s probably not an easy thing to get.  Plus, living your dreams isn’t always just about getting what you want.  It’s also about doing things that really matter to you, not just what comes easiest.

For example, breaking out a new business may be daunting, especially if you’re used to following a rigid, pre-established position description at your job.  There’s nothing pre-established about being in business for yourself, but that’s the beauty of it.  When you choose it, you open yourself up to worlds of possibility. You’re the one who gets to make the decisions.

But at the same time, making those decisions and living your dreams means you may have to accept some kind of challenge — even if you’re not sure you’re ready for it.  I once read an entry to a Dear-Abby-like site that said, “I’m 65. I want to enjoy my remaining years, but I’m not sure how.  Problem is, I’ve always known what I don’t want to do, but never really thought about what I do like to do. How do I figure it out?”

Figuring it out takes guts. It starts with finding people who are on the same path as you and who will encourage your entrepreneurial dreams.   Don’t worry about making mistakes when you go after your goals — it happens all the time.   Study to avoid as many mistakes as possible, but remember those who take the safest path never see the beauty of the path never or seldom taken.

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Subscribe to AdBayUSA’s FREE Advertising & Marketing Newsletter by Clicking Here!

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

What’s the number one selling mistake that causes entrepreneurs, executives, salespeople, and professionals to spin their wheels, waste their time chasing after people who don’t want to buy, and experience enormous frustration when following up leads?

It’s failure to determine whether the person making the inquiry is a genuine, qualified prospect … or someone who likes collecting brochures and wasting salespeople’s time.

But, how can you quickly, easily, and accurately determine whether a lead is a qualified prospect? By using this simple formula.  The formula has nothing to do with anger, or any other emotion, or the four-letter “F” word.

Rather, the formula contains the 5 qualifiers that differentiate a genuine prospect from a time-waster or tire-kicker: money, authority, desire, fit, and urgency.

To qualify a lead, you have to ask them questions.  These questions determine whether they have the money to afford what you are selling, the authority to buy it, and a strong desire to own it.

In addition, are they a good fit for your business? And do they have a sense of urgency? Let’s look at how to quickly assess all 5 factors.

First, money: can the prospect afford what you are selling?

The easiest way to determine this is to ask: “Do you have a budget for this?” Without a budget, how can they possibly buy your product or service?

If they say they do have a budget, ask: “Would you mind sharing with me what your budget is?”  Their answer tells you whether they can afford you or not.

Second, authority: can the person you are talking to write a check or purchase order?  You can determine this by asking, “Who else in your organization is responsible for making this purchase decision?”

The third factor is desire. How intense is their desire to own your product or get your service? You can gauge their desire through the content of your conversation with them as well as tone and body language.  The best prospects have a burning desire to own your product or have you solve their problem.

The fourth factor for qualifying prospects is fit.   Are these people a good fit for your business? Is there good personal chemistry between you and them? Does your product or service best meet their needs, or in truth, would they be better off using another vendor?

The fifth and final factor is urgency: what is the prospect’s time frame for taking possession of this product or having this service performed? The more the prospect is in a hurry, the easier the deal will be to close. But if the prospect has no sense of urgency, you may spin your wheels for months – even years — chasing after them.

The lesson? When the phone rings with a call from a potential customer, don’t get too excited.

Instead, immediately qualify the lead with this formula.  Does the person have the money, authority, and desire to buy? Are they a good fit?  Is their need immediate? The more “yes” answers you get to these questions, the better your chances of making the sale.

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Subscribe to AdBayUSA’s FREE Advertising & Marketing Newsletter by Clicking Here!

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

Human psychology is funny: the more you tell somebody they can’t or shouldn’t have something, the more they want it.
The technique of applying this psychological principle to sales and marketing is called “the takeaway close.”

In sales, it works this way: if the prospect is hesitant, and you are not getting anywhere, start to pack up your sample case, papers, or whatever, while telling the prospect in a serious, sincere, even somber voice: “Maybe this isn’t right for you.”

As soon as you do, most prospects immediately say – “Wait, hold on a minute!” – and ask you to continue your presentation, much more interested than they were only seconds ago. That’s because as soon as you tell people they can’t or shouldn’t have something, they want it.

Seaman’s, a local retailer in northern NJ, (now out of business), once ran radio commercials to announce sales using a variation of the takeaway close.  The radio announcer began by thundering a command to the listener: “DON’T buy furniture today …” It catches your attention, because you expect to be told to buy … not to be told, “DON’T buy.”  He then finished the sentence: “DON’T buy furniture today … wait until Saturday for Seaman’s big half-price sale!”

Applying the takeaway closing technique to your marketing is easy. Often simply adding the words “order today – supplies limited” is enough to get the phone ringing off the hook. Or, in a lead generation campaign, change the phrase on your reply element from “for more information” to “to find out how you can qualify” – implying that receiving what you are offering is not a sure thing, but only granted if they pass your criteria.

Another variation is ads for home study courses which offer a free booklet with a test to judge your writing or artistic talent … implying that you can’t take the course unless you pass the test.  Remember, people want what they can’t – or think they can’t – have or get.

Even in relationships, singles who date know that one way to attract the interest and attention of members of the opposite sex that they like is to play “hard to get” – to make them call you, rather than you call them.

Conversely, when in pursuit of your soul mate, the worst strategy is to leave 48 messages on his or her answering machine. It demonstrates you are eager and needy, and actually makes the other person less interested.

Time-limited offers are yet another variation on the takeaway close.  In the case of time-limited offers, the product or service is available, but only if you buy now. Later, it won’t be. Direct marketers know that, almost without exception, adding a time limit or expiration date to a promotion lifts response rates.

In service industries, telling prospects you can squeeze them in a week from Thursday makes you seem desirable. On the other hand, if you tell prospects, “I can see you now,” they worry: who wants to go to a professional who isn’t in demand?

The late Howard Shenson, a consultant and author, called this the Busy Dr. Syndrome, noting that people want to do business with those they consider busy and successful, not those who seem desperate and in need of the work.

Why does the takeaway close work? Why do people, upon hearing they can’t have something, want it more? Perhaps the motivator is scarcity, an imbalance in the supply and demand equation: the shorter the supply of something, the more it is valued.

That is why gold has a much higher price than copper, even though copper has many more practical uses. Whatever the reason, the takeaway close often works like gangbusters.

To test this, tell half your inbound sales leads that your product or service is available right away.

Tell the other half that it’s not available until December, but you might be able to slip them into the schedule earlier.

Then measure the closing rate between the two groups, and let me know the results of your experiment.

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Subscribe to AdBayUSA’s FREE Advertising & Marketing Newsletter by Clicking Here!

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

For several years, car manufacturers have been proactively marketing sales of used vehicles with ads touting “certified pre-owned vehicles.”

These are used cars that have been thoroughly inspected and come
with a warranty equivalent (or close to it) to that of a new car.

A few weeks ago, I heard a radio commercial for Toyota, who has jumped into this market.  But instead of calling their used car a “pre-owned vehicle” … they call it a “used car”!

Now I admire plain-speaking people and honest, forthright language … and “used car” fits that bill better than “pre-owned vehicle.”

On the other hand, there’s a reason Mont Blanc sells “writing instruments” – and the reason is that no one wants to pay $100 for a “pen.”  So what do you think?

Will Toyota’s honesty be rewarded by consumers with more sales?  Or are they shooting themselves in the foot by not advertising “pre-owned vehicles”?

I don’t know the answer … no one knows the answer to any marketing question until they test it … but there’s one thing I do know….

The words you choose for your copy can make a big difference in how well it performs.
Or to put it another way: semantics sell.

Here’s a great example….
A number of years ago, when Clinton was still in office, I was driving in the DC area, where I almost always get lost.  As I desperately tried to find K Street, I heard a radio commercial for American Spectator, the conservative magazine.  The commercial said that if you called a toll free number to subscribe, you would get a free gift — a “Special Report” titled “Inside the Clinton White House.”

I didn’t call, but I am pretty sure that American Spectator, as is typical of magazines, put together this special report by assembling reprints of a few articles they’d done on Clinton into a booklet.

Listen to the words, “Special Report.” Sounds important and exclusive … like something you’d want to have. And the title – “Inside the Clinton White House” – sounds juicy.

On the other hand, what if the radio commercial had closed with, “So call toll-free today to subscribe … and we’ll give you a bunch of past articles ripped out of old issues of the magazine and stapled together.”
I can’t imagine the phone ringing off the hook for that one.

Another example of the power of words in marketing is the old comic book ad with the headline, “Enter the wonderful world of amazing live sea monkeys … open a bowl full of happiness – instant pets!”

The ad pictured a happy underwater family of cute, friendly creatures – a mom, dad, and kids – living outside the family castle … presumably in a fish bowl … as the human youngster and his human parents who purchased the sea monkeys look down in delight.

Well, if you ever took the bait and mailed the coupon with your money, what you got was a plastic vial full of dried brine shrimp eggs … with instructions to hatch them in warm, salty water.

When mine hatched, they look nothing like the handsome Sea Monkey family in the ad … they were basically little dots moving around in a bowl of water.

Yes, words have power, and the words you choose decide a lot about what people think of you, your company, your product, and your offer … especially whether they want to buy or try it.
No one wants brine shrimp eggs. But “instant pets” and “amazing live sea monkeys”? I’m in!

One last example….
Gary Hennerberg was called on by a company in Texas that sold mail order fruit cakes.
Fruit cakes weren’t selling like hot cakes (big surprise) … and they needed to boost orders.
Gary asked the bakery what ingredients were used, and to his surprise, he found that these fruit cakes contained pecans. Not only that, but they were grown locally in Texas, on the banks of a river, where the moisture made them particularly flavorful.

Gary told the company to test a mailing calling the product “native Texas pecan cakes” instead of “fruit cakes.” They followed his advice … and fruit cake sales soared by 60%. Semantics, I guess. Go figure.

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Subscribe to AdBayUSA’s FREE Advertising & Marketing Newsletter by Clicking Here!

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

The Internet surpassed newspapers last year to become the second largest medium in terms of ad spending, according to a new report from eMarketer. Last year, Internet ad spending reached $25.8 billion, making up 16.88% of total ad spending, according to the report. TV is still the largest ad category, reaching $59.0 billion and making up 38.6% of all ad spending last year. Newspapers, the third largest ad category, had revenue totaling $22.8 billion last year, representing 14.9% of all ad spending. eMarketer projects that by 2015, Internet ad spending will account for one-quarter of all advertising.

WHY NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS INFORMATION AND PLACE YOUR AD(s) ON AdBayUSA TODAY!

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Subscribe to AdBayUSA’s FREE Advertising & Marketing Newsletter by Clicking Here!

You are free to reproduce this article if you include our website name and link.

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

“Like an EAGLE I choose to soar to the highest heights for a view unknown by the vast majority of others.  I do not choose to be a common person.  It is my right to be uncommon.  I seek opportunity, not security.

I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.  I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.  I refuse to barter incentive for a dole;  I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence;  the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.

I will not trade my freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout.  I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.  It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say:  “This, with God’s help, I have done”.  All this is what it means to be an Entrepreneur.

(C) 1985-2011 Dale W. Woys – AdBayUSA – All Rights Reserved

Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Subscribe to AdBayUSA’s FREE Advertising & Marketing Newsletter by Clicking Here!

You are free to reproduce this article if you include our website name and link.

Dale W. Woys - President - AdBayUSA

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Dale W. Woys is President of AdbayUSA.com and AdBayUSA Mobile.  AdBayUSA.com offers Classified Ads, Banner Advertising, Targeted Website Traffic,  SEO,  Social Marketing Services, Vacation Incentives and many other products and services designed to make your small business prosper.  For their Mobile Advertising Services Click Here.  You can check their other services out by going to the following link:  http://www.adbayusa.com/advertisingservices.html

Subscribe to AdBayUSA’s FREE Advertising & Marketing Newsletter by Clicking Here!

You are free to reproduce this article if you include our website name and link.