San Francisco Small Business Advertising- HOW to get the MOST out of it

As a small business owner in the ever changing and growing market of San Francisco, it's important to know how to get the most out of advertising.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard a potential client say "I would have been better off just standing out in front of my business handing out money".....and I always tell them "yeah you would have".

Why do I say that?  Am I some sadist who hates new business and commissions dollars?  Am I foolish and LOVE being under pressure to perform?  No- it's because I'm straight and tell it like it is- and a business owner is going to have more passion about their business than I can ever muster or replicate.  It's important to take that momentum and leverage it!!  A good example is when I call a prospective client, and I tell a manager what I do and they say they will "pass it along".  It stands to reason that my information is going to merely be forwarded with a complete absence of passion or excitement that I WOULD bring to the table.  With that in mind, I rarely have discussions with people that aren't in the chain of command close to the DM. And even when I DO have that person, I'm mostly interested in a productive discussion centered on theory.

FAR too many sales people are all pitchy, under pressure, dying for the next sale and commission and just itching to say whatever they can to get the deal signed.  A deal born from that set of circumstance is almost sure to fail.  Advertising should be the culmination of a logical discussion and a stellar strategy that conveys the business owner's passion for what they do and why they do it!!  A good program will have consistent review and re-alignment so once the first 6 months of tweaking are over, the second six months can result in some obvious growth that can be tracked and speculated on for the NEXT STEPS.

It's just not logical to expect a quick desperate signature to result in a growing spot-on program for the advertiser.  All things considered, the main objective I have when I have ANY meeting is to figure out what makes the most sense for the client and how to make it work.  Unfortunately it doesn't often go down like that and therein lies the challenge on both sides.

Call me for a discussion about YOUR business- what have you done and what do you hope to do?  We might not end up doing anything more than having a talk but THAT is how I make my living and if I don't see opportunity for you, I'll tell you.

Tim Konkle/Hearst Media/SFGATE and GateList on SFGATE/The San Francisco Chronicle and Google Adwords, Mobile Marketing, Social Marketing, Blogs, Creative, Content Development, etc
415-317-5141

GateListSF

So I bought a simple new contact page, and now I'm structuring an entirely new marketing plan from scratch and the pressure is on!  I need to utilize all of my own tricks of the trade, while most importantly making sure I'm able to get out into the marketplace with all of my information to prospective clients.  It's something like the intro below, which I'm sure I'll need to go back and edit!!  This is my strategy- an open book to my

PROSPECTIVE NEW CLIENTS:   PLEASE READ BELOW!!!!

Strategy I can live with:

Build an ACT database of clients that are solid and have been contacted.  Create a many pronged campaign and rate each customer in accordance with their level of interest.  At any increased levels have marketing initiatives designed to be implemented on different contact hierarchy’s- such as constant contact vs. postcard or specific presentation or gift card, etc.- have many different contact groups set up based on the list I build up.  Rate accounts on a 1-10 scale or AAA, AA, A, B, or C scale. 

System to build category:

Start by building contact database with a simple script of- Hi my name is Tim Konkle and I’m with Hearst Media- we own the San Francisco Chronicle and SFGATE which is the Chronicle on-line.  I just wanted to introduce myself  to the person in charge of internet marketing is that you?   Do you have just a moment?  Thanks- again I just wanted to make sure you knew who I was and what we do- we actually have you listed on local.sfgate as part of a new project, GateList that lists all the businesses in the Bay Area.  I manage internet campaigns for my clients based on what we determine during a brief needs analysis during which I find out about your business- you know, how much the internet matters in your business, how many new customers you’re bringing in each month; where you came from and where you’re going- that sort of thing.  We can determine pretty quickly if anything makes sense for you to do, and then we try to gauge what kind of return on investment we’re looking at and we put a program together. 

If it’s ok with you, I’d like to start by just providing my contact information and a general overview of what we do, the History of Hearst Media, and my personal contact information.  I’m happy to answer any questions at any time but initially I just want to introduce myself and provide a bit of history on both myself and Hearst Media so you know who we are.  We have a new program on SFGATE that’s designed to produce new business for you while reducing your amount of involvement to anything beyond some brief discussions and meetings about progress, analytics, etc.  We do the rest of the work and over time we can get a feel for what is most successful and what direction to take.

An important component of what we like to discuss is what other things you do to promote and advertise your business so you can compare us in regard to our approach, level and effectiveness of communication, and ability to remain an effective and important part of your overall marketing program.  In a perfect world, every business would have a list of every company they advertise with, the amount of money spent, a customer service score, a quality of investment rating, and answers to the questions “would you refer them to a friend (that doesn’t compete with you)” or “will you continue to do business with them?”  Those two answers alone are the culmination of everything I’m presenting.  I’m approaching you 100% with the goal of building a successful project and using the results to benefit both of us.  You to increase your customer base, retain your customers, and in part, strive to achieve the same goals I’ve mentioned above.  And if I help you do that, I too will become a valued resource to you and you and all of the people you know and refer will become a future revenue source for me.  As you can see, the opportunity here is very large for both of us.  Large for YOU because you have an opportunity to use ONE company to push yourself out in a multitude of ways over the internet.  You will have a specific campaign manager, and a LIVE PERSON you can set up meetings with to personally review your analytics over the phone- looking at SEO rank, Google Adwords spends, Social Media Clicks and rankings, and review captured and recorded phone calls that show both the strength of your customer skills and our ability to send you business.  And again, I recommend that if you are NOT doing this already, you start to do this with other business ventures as well.  Anything that drives a lead should be tracked by phone if possible.  The internet is huge, but a phone call is still very much normal and being done by smartphone as an immediate conversion resulting from the proper internet exposure.  It’s a slam dunk form of advertising at the moment, the real questions to as are:

Do you trust the person?

Does the company have a good reputation and a long standing in the industry/how big are they

How strong is the company you are working with (or are YOU if it’s just you)

How much money are they asking from you vs. what you expect them to do for you?  (Example print is expensive and there is NO ongoing customer service)

Does it make sense and is it realistic for your business?  (It doesn’t make sense if a rep is promising to fill a taco shop or blow the doors off a proofreader)

And the bottom line is this should be relatively obvious after about an hour of total time invested, and then THAT becomes a big question about WHO you want to invest time with.  The good news is it starts with about 15-20 minutes and goes a bit further if it makes sense, and so on.  Generally if it’s not even going to last for a 15 minute discussion then it’s just a bad idea to have the meeting.  It’s the case of either side hoping for a miracle- I’m not going to show up and offer 6 months free up front or month to month terms on an advertising CAMPAIGN….I don’t have some miracle cure to a business about to go under.  I’m not the Chef Ramsey (if you’ve ever seen that show) coming in to save your restaurant and put 70k into it “just so I can have the satisfaction of seeing you succeed”. 

In most cases, you’re a business owner who knows they need to do something, have been trying to figure out who isn’t going to rip you off, and have likely been burned a bunch of times before and it really sucked because MOST of the time a business invests money in advertising tentatively and with regret and is just horrified when it doesn’t work out.  The resolve is strong to “never do that again” and I run into it every day and it’s often projected on me as “the guy who stole their money”.  I just become that guy, and that’s the end of that call- I just have to accept it and move on.  Even if I have the greatest thing in the world- if it doesn’t get past the prior challenges- I’ll never get heard.

A marketer must consider all these things and then make an educated decision that will avoid risk!!!!!

So I’ve learned this system, through many years of experience that I have to build as many contacts as possible, and present them with as much relative information as possible.  Regardless of what I present to them, they will get a valuable assessment from somebody in the industry that knows what he’s doing and talks to business owners and marketers every day and sees many different scenarios that are driving success or failure.  The suggestions and impressions alone are worth the 20 minutes spent with me and the 20 minutes hearing my findings.  What is done beyond that is purely the result of the business owner or marketer doing their research and deciding if what I’m presenting is something that is realistic, makes sense, and fits their budget.   If so, we end up doing business and forming a partnership.  If not, we part friends and I keep the business on a quarterly newsletter file and I know for an absolute FACT a percentage will buy at some point in the future every single month.  That’s a pretty significant number especially considering the volume of leads attained.  And the most important part of this approach is to NOT BE OBNOXIOUS.  Allowing opt-out, keeping the contact minimal or non-invasive, and branding myself for the simple result of being REMEMBERED when a choice is to be made about any kind of marketing in the digital space.  I don’t have to get paid for everything, and I’m happy to answer any questions I can and also to refer to companies that might have something you need that I don’t provide.  By connecting business in San Francisco to the people they need to be connected to- I get to be a resource and enjoy the benefit of living in the most amazing place and knowing all kinds of different amazing people!

I sincerely hope you read this entire introduction and if so I thank you from the heart!  I enjoy what I do, I represent an amazing company, and I have grown my business by presenting information and making a lot of friends.  I can’t stand pushy, pitchy, desperate sales people although I must say it’s a challenging line to walk and I can understand how it happens to sales people.  Sadly many sales people are poorly trained and lack a strategy and understanding of the market to effectively sell a given product in a way that it benefits the client.  That ends in hasty sales, desperate pushy sales people, unhappy customers, billing disputes, dishonest quotes- the list goes on and on.  I have no interest being involved in the ugly side of the sales world.  I’ve spend a great deal of my career making the right moves until I’ve lined up with a company that I can stand behind with conviction.

Thanks for allowing the introduction, and let me know if we can schedule a brief consultation in the near future.  Based on what we determine will best suit your needs, a customer proposal will be prepared.  We will then review the proposal together and decide the next steps.  I’ll either be running a campaign for you or sending you a newsletter each quarter and making myself available as a resource!  Whatever the outcome it’s a victory for me because contacts are KING in my world J

Thanks again- please either contact me for an appointment or simply contact me to let me know you read this letter.  I want to have every introduction end in one of three ways.

1.         A meeting to discuss needs- either via Internet or in Person

2.       Enrollment in an interactive quarterly mailer and intro to our menu of services via email

3.       Acknowledgement you read the letter but no thanks on the email list

4.       Email me at tim.konkle@gatelist.com – thanks!!! I hope you liked my candid campaign ideas!!

How to manage internet advertising and Google paid search

So you've decided to put a reasonable budget (2k or more) into digital advertising.  So that's it right? Just sit back and watch the money pour in.......NO.  It seems silly and sarcastic but it shocks me how often advertisers want to hear what they want to hear for the price they want to hear it- and there are always less than upstanding sales people willing to scoop on piles of fluff.  It takes more guts to say "no it doesn't work that way".  I've found in my very long and prosperous sales career that shooting straight is the only way- I have to talk to a lot of people and get hung up on, talked down to, you name it.  Regardless of my ability, there are always 100 reasons why a prospective client will shut me down- and that's just the reality of being a sales person.  The challenge for me?  Find advertisers with a budget that works (2k and up) and a product that makes sense along with a business model to support it.  I can't send clients to a jerk of a client who rips them off and do anyone a service- it just doesn't work like that!  On my side of the fence- it's all about qualifying.  It's kind of like looking for a job with a company that has the following:

limited market share, the best product, and the lowest price.  If that criteria is met- I can surely be a huge success.  The same is true for my clients- they need to have a reason to grow the business.  If they don't- I can't help them.  So what types of things can you discover with a digital marketing campaign?  BUYING BEHAVIOR- simple as that.  It drives Yelp, Angies List, the BBB, all social media comments......what people say is crucial.  A recorded phone call to your business from a lead we've driven to you can be incredibly revealing.  When you call a business how do you want to be treated?  Is that how you sound on the phone to potential customers?  If you sound like you're entitled to their business or that the questions they are asking you are stupid- don't bother answering the phone.  Arrrogance and entitlement are death to advertising and business growth.  I assure you a pissed off customer will work on Saturdays slandering your business if you rub them wrong enough- and if you do a great job they will put half as much energy into speaking on your behalf- and that is priceless.  Indeed even ONE new client that LOVES you is worth a ton.  The same is true for me as a sales professional- I can take 3 big clients and build a career off of them (and have).  Questions about your business and what makes sense? I'm happy to discuss- it costs nothing and I'll shoot you straight. tim.konkle@sfgate.com

Google Paid Advertising- why does it make sense?

Looking for comments and feedback for those of you who have intimate understanding of paid search campaigns.

GateList Webinar From Tim Konkle- 15 minutes

GateList Webinar for Google Paid Search, SEO, Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, and banner advertising along with Press Releases is a very solid use of time- for both me and my prospects!

I've spent more time in San Francisco Bay Area Traffic and paying bridge toll, stressing out, and spending money- than I care to in a lifetime. My prospects as well don't have time to have long sit down meetings that are often clunky and uncomfortable- and the compromise of course is to do a Webinar.  My prospects have the ease of simply sitting in front of their computer and seeing first hand what I'm discussing.

Hearst Media  is a well known company with strong roots in the Bay Area  The San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers and magazines have recognized the importance of creating a digital presence for their advertisers.  This allows for tracking with detailed analytics and ultimately a clear example of the return on investment.  I work with business owners on both ends of the spectrum, from the very Internet savvy to the new student in the Internet space.  It all starts with a simple presentation via Webinar- please contact me to schedule a consultation.  It's not a high pressure (or even low pressure) sales pitch, it's a discussion to educate and discover need. The choice to move forward is yours.

Please contact me to schedule a discussion.  We recently introduced Mobile Optimization and a stand alone program that allows us to buy clicks on Google and manage the program in time blocks as little as 3 months!  Call us to find out why the market has been highly receptive- we're affordable and we work!!

Thanks,

Tim
415-317-5141

GateList- have you heard of us? SEO, SEM, SMM

Will paid search become obsolete soon?