Tag Archives: SALES

Designing Successful Newsletters

Newsletters have become a great way for businesses to spread information, “tell their story,” solidify customer loyalty, and increase sales.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind while designing your company newsletter:

Content Is Important – Successful newsletters provide interesting content for their readers, in addition to product information from the newsletter provider.
Color Draws the Eye – Use multiple colors of ink to draw attention to important articles and information. Two-color newsletters are very effective, and full-color newsletters are gaining popularity.
Pull Quotes Create Interest – Pull quotes create interest and increase the likelihood that an article will be read. These quotes are taken directly from the article and focus on interesting, key points.
Good Design Provides More Room for Copy – A well-planned and designed newsletter can contain 20% to 30% more content than a casually designed newsletter. Seeking advice from professional graphic artists is often profitable. They can help design an effective template for your future use.
Good Back Page Design Is Important – An estimated 15% of readers start reading at the back page of a newsletter and work their way to the front page.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351

Developing the Ultimate Sales TIP

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What exactly is a TIP and how does it work? In his book “Getting the Second Appointment,” author Anthony Parinello describes this sales weapon as, “a tool that helps you to eliminate individuals and organizations that are likely to waste your time.” TIP stands for Template of Ideal Prospects, and it works to qualify your sales leads by comparing your current prospects to the qualities you see in your top current customers.

Here’s how you can create your own TIP sheet:

Take your company’s current customer list and study it very closely. You may need to break the list down into sub-groups, industries or niches in order to get the best understanding of what lies at the core of each company.
Ask yourself: What do my company’s best, biggest, and most profitable current customers have in common? Then write down your answers this question for each top current customers, being very detailed and deliberate about what you record.
Develop a worksheet that lists these common factors, along with a way to record whether your prospective customer meets that criteria (see sample TIP sheet below). The longer the list of common factors, the more accurately and completely you will be able to prequalify your prospects.
Once you have created your TIP sheet, you can begin filling it out for your prospects. In the beginning, it is best to only spend your energy pursuing the prospects that meet all of your criteria. Remember, the criteria you have established was gathered from your top current customers, and offers a reflection of the type of companies you want to do business with. Don’t compromise on what you deem to be most important.
If you have been wasting your time tracking down lukewarm leads and prospects, this TIP sheet is sure to give you a fresh perspective on landing hot sales.

Create the Need

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John Patterson, known as the father of American salesmanship, is responsible for many of the modern sales practices used today. His work with the National Cash Register Company (NCR) changed the way salespeople think about marketing and selling their products.

In his book entitled The Patterson Principles of Selling, modern sales expert Jeffrey Gitomer unpacks some of Patterson’s most powerful tactics.

Patterson’s greatest sales accomplishment didn’t lie in selling cash registers, but in creating a demand for his product. He knew that sparking a desire would increase demand, and he focused his sales and marketing efforts on convincing consumers of the importance of obtaining a sales receipt. When consumers began to ask for a receipt from store clerks, the store managers felt obligated to purchase a cash register that would produce such receipts, and Patterson was poised to sell them one of his machines.

The same can be done in your business. Gitomer says in his book, “You must create a balance between the emotion to trigger the sale, and the logic to justify the purchase.” What is one thing your company could do to create a demand for your products or services?

Getting smarter?

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The folks here at Paragon Press continue to research ways to get smarter as it relates to social media marketing, SEO, PPC, web redesign, generating leads, converting leads into sales, etc, etc. It’s truly OVERWHELMING how much information and how many free resources (webinars, e-books, white papers, articles, blogs, e-newsletters, emails, etc) are out there. If someone tells you they’re not up to speed on what’s happening in the world of inbound marketing, it’s because they haven’t logged on to the internet lately, right? I’m grateful for all the info, yet know that we must prioritize and do it little by little, day by day…better than doing nothing at all!

joan@paragonpress.net / www.ParagonPress.net / Over 34 years, #1 in Shreveport, LA for PRINT, DESIGN, MAIL.

E-Newsletter Title

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We’re trying to come up with a title of our e-newsletter. Some ideas – “Tip of the Week,” “Paragon Insider,” “Marketing Solutions.” As you can imagine, there are tons of ways you could combine compelling and logical words to come up with a catchy title, but we want the title to convey what it is. It won’t necessarily be about marketing every week. It won’t necessarily be about any one specific topic every week. Looking for a general description, but one that conveys the content nicely. We plan to launch next week. Excited! It’s just one more thing Paragon Press Shreveport is doing in an effort to become great modern/inbound marketers! And generate qualified leads that turn into profitable sales!