Interview Peter Geisheker

What is the most important direct mail tip?

 Get your envelope opened. If your envelope is not opened, the prospect cannot read your sales letter and buy what you are selling.

 Why should you make your direct mail envelopes lumpy?

 Direct mail envelopes should be "lumpy" by having a free gift in the envelope to create curiosity. When a person receives a lumpy envelope, curiosity takes over and they open the envelope to see what is inside. As I stated, the most important part of a direct mail piece is getting your envelope opened, and by making your envelope lumpy, it almost guarantees that your envelope will be opened.

 Why should a Small Business have a strong money back guarantee?

It is to remove all financial risk a customer feels when doing business with you. People do not want to be taken advantage of by spending their hard earned money on a bad product or a bad service. By offering a money back guarantee, you take that risk away from the customer so they know if they are not pleased with the product or service they buy from you, they can get their money back.

Read entire interview here:
Peter Geisheker Interview

Why Coaching Is More Effective Than Training  

by Kreg Enderson

Today, there is a major shift in the workplace as to how our team members learn. Leaders must know the difference between "training" and "coaching", and begin to learn how to effectively coach team members to provide continual performance improvement.

When we train our team members, we teach them what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Training is primarily a one-way communication process, although things like role playing help in bringing the trainee into the communication process. Training is still a much needed activity in the workplace, but it is critical that we teach our new leaders how to follow-up with effective coaching as well.

Coaching on the other hand, is a two-way communication process where we interact with our team members on a daily basis, letting them know what they are doing well AND how they can improve. We make it a habit to "catch them" doing things "almost right" , praise them, and show them how to improve.

The major focus while coaching needs to be to build up their self-confidence and self-esteem. We want to wrap our coaching around a positive event. This allows the team member to focus on learning new skills rather than being defensive about negative behavior. From the time we were in grade school, the process of improvement started with feedback on what was "wrong". Point out where someone needs improvement, and tell them how to make the changes for next time.

If you've ever been a member of a Toastmaster's Group, you know that one of the more challenging tasks you are assigned is to provide positive feedback to the presenters. It's in our nature to look for flaws, things you would like to see improve or change, and share that with another person. That's why this shift is so difficult for so many leaders.

Coaching also needs to be individualized. Your approach should be unique for each team member. You need to know what your people value, what their goals are, their background, and skill level. Try coaching your newest person the same way you coach the person with the most experience, and see if you are effective with both people. Your new team members needs more instructions, they lack the knowledge often times to do the task well. Your experienced person on the other hand, has the knowledge, but may lack self-confidence. Your approach needs to be vastly different with each.

Training will continue to be a much needed, and often neglected, activity in the workplace. As leaders, we need to support the training efforts through our coaching process to ensure the skills and knowledge convert into effective performance. Keep it positive, and keep it individualized and you will see continual performance improvement in your team members.

Kreg Enderson may be contacted at http://www.leadershipmentor.com kreg@leadershipmentor.com. Click here to view more of their articles.

Certified Coach, successful leader, and owner of the new leader training and mentoring site LeadershipMentor.com

The MOST Powerful Marketing and Advertising on the Planet! 

by Matthew Hesser 

It sounds too simple to be true, but it really is... A well targeted and timely PRESS RELEASE to the media is the most powerful form of marketing and advertising on the planet! A high quality press release, with the proper targeting and distribution to reach the correct media members, could have many businesses sailing on a sea of new sales and profits. Just one feature or a mention in a popular or targeted business publication has the potential to cause some business's phones to literally be ringing off the hook!  

The next big question that arises, "How do you go about writing a quality press release that will grab the attention of the media and your particular audience? Here are some tips to help you succeed:  

- Pick a "Newsworthy" Angle. Press releases are not an advertisement. Do not try to sell your product or service. Do not use "hype" in press releases. Instead give the media what they want and they will give you what you want... Now, what the press and media really want is a story! Just provide: the Who, What, When, Where and How with regards to the uses of your products and or services in a story format. Show examples of ways that people have used your products and services to their benefit. If you can include some emotions in your story all the better. Think to yourself: Would this be something that I might read in a newspaper?  

- Get a Good Start. The headline and the first few sentences of the first paragraph are the absolute most important part of the press release. If you don't catch the readers interest here you will lose your audience. The best way to do this is to use your most hard hitting infomation FIRST rather than build to a climax. This may be opposite to what you would normally do when writing other material - but it does work! What follows in your press release are the details that SUPPORT your story or theme.  

- Write to the Media. Remember your press release is being read by a journalist, editor or reporter, not necessarily a client. It's not your job to sell them your product or service. It IS your job to give them an interesting story or piece of news that they will be happy to share and announce to their audience.  

- Keep your release short and to the point. It should contain no more than about 500 words and no more than two pages.  

- Include your contact information. Provide full contact name, company name, full address, phone number, email address and Web site URL. The contact name should be someone who is knowledgeable and available to answer any questions by media members such as editors, reporters and journalists.  

Targeted press releases to the media have helped thousands of companies succeed. They are the most powerful form of marketing and advertising on the planet! Remember: One article is all it takes!  

For more information on how you can get a quality targeted press release written or have your press release distributed to the targeted media contacts in our 600,0000 press and media contact database, please visit our Advanced PR department at Majon International.  

Matthew Hesser may be contacted at http://www.advanced-pr.com matthewh@majon.com. Click here to view more of their articles. 

Matthew Hesser is President and CEO of Majon International, one of the most popular internet marketing and advertising companies on the internet located at: http://www.majon.com To get a high quality targeted press release written and/or distributed to the press and media, as well as get GUARANTEED media and press coverage for your business please visit: http://www.advanced-pr.com 

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