Tuesday, November 6, 2007
How to Be a Successful Author Without a Major Publisher Half-Day Seminar
Only 10 days left to register! In the 21st century, the most successful authors aren't necessarily those signed with major publishers. With the confluence of Internet marketing, digital printing, online sales, and other current factors, it is entirely possible to achieve best-seller status on your own -- and authors are doing it. This information-packed seminar brings two publishing experts to San Diego who are on the leading edge of this publishing revolution. In this exclusive engagement, they'll teach authors exactly how to go up against "Big New York Publishing" and beat them at their own game. Jerry Simmons -- A retired Time-Warner Books vice president, Simmons will share his 25 years' experience in New York publishing, including surprising inside information about the big publishers they don't want authors to know. Based on this, he shares his method for successful authoring (using small and independent publishing avenues) with packed audiences throughout the U.S. on a regular basis. Debbie Allen -- Very few people have the expertise Allen has when it comes to self-promotion. Her knowledge of the subject has attracted thousands of people to her presentations in ten countries around the world. She has achieved best-selling and award-winning status as both a self-published and traditionally published author, and shares her techniques for success in her book Confessions of Shameless Self-Promoters. Register today to reserve your seat as space is limited! This special event, hosted by Publishers & Writers of San Diego, will take place at the Encinitas Community Center, Saturday, November 17, from 9 AM to 1 PM. The fee is $97. For more information, go to www.PublishersWriters.org or email Andrew@PublishersWriters.org.
Beauty and the Geek Present “The Science of Clients” Nov. 16 in Carlsbad
An all-day seminar on “The Science of Clients: How to Win Clients and Influence Referrals” featuring the pair dubbed Beauty and the Geek: Rhonda Sher, author of The Two Minute Networker, and Henry DeVries, author of Client Seduction, will begin 9 am Friday, November 16 at the Carlsbad Village Theatre, 2822 State Street, Carlsbad, CA 92018.
Why are these two authors nicknamed Beauty and the Geek? Sher and DeVries have been married for 27 years, but not to each other. He has an appointment at two universities. She has appointment every week to get her nails done. Both are professional speakers and authors who have teamed to train advertising, marketing, public relations and other professionals on how to find, keep and grow clients.
“You can call us Beauty and the Geek until the Fox attorneys file a awsuit,” says DeVries.
The session will cover how to get more clients, how to charge clients more money and how to smooth over client problems. Cost is $99 in advance at www.scienceofclients.com. For more information visit the Web site www.scienceofclients.com or email info@newclientmarketing.com or call 800-514-4467.Meet Beauty and the GeekClientologist Henry DeVries, MBA is a best-selling author, marketing instructor at UC San Diego Extension, and founder of the New Client Marketing Institute (www.newclientmarketing.com). Rhonda L. Sher is the founder and owner of The Two Minute Networker, one of the nation’s leading networking training companies. Rhonda is the expert at teaching others how to “take the work out of networking.”
Why are these two authors nicknamed Beauty and the Geek? Sher and DeVries have been married for 27 years, but not to each other. He has an appointment at two universities. She has appointment every week to get her nails done. Both are professional speakers and authors who have teamed to train advertising, marketing, public relations and other professionals on how to find, keep and grow clients.
“You can call us Beauty and the Geek until the Fox attorneys file a awsuit,” says DeVries.
The session will cover how to get more clients, how to charge clients more money and how to smooth over client problems. Cost is $99 in advance at www.scienceofclients.com. For more information visit the Web site www.scienceofclients.com or email info@newclientmarketing.com or call 800-514-4467.Meet Beauty and the GeekClientologist Henry DeVries, MBA is a best-selling author, marketing instructor at UC San Diego Extension, and founder of the New Client Marketing Institute (www.newclientmarketing.com). Rhonda L. Sher is the founder and owner of The Two Minute Networker, one of the nation’s leading networking training companies. Rhonda is the expert at teaching others how to “take the work out of networking.”
Friday, November 2, 2007
Why Should I Give You Money?
What is a “Value Proposition?”
The value proposition for your consulting business is the statement of why your clients should give you money – what do they get in exchange for the money that they pay you?
How do you write one?
One of the toughest yet most important tasks that any business has to undertake is to explain to its customers why they should pay for the company’s products and services. Why should they (your customers and customers) give you money? What is the “value proposition?”
We fly airplanes often as consultants. A question that is often asked of us by our fellow passengers is: “What services do you provide?” followed immediately by “That sounds interesting, who are your customers for that service and why do they need a consultant for that?” In other words, “What is your value proposition?”
Bradley Gale (author of Managing Customer Value and The P.I.M.S. Principle) often speaks of customers making decisions based upon the value of the deal, not the price. After all, if price was the major factor in decision-making wouldn’t we all be driving used Yugos? We aren’t. Why? Chris thinks we make such decisions based upon the utility of what we receive as compared to the price we pay; i.e., the value of the deal, where price has several attributes. The price attributes can range from initial cost to the hassle of dealing with you as a supplier to the long-term costs and many other cost-related factors.
Dr. Gale’s book addresses several issues: What is customer value and how is it managed? Who “owns” it? What are the specialized tools that are used to manage it? What data is needed? The market research elements that Dr. Gale discusses include the “Pain of the Customer,” customer satisfaction survey data and the “House of Quality.”
A value proposition captures the essence of these ideas: what is the utility you receive from our products and services versus what does it cost you? Of course, the better the utilities are described by the marketer or salesperson, the better is the perceived value by the customer. This is where the “Pain of the Customer” fits in. Marketing professionals have known for decades that customers respond best to ads that speak to their pain, both the fact that you understand it and the fact that you can solve it. Recent literature has shown that businesses behave the same way, especially with respect to “hi-tech” products and services. They want their risk of pain alleviated.
Thus, for your value proposition to work, the customer must perceive that his pain or risk of pain will be reduced, or there is an excitement about the positive attributes (features) of your product or service with minimal risk (pain avoidance).
Checklist of 5 Keys to a Great Value Proposition
1. Be able to express the value of your product or service in terms of how it solves or deals with the customer’s pain, or how the customer benefits with minimized risk of pain.
2. Make sure you understand how much that pain costs them in terms of dollars, staff, time, hassle and energy; i.e., the total cost.
3. Be sure to understand the costs of your product and service, both initially and long-term, including the hassles for the customer, if any.
4. Make sure you can articulate the value (the return) on the investment with your company in dollars and cents and when payback should be expected; this necessarily involves analysis of the dollar value of benefits that may not be easily quantified.
5. Be aware of their alternatives (competitors to you or the option of doing nothing) and what advantages you have over each alternative; proper value proposition analysis includes head-to-head comparisons with all of the customer’s choices.
The value proposition for your consulting business is the statement of why your clients should give you money – what do they get in exchange for the money that they pay you?
How do you write one?
One of the toughest yet most important tasks that any business has to undertake is to explain to its customers why they should pay for the company’s products and services. Why should they (your customers and customers) give you money? What is the “value proposition?”
We fly airplanes often as consultants. A question that is often asked of us by our fellow passengers is: “What services do you provide?” followed immediately by “That sounds interesting, who are your customers for that service and why do they need a consultant for that?” In other words, “What is your value proposition?”
Bradley Gale (author of Managing Customer Value and The P.I.M.S. Principle) often speaks of customers making decisions based upon the value of the deal, not the price. After all, if price was the major factor in decision-making wouldn’t we all be driving used Yugos? We aren’t. Why? Chris thinks we make such decisions based upon the utility of what we receive as compared to the price we pay; i.e., the value of the deal, where price has several attributes. The price attributes can range from initial cost to the hassle of dealing with you as a supplier to the long-term costs and many other cost-related factors.
Dr. Gale’s book addresses several issues: What is customer value and how is it managed? Who “owns” it? What are the specialized tools that are used to manage it? What data is needed? The market research elements that Dr. Gale discusses include the “Pain of the Customer,” customer satisfaction survey data and the “House of Quality.”
A value proposition captures the essence of these ideas: what is the utility you receive from our products and services versus what does it cost you? Of course, the better the utilities are described by the marketer or salesperson, the better is the perceived value by the customer. This is where the “Pain of the Customer” fits in. Marketing professionals have known for decades that customers respond best to ads that speak to their pain, both the fact that you understand it and the fact that you can solve it. Recent literature has shown that businesses behave the same way, especially with respect to “hi-tech” products and services. They want their risk of pain alleviated.
Thus, for your value proposition to work, the customer must perceive that his pain or risk of pain will be reduced, or there is an excitement about the positive attributes (features) of your product or service with minimal risk (pain avoidance).
Checklist of 5 Keys to a Great Value Proposition
1. Be able to express the value of your product or service in terms of how it solves or deals with the customer’s pain, or how the customer benefits with minimized risk of pain.
2. Make sure you understand how much that pain costs them in terms of dollars, staff, time, hassle and energy; i.e., the total cost.
3. Be sure to understand the costs of your product and service, both initially and long-term, including the hassles for the customer, if any.
4. Make sure you can articulate the value (the return) on the investment with your company in dollars and cents and when payback should be expected; this necessarily involves analysis of the dollar value of benefits that may not be easily quantified.
5. Be aware of their alternatives (competitors to you or the option of doing nothing) and what advantages you have over each alternative; proper value proposition analysis includes head-to-head comparisons with all of the customer’s choices.
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