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Clients ask me all the time how important rankings are.

Franchise Times, Entrepreneur, Franchise Business Review among others, all publish several franchise ranking lists per year. Here's my response.

Everything positive you can show about your system is a plus, clearly. The important thing is to participate-answer emails from publications or entities that tell you you are being considered for this list or that.

You can forward to your PR people, but much of the information will likely have to come from your CFO.

As a PR firm for franchises, we keep a list "alarmed" for the most popular and (and this is important) the most credible rankings.

Four months before the list is published we remind clients to look for an email, form or link that they need to go to in order to be considered for inclusion on the said list.

We will also happily vet a request for legitimacy which you can ask your firm or PR person to do as well.

You can Google the list and publication in question yourself.

Then I recommend you do this below: not with every one but certainly when you have amassed as many as this Number One in Home Inspection franchise has.

Go ahead. Toot your horn, but putting out a press release for every list you are mentioned on minimizes the weight of the honor. Announce two-three awards or rankings at a time and soon you will become the SuperStar in your category like Pillar To Post!

PILLAR TO POST HOME INSPECTORS® RECEIVES TOP

RANKINGS FROM ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE IN SIX CATEGORIES IN 2016

They Will Raise Veterans Discount from 10% to 20% on Franchise Fees

(TAMPA, FLA.) -- Pillar To Post Home Inspectors has achieved the highest position in the Top Franchise for Veterans ranking in Entrepreneur Magazine for 2016. This prestigious honor is the sixth such ranking from the famed business publication for Pillar To Post Home Inspectors. The company ranked as follows in the magazine's January edition of the Franchise 500: #1 in their category of Home Inspection, Best of the Best, Fastest Growing Franchise, Top Home Based Franchises and Top Low Cost Franchises. In addition, the booming chain has already awarded 70 additional franchises since January of this year.

"We couldn't be more thrilled with this honor," said Dan Steward, President & CEO of Pillar To Post Home Inspectors. "It says so much not only about how hard we've worked but how hard our franchisees have worked and maintained absolute integrity in their home inspections."

In addition, Pillar To Post ranks high in Franchise Business Review rankings. Franchise Business Review is a national franchise market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction and franchise buyer experiences, examines the critical areas of a franchise system including training & support, operations, franchisor/franchisee relations, financial opportunity, and more. Its survey results deliver the unbiased facts about the overall health of a franchise system directly from today's franchise owners.

Pillar To Post has been named by Franchise Business Review's rankings of Top 50 in Franchisee Satisfaction, Top 30 among Home Service Franchises and Top Low Cost Franchise for 2016.

"We have been doing so well and are so honored to be named among Entrepreneur's Top Franchises for Veterans," said Eric Steward, Marketing Manager for Pillar To Post. "The veterans who join our system end up as top performers. Our business model and structure and culture seem to be a perfect fit for those leaving the military. As a result, we have recently added an additional 10% discount on our franchise fees for veterans, going from a 10% discount to a 20% discount for them.

About Pillar To Post Home Inspectors
Founded in 1994, Pillar To Post Home Inspectors is the largest home inspection company in North America with over 550 franchisees, located in 48 states and nine Canadian provinces. Long-term plans include adding 500-600 new franchisees over the next five years. For further information, please visit www.pillartopostfranchise.com/

Beyond excellent franchisee growth in 2015, Cincinnati-based Window Genie was also lauded by a number of business journals throughout the year.

Inc. Magazine recognized Window Genie as one of the fastest-growing businesses in the Cincinnati metropolitan area, in addition to placing it on the upper half of its annual Inc. 5000 listing of fastest-growing companies in the United States for the second year in a row.

Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Window Genie 170^th on its annual Franchise 500 list for 2015, moving up 15 spots from 2014, cementing its place as one of the fastest-growing and top home-based franchises. Window Genie also placed 51^st on Entrepreneur's top home based/ mobile franchises.

Franchise Business Review, a national franchisee satisfaction market research firm also placed Window Genie on its annual Top Franchises for Veteran's list. It is the only list of top franchises for veterans based on data from those who know best - the veterans who own them.

Window Genie's Founder and CEO Rik Nonelle said,

"This ranking is very important to us personally as we have a unique ability to give back to those who serve. We offer veterans additional territory at no cost when purchasing a franchise."

Nonelle continues, "These rankings are great but I most like achieving them for our franchisees, who are the most important part of our whole business structure."

Nonelle has made it HIS business to market to his franchisees, or, in other words, build internal programs that help them achieve great results. An example of one such program is an agreement made in April 2015 with 3M Company to provide a residential window film solution as part of the company's lauded Envision™ line of films.

The partnership provides Window Genie franchisees with the opportunity to service over 125,000 residential customers with window film that reduces fading, heat and glare, lowering utility bills. Window Genie's partnership with 3M is the result of two years of discussions between the companies.

In 2016, says Window Genie founder and CEO Richard Nonelle, the company has big plans for more programs that benefit franchisees and customers alike. "We will continue to focus on improving the experience between franchisee and customer," says Nonelle.

"This year we expanded our Your Holiday Lights program from three franchisees to 15 (this program is optional for those franchisees who wish to fill their winter months with an outdoor holiday lighting business) and continue to offer an incentive program for current owners who refer a new franchisee."

Window Genie's mobile search strategy, adds Nonelle, will be in full effect in 2016, which will entail an improved online presence and SEO enhancements to benefit owners.

"We have also been using the Franchise Navigator," said Nonelle. "I've learned the best thing I can give my existing franchisees are additional excellent franchisees coming aboard. We look for the same profile as my top performing franchisees. They deserve to have the brand continued to be bolstered by hard workers like themselves."

"The strength of your franchise system comes from the people who deliver your products or services. You could have the best business model and the best product or service, but if you sell your franchise or business opportunity to the wrong type of person you, they and the consumer will not receive what they expect from your brand," ​says Craig Slavin, Founder and President of Navigator System Solutions, owner of the Franchise Navigator.​

Franchisors must focus on the human component part of growing their business. That means talent, skills, values and behavior! Create and "model" your high performing franchise owners. All inbound candidates should then be compared to this profile to determine if they are a good "fit" and can execute the franchise company's business model.

"A franchise sold to the wrong person is worse than not selling one at all," Nonelle agreed.

Window Genie aims to continue its growth in 2016, and Nonelle points to years of consistent annual expansion as proof that his plan is a sustainable one. This past year 15 new franchisees have joined the Window Genie system.

Window Genie franchisees can be found all throughout the United States, with target markets for growth for 2016 in Florida, Arizona, New York and California.

For 22 years Matthew Byrne worked in the building automation controls industry, where he last managed a $20 million branch contracting business. There he worked with energy efficiency products, gaining a keen insight into an industry that has a demonstrated impact on energy use and utilities. That, he said, is what drew him to LED Source. According to LEDinside retrofitting and other LED lighting projects will be a $25 billion industry by the end of this year.

"When I learned about the energy-efficiency capabilities of LED lighting, the excellent quality of the light produced and the longevity of the products, I became truly enthused," said Byrne. "Because LED lighting is an emerging technical industry, it reminds me of the early days of the direct digital controls revolution that occurred back when I first started. It was very exciting; with LED Source, I found I could recapture that magic."

The magic that Byrne seeks was further inspired by work with current partner Nate Byelick, Byrne's brother-in-law. Together the two worked with an LED startup company where they installed LED fixtures. Inspired by this experience, they decided to reach out and find an LED business they could own and and control.

"After 22 years in my previous industry I realized it was time for a change," said Byrne. "I became determined to never again let my financial stability be determined by someone else and I wanted to be involved in an industry that was rapidly growing before my eyes. I also felt that because of this new technology we could actually have a real affect on the environment while enjoying making a living. At a certain point in your career, you say to yourself, "'what can I do to give back' "? For Byrne and Byelick, the answer was LED Source.

Founded in 2005 by Marcel Fairbairn and Gavin Cooper, LED Source^® is North America's first franchisor of LED lighting. The company supplies high quality LED lighting products to a variety of spaces, and specializes in design, support, development, project management and financing through its Retrofit, Architectural, Entertainment and National Accounts divisions. In 2012, LED Source launched LouMan Money^®, a private-labeled finance program that affords companies an LED lighting upgrade without tying up capital or using existing lines of credit.

With decades of experience in building automation, Byrne is keenly aware of the difference smart technology can have on a company's bottom line. "Businesses stand to save a lot of money when they employ LED lighting and quicker than they may think," said Byrne. "That's one of my favorite parts of being with LED Source: dispelling preconceived notions and helping businesses save money, while doing it in such a way that they're helping the environment, too."

Now operating LED Source of Raleigh Matt Byrne says every day is Earth Day. That's because as the area franchisee of LED Source Byrne provides the kind of state-of-the-art lighting solutions that are becoming the standard for environmentally conscious businesses to the Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham areas.

Currently, Byrne and LED Source of Raleigh are working with GRACE Christian School in the Raleigh area transitioning all of their standard lighting into LED lighting. "We are outfitting three main components of the school's campus, the elementary school, high school and sports field. The high school campus used to be an auto dealership so excessive lighting throughout the parking lots had to be changed. We started the initial reach out via a cold call. The rebates the school received from switching from standard lighting to LED more than covered the switch over for the parking lot so they decided to refit the entire campus as a whole which is a big and exciting project for both the school and us," said Byrne.

"Businesses stand to save a lot of money when they employ LED lighting and quicker than they may think," shared Byrne. "That's one of my favorite parts of being with LED Source: dispelling preconceived notions and helping businesses save money, while doing it in such a way that they're helping the environment, too. It's also great to go to work and know you are not only decreasing your carbon footprint but are helping others do the same."

For more information about retrofitting your business or franchising opportunities, please visit www.LEDsource.com

As gift cards continue to rise in popularity among consumers, the regulations and laws that companies must follow in issuing and accepting them continue to increase as well.

Beyond the extensive requirements of the new federal gift card law - Regulation E - one of the issues just starting to gain traction with state legislatures is the idea of requiring retailers to give customers "cash back" on a gift card once the balance falls below a particular level.

New Jersey recently became the second state to formally join the movement when on July 29, 2012, Governor Chris Christie signed Senate Bill 1928 into law.

As of September 1, 2012, all retailers in New Jersey must allow any customer holding a gift card with a balance below $5.00 to redeem the gift card for cash upon request.

A violation can result in a statutory penalty of up to $500 per violation, so the failure to comply can get costly pretty quickly.

Notably, there are a few exceptions, such as the fact that retailers do not have to provide cash back if the initial value of the card was below $5.00, or if the card is redeemable at multiple unaffiliated merchants (such as a mall gift card). Otherwise, however, retailers in New Jersey must provide cash back to any customer who asks once the value of the card has dropped below $5.00.

Oregon is the only other state that currently requires retailers to provide cash back to customers on gift cards where the value has decreased to below $5.00, but similar legislation is also currently pending in Illinois, and has been considered in various other states during the past two years.

So, you can likely expect similar laws to continue to crop up elsewhere in the country. Until then, if you are not operating in Oregon or New Jersey, you are not required to provide customers cash back on your gift cards.

If you have question about this or any of the Federal Gift Card Regulations, please contact me for quick and practical advice.

For the 5 Most Fascinating Stories in Franchising, a weekly report, click here & sign up.

Storytelling, storytelling, and more storytelling.

Seems like every marketing book, blog (including mine if you've been reading this week's posts) and study is talking about how we should be using storytelling as a marketing technique.

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, I think most attempts fall short.

Earlier this week -- I made the point that A) It seems that despite all the hype -- we're doing less real storytelling today and B) storytelling is hardly a new tactic.

Marketers clearly believe that storytelling is a critical component of their marketing efforts.

As you can see by the chart above, according to a previous B2B Content Marketing Trends survey conducted for Holger Schulze for Optify, 81% of respondents listed engaging and compelling storytelling as one of the three most important aspects of content marketing.

So -- no argument that marketing's version of storytelling is critical to a business' communications success.

The question is -- why are so many companies doing it badly and not experiencing the results they want?

The stories don't evoke an emotion: There's not a memorable story around that isn't seeded in emotions. For some businesses, especially those in the B2B sector, it's hard to imagine what emotions their products or services might trigger. That's because the marketers are staying at the features level of sales, not delving into the benefits that lie beneath.

It might be as simple as your prospect is afraid if they make a bad decision, it will cost them their job. Or it could be that what you sell is helping your clients fulfill their reason for existing -- which to them is very emotionally motivated. If you dig deep enough, you'll find the emotions behind your stories. Be sure you expose those in your storytelling so that your audience can relate to and empathize with the people in the tale.

The stories don't use data to lend credibility: As we discussed in my post about the Revolutionary War book -- what made those stories so dramatic and grabbing was the facts that were dotted throughout.

As the folks at the Content Marketing Institute points out in this blog post -- data can be used in a variety of ways to tell your story. Think visual data like an infographic or let the data suggest a new angle or insight for both you and your audience.

The story doesn't take us on a journey: In marketing's version of storytelling, we often take shortcuts to get to the big reveal. But in doing that, we rob the audience of the arc of the story. Every story is, in essence, a journey that chronicles the the problem, the fight to solve the problem and how things are better once the challenge is resolved.

But a great story lets the journey also help the audience see the motivations, frustrations and worries of the characters while they try to face the problem. The outcomes are also wrapped in more than just the tangible results. When the story is rich with details - we also learn more about the intangible results and ultimate value of delivering the right solution.

The story doesn't include a next step/call to action: Here's where most marketers really miss the boat. A well crafted story draws the audience in, helps them connect with the main character and feel their common pain. As the story evolves, the prospect is pulling for the character -- because in reality, the character bears a striking resemblance to them. They experience the ups and downs within the story and as the story delivers the happy ending -- the prospective customer is thinking and feeling relief and a desire to share in that sort of outcome.

So marketing's version of storytelling is all too often, a big tease. You led them right to the edge -- get them hungry for what you're selling but don't give them a clear and defined next step. Ask yourself -- what do I want them to do next and be sure you make it easy and quick to take that next action.

If you don't include this as a part of your storytelling -- the whole point of telling the story in the first place is wasted. You aren't a court jester earning your supper. You're trying to help someone decide whether or not you hold the answer to their problem. Once you demonstrate that you are the right choice -- be sure you give them a chance to tell you so.

What do you think? Can you tweak the way you're telling your company's story so that it drives leads and sales?

Drew's original post can be found as his blog Drew's Marketing Minute.

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Everyone wants to get a better return from their marketing spend at Trade Shows. Some companies are doing this extraordinarily well. How is your company doing?

Here are three tips on how companies are using sales 2.0 Strategies & Technologies to generate more leads, close more sales and take away business from your competitors at Trade Shows.

1. Pre Convention Marketing - Use a Robot.

Use a marketing automation system, which connects to your CRM system, to automatically perform a number of presale and follow-up tasks

You can gauge interest from the potential attendees before the convention by sending them educational and problem-solving material in videos via email. The material should be focussed on solutions and not slogans or sales.

2. At the Convention.

Use this time wisely. Don't have your marketing people scrambling to collect business cards, writing notes on them which will make no sense in 2 weeks to the sales force.

Have your marketing people engage with the attendees and get the attendees committed to registering for more information, to be delivered at a later date by email.

3. Post Convention Follow -Up Marketing Automation

Engage and follow-up with attendees at least 20 times before, during, and after the trade show.

I was talking to a friend of mine who's in sales, and he was frustrated.

He shared with me that he continues to see the same pattern. He talks to a client, and he leaves them interested, but in the next meeting they tell him that they are no longer interested or worse than that, they do not even keep that scheduled meeting.

He is not in a one-step type sale. So, it is not that he cannot close. In fact, he is closing for the next appointment.

I asked him what's happening between those meetings.

He responded with "Tim, they perform their due diligence and determine what we are not."

What piece is missing?

In his case, the organization is not a strong national brand and they have little market presence in the area he is working in.

I was able to draw on some personal experience from just about twenty years ago. I was with an organization that was not a household name. In fact, they had international presence, but the network for the most part was weak.

The company wanted to change its image and decided to target much larger clients going forward. This would be like raising the Titanic. It may have seemed like a daunting task, but I began to re-write the companies record books.

My book of business was five years ahead of projections. I simply identified people who did not need the household brand name awareness but had needs that matched up with our strengths.

One of those strengths was our royalty structure. (Later,the company was sold and they eliminated that competitive advantage, as well as many of the proprietary tools.) I simply did not sell around our weakness, but stated what we were and what we were not. This worked.

My clients were among the top five percent quartile of our membership upon affiliation.

So, my advice was simple. I suggested after the needs analysis, share what you are not, which may or may not be obvious.

Rather than the client discovering this, be honest and upfront. Focus them on the needs that they have agreed on and that you have solutions for those challenges.

If you truly cannot match your value proposition to their needs, you must move on.

Even if you can sell around it, they will probably end up miserable. Soon, you will be too. There is nothing worse than an unhappy customer. They will not say, "It is not working for me." They will say "It just does not work."

Over 50 years ago a movie was released called Miracle on 34 street, by now you probably have seen it a hundred times. The main plot in the story surrounds the concept of Santa Claus and if he does exist.

Once agreed that he did exist,the question became was the man on trial the one and only Santa Claus?

In the early part of the movie you may recall that Macy's sent customers to Gimbels,which was all started by the Santa in question. As the publicity mounted, both stores ultimately embraced the concept. Soon, competition broke out to put the customer needs first.

While you can say 'well that may be good in theory or only the movies," we all appreciate an honest salesperson sending us someplace else to find what we really need.

Progressive Insurance even made a marketing campaign out sharing other's rates.

At the root of consultative selling isn't that at the very core?

I stopped asking people during an interview, "What is your approach to selling?" I always received the same answer and that was consultative selling.

A consultant does not keep asking questions until they find an opening. They identify an agreed upon problem and then help find a solution.

Sometimes, we do not have a fit.

Or we may have some of what they need, but it still does not match the client's real challenge. It is like having the right size shoe for the customer, but in the wrong color. They have to choose the shoe or the exact match. In some cases, they may be willing to adapt or make a change to make that product work.

So my advice is to find the right fit. There is no one size fits all. Do not be afraid of saying "That is not us.", and turn down the sale.

Your customers hold the secret of lowering advertising costs and increasing revenue in the palm of their hands.

Text message marketing, being called the single most effective marketing medium of all time by some, is taking the world by storm and it's not hard to see why:

1. 91% of US Residents and 77% of the world population own a mobile phone with Text Messaging capabilities.
2. 97% of all Text Messages are read by the recipient within 3 minutes of being sent.

Can you imagine being able to reach your customer base within 3 minutes, any day of the week? The results can be amazing.

When leveraged properly, text messaging campaigns have seen response rates climb above 30%. This number alone can shed light on why 89% of major brands have been marketing on mobile devices since 2008.

The benefits of text message marketing do not just apply to the younger generation. According to M:Media , 39% of text Messengers in the United States are over 35 years old and 69% are over 25.

In a campaign targeting men and women ages 25-54, Carrabba's Italian Grill, hoped to achieve a 5% response rate for their text messaging efforts. The goal of the campaign was to have their current customers join a new appreciation club. Four weeks later with 443 responses, they had soared past that goal to a rate of 35%.

Restaurants are not the only industries to benefit from this type of marketing channel. In fact, marketing is not the only use for text messaging.

Fire and Rescue squads, stationed in Blaine, WA, lowered their operating cost by eliminating their pager bill completely. They were able to do this by utilizing text messaging.

As many people are discovering with their lack of internet presence, failure to act can be one of the most detrimental decisions made in business. Your competitors may not have already discovered this revenue increasing tool, but, with the exponential expected growth of mobile marketing, they are sure to do so soon. You cannot afford to miss this marketing phenomenon.

If you liked this, you should sign up for the LinkedIn Marketing & Advertising Tips from Franchise-Info newsletter.

Or, for more information on the Franchise-Info Business Directory, call Joe at 1-443-502-2636 or email Joe direct [email protected]

LED Source- the Franchisor's Vendor

My client LED Source is an awesome company that has now been valued very highly by the "right people".

They are a franchisor & also a vendor to franchisors, retrofitting lighting for great chains like Massage Envy and Starbucks.

We will ALL eventually need LED lighting so they are out there promoting themselves on both levels. They are a terrific futuristic franchise opportunity and at the same time franchisors and chains, such as Starbucks, need to be retrofitted with all new lighting.

But how to go after a Starbucks type entity when you think "hey I'm just a small company?"

Be a small company that ROARS!

If you can make an intelligent presentation as to the whys, wheres, how tos and in LED Source's case, the tax credits the customer will receive, you can pitch anyone. It just takes tenacity and an intelligent, succinct "pitch".

Window Genie- 3M Partnership

Another great example is another terrific client of Sanderson & Associates: Cincinnati based Window Genie.

Window Genie has reached an agreement with 3M Company to provide a residential window film solution as part of the company's lauded Envision™ line of films. The partnership will provide Window Genie, a franchise chain with over 200 units that provides window cleaning and window tinting to homes in more than 24 states, an opportunity to service over 125,000 residential customers with window film that reduces fading, heat and glare and can help lower utility bills.

Beginning April 1, Window Genie franchisees will offer the residential Envision™ film options that include clear view, glare control, sun block and shade offerings. The film options range from 70%-40% for total solar energy rejection (TSER), a quality which stands to save homeowners significantly on their utility bills.

Window Genie's partnership with 3M is the result of two years of discussions between the companies, initiated by Window Genie.

"We approached 3M two years ago actively seeking the partnership," said Ken Fisk, vice president of operations for Window Genie.

"We believed Window Genie's reputation as an established residential home service business put us in a great position to illustrate to 3M the value of forming a partnership with us.

Through two years of conversations pertaining to the opportunity 3M had to penetrate the residential market through a partnership with Window Genie, a company with over 125,000 residential customers in our database, both parties agreed it was mutually beneficial to move forward."

"The partnership is mutually beneficial," said Fisk.

"While Window Genie is able to further customer satisfaction by providing a highly recognizable brand of top quality window film, 3M is able to successfully penetrate the residential market and build brand awareness for their line of residential film among Window Genie's customers that span over 200 markets in 24 states."

For years 3M's line of Envision™ Wrap Films has been an industry favorite, earning commendations for its high performance, sustainable materials and comprehensive warranty.

Founded in 1994 by Rik Nonelle, Window Genie recently appeared on Inc. Magazine's 2014 Inc. 5000 list and on Entrepreneur Magazine's list of top 100 home-based franchises. The partnership stands to benefit Window Genie franchisees every bit as it will benefit customers," said Fisk.

"We look forward to improved training and support by providing one brand of film to our franchise partners," said Fisk. "We believe it will help streamline systems and enable growth with a more successful method of coaching throughout the entire Window Genie system."

ABOUT WINDOW GENIE

Window Genie is a mobile cleaning services company focused primarily on its "big three" services: window cleaning, window tinting and pressure washing. The company also offers, among many other services, dryer vent cleaning, chandelier cleaning and gutter cleaning and re-securing.

Window Genie services primarily residential customers, as well as small offices and commercial spaces. The company currently has 72 franchise owners operating more than 200 units in 24 states, and expects to grow to 100 franchisees by the end of 2015 and over 300 within five years. Target markets include California, New York and Florida. For more information, visit www.windowgenie.com.

ABOUT LED SOURCE

Founded in 2005, LED Source^® is North America's first franchisor of LED lighting. The company supplies high quality LED lighting products to a variety of spaces, and specializes in design, support, development, project management and financing through its Retrofit, Architectural, Entertainment and National Accounts divisions.

In 2012, LED Source launched LouMan Money^®, a private-labeled finance program that affords companies an LED lighting upgrade without tying up capital or using existing lines of credit. For more information and/or about franchising opportunities, please visit www.LEDsource.com/franchising.

A couple of weeks ago, I was startled to receive an email from Drayton Bird.

Actually, it was from one of his talented associates, Gerald Woodgate.

Gerald promised to: "reveal the biggest mistake so many websites make"

Ok, say I to myself, what mistake could we be making that was so bad?

Joe and I have only been doing this for about 12 years.

Some clever SEO tactic?

Some shrewd backlinking strategy?

Nope, what Gerald told me was so shocking and simple, I couldn't believe that Joe and I missed it!

If you are blogging, content marketing, or just writing & you are trying to sell your services, don't make this mistake --any more.

1. First, what is wrong with this picture?

Here is a week's worth of analytics, from March 7th to March 17th, 2014, for a great post Nancy Friedman wrote: The New Rules of Email Etiquette

Ok, so what does this tell us?

Nancy had 528 readers, each who spent more than 4:30 minutes reading what she had to say about the New Rules of Email Etiquette.

In ten days, Nancy could have had 528 leads.

But, she did not get those leads --because Joe and I are committing the terrible mistake Gerald warned us about!

2. Our Terrible Mistake - Don't You Make the Same One!

When someone comes to your office, do you offer to exchange business cards?

Or do you shoo them out the door?

No, it would be rude not.

To offer the ritual exchange - it's part of just being pleasant.

But, as Gerald wrote to us: Joe and I are being rude on our website.

What did we offer those people who read Nancy's article & were interested in what Nancy had to say?

Nothing. Nada. Bupkis.

Nothing to see here - just move on.

You see, we made the mistake Gerald warned us about.

What is the terrible error?

---- Not capturing the names and email addresses of interested readers

3. So, Make an Offer to An Interested Reader Who Wants to Buy from You Sometime

Here is exactly what Gerald said, so shocking & simple.

"Remember: People buy when they want to, not when you want them to.

So if you're not in touch with them you'll miss the boat when they're ready.

When you're collecting names and / or email addresses you know when someone's interested in what you do.

After all, they wouldn't have given you their details if they weren't.

All you have to do is persuade them to buy from you. Not one of the competition.

And when you're the one in regular contact with them ... helping them ... advising them ...

Well, who do you think they'll buy from?"

People buy on their schedule & not when your bank account needs them to. So keep in touch.

Oh yeah, you cannot keep in touch unless you have their name and email.

4. And Joe & I Can do Better for You at Franchise-Info, I thought.

Here is what your supplier or vendor directory directory listing will have.

1. Tracking of click-thrus. How many people went to your landing page from our directory?

2. Sharing of Information. Give us your Google analytics, even your own custom code, and we will embed the code into the page. Then, share the information with you.

Since this will be the best Supplier or Vendor directory, we are only going to charge you $97/month. The best deal you can find.

5. But that's not all. We have much more for you.

We are going to give you a way of filtering & separating the prospects from the suspects.

We are going to give you our LinkedIn Verified/Qualified lead program.

Yup, not only do you get tracking, sharing, you get real leads .

Ready for you to sell to.

Yes, I want More Qualified Leads!

Directory Lead Program : $97.00 USD - monthly