Self Promotion

[Frank Stastny]

I telemarket but what do I know... we have only averaged $1.8M a year in new business (small commercial P&C with a 92% retention)for 3 strait years by picking up the phone and calling 150 people a day. Maybe I should scrap that, start a blog and an ebook and just watch the business roll in. Maybe there is some brilliant marketing guy or lead vendor out there who can show me the way.

Like you I'm afraid that I'm not very smart either. I have been successfully telemarketing for 18.5 years. Tried everything else and keep coming back to the easiest, most successful, cost effective way I have found to get new clients. (Generally not considered acceptable by most because it is "work" and a "waste of one's valuable time".)

I'm sure if I dumped what I was doing and started a facebook page I would be an instant millionaire. Wouldn't know what to do with all that money so I will just keep putting my finger in the hole and turning the wheel.

 

[somarco]

Really sorry I started this thread. It appears no one really understands the concept of sampling as it pertains to marketing.

Thanks for your feedback though.

 

[RyanCO]

You HAVE to engage in self-promotion. Marketing is essential no matter how smart you are or how much you understand the products, etc. The key is to be selective and tasteful.

Bingo.

I remember going to a Chamber event for the first time several years ago. There was a guy there, moving quickly from guest to guest, tossing his business cards out like they were Frisbees. When he approached me he didn't ask one question about what I do, he just introduced himself, gave a ten-second elevator speech, and thrust out his business card.

When he offered the card, I definitely took it, I wanted to be sure I'd never do business with him in the future and I didn't want to forget his name.


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[mcengle]

Have you ever read the book, Never Cold Call Again by Frank Rumbauskas? I believe the content in that book will answer the original question....And before I get torn apart for being a spambot, I have nothing to do with the sales or distribution of that book. It's available at the local library.

 

[Bertolinoins]

Have you ever read the book, Never Cold Call Again by Frank Rumbauskas? I believe the content in that book will answer the original question....And before I get torn apart for being a spambot, I have nothing to do with the sales or distribution of that book. It's available at the local library.

No, I never have. I did read his blip of a bio on Amazon and it said he owned an insurance agency and a few other businesses... so I went to the Arizona DOI and could not find any license info associated with his last name. I wanted to see what kind of volume his agency was doing. If anybody in AZ knows him then maybe they can chime in.

In my industry (commercial P&C) I look at what the top growing agencies are doing... AON, Marsh, Willis, Heffernan, Lockton, Brown and Brown, AJ Gallagher etc. and aside from acquisitions they aggressively market for organic new growth over the telephone along with association marketing and strait up face to face marketing. The top new business agents nationally for Farmers, State Farm, Nationwide, etc also run consistent outbound calling campaigns.


It is hard and dirty... but that is how the top producers produce. The guys that are struggling or are comfortable in the middle of the pack like to distract themselves with magic bullets and quick fixes... but they don't exist. SEO, lead generating Websites, newsletters, ebooks, email blasts, etc all have their place in our business but they will never do the work for you... it is like somebody who sits around eating all day but takes diet pills and drink protein shakes... diet pills and shakes can help if you are doing everything else right (diet and exercise) but they are not going to help if you are avoiding doing the hard work. Believe me... I have tried Insurance is a boring, hard road where you can get very rich slowly... if you cannot handle that then you should try multi level marketing... because those guys are always distracting themselves with the "next big thing".



To get back to the OP's question... self promotion is great but you need to have something to promote. Until you have a base of happy, high profile (within their industry) customers you will have trouble promoting yourself.

 

[1manshow]

Thanks for the straight up talk Bert...best post I've read on here. Many would do well to listen closely.

 

[AgencyEquity]

How well does self promotion, using e-books and such, work? I have thought about this for some time and ran across this site which got me thinking again.

CreateSpace: Self Publishing and Free Distribution for Books, CD, DVD

Marketing can and should be creative. I don't know who invented the word "self-promote" and more so as being something bad, but my question would be, if you feel you are very good at what you do, you promote youself. If you are not confident in your work, you don't promote youself. There is nothing wrong with plugging others who have served you well. Some see "self-promotion" as being very wrong, keep in mind, in places like Cuba it probably is illegal, but in the USA, we celebrate the freedoms we have including the freedoms to market our own business as we see best works for us. Take the most creative ideas, throw them against the well and see if it sticks. Lastly, never be shy about promoting yourself otherwise you may promote youself out of business.

 

[Guest]

Simply put, DO IT! Write the book. People buy value and expertise, so if this positions you as more of an expert (which it will to clients) it will help, more than you can imagine.

The only suggestion I would make is not give just enough, give more than enough information, don't feel they won't need you if you give too much, realize they will choose you because you did. Also, create a white paper about the book or free sample chapters to give out (for free) to gain interest in you and your services.

PS Did you really expect anything else?

Really sorry I started this thread. It appears no one really understands the concept of sampling as it pertains to marketing.

Thanks for your feedback though.

 

[DHK]

Really sorry I started this thread. It appears no one really understands the concept of sampling as it pertains to marketing.

Thanks for your feedback though.

The Power Of Free Information Booklets And Free Reports

I posted the link - not for the product - but for the information on the page:

Revealed... 15 Powerful Ways to Use Free Information Booklets and Free Report to Get Qualified Prospects... To Call You!

Definitely something to think about if you're going to go down this route.

(BTW, the booklets can be customized with your contact information if you think they can help you.)

 

[Guest]

Also, I can tell you that my first e-book worked better than expected (Norvax approved lol), then there's the current free one on my site and the published book I co authored, and they all lend themselves to credibility, exposure and imply a level expertise.

How well does self promotion, using e-books and such, work? I have thought about this for some time and ran across this site which got me thinking again.

CreateSpace: Self Publishing and Free Distribution for Books, CD, DVD