The Audio Business Card – A Marketing Tool That REALLY Works!

March 12, 2008 by Martin

I just received an email from one of our new consultants that I thought you might be interested in. Here’s what Bruce had to say:
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I went to my first Chamber of Commerce Business to Business meeting today. There were only about 30 people there so it was a little disappointing on that level. I passed out my Audio Business Card, so I am interested to see if there will be any response from that.

Also, I had a carpet cleaner who has been in business here for nearly 20 years speak to me for about 30 minutes after the meeting! He is a Chem Dry Franchisee, and is really interested in growing his business.

I had to tell you this because I think you will get a kick out of it. I just started out asking him:

– What are the various media venues you use?

When he told me I asked:

– What are the response rates for each venue?
– He didn’t know

– I asked him what is the conversion percentage of the response
he gets?
– He didn’t know

– I asked him what were the conversion costs for each of the
venues?
– Now he was starting to squirm

– I asked him if he had a segmented database so he could make
segmented marketing offers.
– He said they didn’t.

This guy had cleaned my carpet over a dozen years ago, so I told him “What I am about to say next I don’t want to offend you but you cleaned my carpet years ago and never even communicated with me again.”

He said, I know.

I asked him if he realized the thousands and thousands of dollars that had cost him by not attempting to sell to his satisfied customers.

He said he didn’t want to think about it, but he had made steps to change that recently. He has a database of about 4,200 customers.

When I was leaving his Son in Law who was also there came up to me and said his Dad in Law will be contacting me and wants to talk further. I don’t know if I should bother with a Competitive Intelligence Report or just go in with that 88 question Business Analysis and the Power Point/Business Calculator.

I remember in training you said you had a bunch of stuff on carpet cleaning. Since you also said always give them your very best stuff on the front end, I wonder if any of that information you have would be something you think I should give him if I do meet with him?

Thanks Martin.

Bruce

By the way, I didn’t sleep last night thinking about the possibility of getting in on your new program where leads are generated for you.

I would do just about anything to get in on that!!
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Quite a story, huh? Let’s recap some of the important points:

Bruce attends a Chamber meeting and passes out his Audio Business Card to some of the 30 members in attendance. The Audio Business Card is a CD containing a 12 to 15 minute interview I do with you that tells who you are, what you do and how it can benefit business owners who listen to it. A VERY powerful positioning / sales tool that produces unbelievable results!

This next part is very important: Bruce is approached by the owner of a carpet cleaning business. Notice that Bruce didn’t say that he approached the business owner. No, the business owner approached Bruce wanting to know how Bruce could help him improve his business.

Can you see the difference in these two approaches? If Bruce would have approached the business owner, he would have been positioned as a salesperson, a peddler, a person in want or in need of business. And that business owner would have been in control and could have easily have dismissed Bruce.

But when the business owner approached Bruce wanting to know how Bruce could help him, the roles were reversed. Bruce was now in control. He was calling the shots. And if the business owner wanted Bruce’s help he would have to do things on Bruce’s terms.

See the difference? See how that works? Very powerful. And that’s exactly what the Audio Business Card and the other positioning and sales tools you get in the TopLine Business Consultants training will do for you.

The next thing Bruce did was ask the business owner a handful of questions. Notice how Bruce said I would get a kick out of it. And I did. Why? Because I wrote an article on those questions just a week or so ago, Bruce asked them and he got the very answer they are designed to produce: I don’t know.

That answer is predictable. It happens 99 out of every 100 times you ask those questions. And it very clearly demonstrates to the business owner something you already knew, even though you just met him: that he has no clue about some very critical areas of his business that could make a major difference in the business’s profitability.

There are a handful more similar questions that Bruce didn’t mention and that he may not have asked, each one designed to produce the same result: an I don’t know answer that causes the business owner to realize that he needs your help.

Think about this guy’s business for a minute. He’s been in business for 20 years and has a database of 4,200 customers. On average, that’s 210 customers a year, 17.5 per month, or just a little than one customer per working day on a 22 working day month. And he’s never contacted them for repeat business or referrals.

He’s paying Chem-Dry a franchise fee, spending money on chemicals, equipment repair and replacement, gasoline charges, employees and advertising. A lot of money going out. And I’d be willing to bet that much of that money is being spend on new customer acquisition.

But think what could happen if he kept in touch with those 4,200 customers in his database. First of all if one of those customers got a letter or call from the carpet cleaner after all this time, they’d probably have a heart attack because they haven’t heard from him for so long.

But really. What if just 1% of those 4,200 customers were to use the carpet cleaners services again this year? And what if the average job was just $400? That would be an extra $16,800 in additional revenue for the carpet cleaner. And what if it took one 50 cent postcard that cost $2,100 (4,200 x .50) to generate that $16,800? That would put $14,700 in extra money in that carpet cleaner’s pockets.

That’s $1,225 per month. A car payment. A vacation. Braces for the kids. A contribution to a 401k or other retirement plan. Health insurance for the family. Whatever.

Now I figured VERY low in my calculations. If this guy’s done work for these folks before and he’s done a good job for them, why wouldn’t they want to use his services again? So a 1% response is really pretty ridiculous. With regular contact it should be much higher and the frequency should be at least a couple of times a year, not just one time.

My point in this entire example is that here’s a business owner just dinging along running his business day to day without any plan, without any vision and without any system. Bruce introduced himself and they guy spend the next 30 minutes asking Bruce about his services. Bruce asked him a few questions that he knows he should know the answer to but doesn’t, and the next thing you know Bruce has a hot prospect that wants to meet with him again.

Notice how Bruce asked if he should use the Competitive Intelligence Report or just go in with that 88 question Business Analysis and the Power Point/Business Calculator.

Of course the answer is Yes!.

Yes, he should use ALL of them.

You never shortcut your presentation unless the prospect gives you a check or signs your agreement on the spot. To do anything less is assumptive on your part and you just increase your chances of blowing a sale.

Give ‘em everything you’ve got. That’s what we designed the tools for. They close the sales for you virtually automatically. Why would you do the work when your sales tools can do it so well for you? They make you look professional and will make points that you might otherwise overlook or leave out.

Well this message has gone on long enough. I just wanted you to see what kind of success one of our brand new consultants is having and how effective the tools you’ll get in your TopLine training are.

And with the new additions we’re incorporating into the TopLine system, it will be so much easier. Now’s the time to get onboard and make this program happen for you. Pick up the phone and call Chad at 480-461-1866. He’ll be glad to talk with you and help you determine if TopLine is right for you and if you meet the qualifications we’re looking for.

Best wishes for your success:

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions