Marketing Consultant and Sales Expert Sean McPheat is regarded in the media as the UK's #1 Authority On Modern Day Selling. Sean is the founder and MD of internationally acclaimed MTD Sales Training who have helped over 800 different companies and 20,000 staff to improve their effectiveness.

As a thought leader within the sales and marketing industry Sean is a much sought after motivational speaker at conferences and events and his media credits include CNN, BBC, ITV, Arena Magazine, a whole host of daily newspapers and radio stations and over 200+ different publications and resources.

Sean coaches and consults with a wide variety of personal clients ranging from the small business right the way through to the multi-nationals. His style is direct, engaging, entertaining and above all else, results driven!

Contact:
Email: enquiries@seanmcpheat.com
Tel:    0800 849 6732

Despite the decline in print publications and the rise in internet marketing, print advertising is still an effective method for getting the word out about your products and services. The trick to running a successful print campaign, however, depends on your abililty to avoid a few common mistakes when designing your ads.

Trying to be Different

No two marketing campains are alike but I can guarantee one thing. Every single marketing team in the country is gathered around the conference room table asking “how can we  be different.” In our quest to become different we often stray too far out of the box and either gain negative attention or no attention at all. Sit back, be cool, and let the others do strange things. Your clients will appreciate you for acting normal.

Focusing on Features

There is a huge difference between benefits and features. Features are added perks. Benefits are things your clients can use. Make sure your advertising method focuses on the features your product has to offer – the things that will help your client to grow his own business.

Overlooking Current Customers

Don’t forget to design print ads that target your current customers. They’re already interested in what you have to offer but won’t know about new services and features unless you make them aware.

Running a Short Campaign

Advertising is tricky and if you plan on running a print campaign you need to be prepared to give it at least a year to work. A lot of businesses give up after 3-6 months because they don’t see results and can’t afford to continue but the truth is that their brand simply isn’t well-known yet.

Changing Your Ads

It may be tempting to change your advertisements frequently but the truth is that you need to pick a general ad template and let it ride for a longer period of time. You can change the information about your seasonal specials but the overall layout should stay the same in order to avoid confusing your customers.

Avoid these mistakes and you’ll likely see better results from your print advertisements, even if it takes a while to get them going. Good luck!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker – Sales Expert

A long time ago we talked about affiliate marketing and how to grow your sales business if you’re focusing on affiliate marketing. But what if you have a product of your own you want to sell? Have you ever considered creating your own affilliate program?

Creating an affiliate program isn’t difficult. You need to follow 5 main steps in order to get it up and running. They are as follows:

1. First you need to decide what niche your product falls into. You can’t sell a zillion products to a zillion people. Design your product to fit into one, popular niche.
2. Find websites and people who are into your niche to partner with. The right partners will already have a high level of traffic and a great mailing list – perfect for promoting your offer to a trusting group.
3. Create a series of great promotional products for your product. Create banner advertisements and promotional materials to give your marketers free of charge so that they can more easily promote your product.
4. Never stop looking for new partners, even if the ones you have are doing a great job. Always look to recruit new partners so that if you lose one you don’t experience a huge drop in business.
5. Treat your partners well. The more you work with them the more they’ll appreciate you and your product. Give them marketing tips, pay them on time (and accurately) and consider a bonus plan for your top sellers.

It’s not difficult to build an affililiate program but it does take quiet a bit of time. With a little bit of patience and persistence you’ll soon see your hard work pay off!

Good luck,

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker – Sales Expert

As you progress in your sales career you will find that there are two types of clientele – the kind you want to keep and the kind you want to get rid of. Often times, it’s more difficult to keep the good clients than it is to get rid of the bad.

So what can you to do improve the relationships you have with your current clients – to ensure they become and remain loyal to you? here are a few things to consider.

1. Be consistent in your communications. Don’t harass your clients when it’s time for contract renewal and then forget about them for the rest of the year. Make a conscious effort to honestly and respectfully make contact throughout the year. Offer your services and make sure they’re happy with what you’ve been offering.
2. Build personal relationships with your customers. Ask about their families, children, and hobbies. Connect with them on a personal level. They’ll appreciate your interest and you might even end up with a new friend.
3. Ask your clients for their opinions. Let them know you care about what they think and make sure you respond to their questions and concerns. If they know you care they’ll be more likely to a) stay with you and b) refer you to others.
4. Design a client loyalty program. Give your long-term clients thank-you gifts for staying with you after they’ve hit certain milestones. And, please, make sure you mail every client a thank-you of some sort after signing an initial contract or making a renewal deal.
5. Share valuable information with your clients. Have you read a book or seen a special that someone you know might benefit from? Lend the book or recommend the show. Your clients will appreciate knowing you were thinking of them.

Remember – it costs a lot less to retain a current customer than it does to sell a product to a new one. Retain the customers you have now and you’ll always be one step ahead of the game!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

As you approach your next ad campaign you may begin thinking about the things you can do to make your ad copy stand out from the competition. There are a number of approaches you can take but today I want to steer you away from one – humour.

I love a good laugh as much as the next guy but when it comes to writing ad copy humour is one thing you should absolutely avoid. Yes, humour will earn you some attention but, in reality, is it the right type of attention?

Let’s just say you write a really funny ad. It gets clipped from papers and hung on walls; people talk about it; and you might even get a few phone calls with inquiries. The problem with a humorous ad, however, is just that – it’s humorous.

People won’t take you seriously.

They’ll agree you’re a funny guy but deep in their subconscious minds they’ll be questioning whether or not you’re the right person to do business with. Will you treat their companies and concerns seriously – or turn them into jokes?

Humorous advertisements are likely to win awards for the guys who write them but often do nothing more. Avoid humor in your copy and stick towards enticing, concrete facts. You’ll be more successful in the long run.

All the best

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker – Sales Expert

Sean and his team have worked with over 800 businesses providing marketing services, marketing consultancy and sales training that have and can include:

• Internet marketing consultancy to improve the way that you market online and to integrate it into your marketing plan
• To act as a branding consultant to ensure your marketing messages and image are consistent with what you want to achieve
• To provide innovative and cost effective marketing strategies to develop new business at a reduced cost compared to "normal marketing methods"
• Training your sales teams on how to close more deals
• Reviewing your existing sales process to modify it and to give your sales teams the best chance of success
• To help you formulate a strategy for your marketing in line with your company goals
• To help you develop a marketing plan that you can easily put into action!

Make an enquiry today to discuss your requirements.