Toastmasters International on Secrets of Power Marketing

"It is an outstanding publication. I hope all your endeavors are as successful as your book will be."


Terry McCann
Executive Director
Toastmasters International

George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

POWER MARKETING IMAGE

In business, perception is reality.

Like many people, you might associate the word ‘image’ with something that is phony or contrived. Instead, realize that ‘image’ is the root for ‘imagine’ – a powerful word. Imagine how you want to be, how you want to be seen, respected, and remembered.


The Power of Presentation

The president of an oil company remembers going shopping with his dad for a new car when he was a young boy. His father’s business had done well and they were going to buy a brand new Cadillac. They entered the showroom, both of them proud and excited. They smiled as the salesman approached them. Then a strange thing happened.

As the expectant salesman got closer, the smile on the father’s face disappeared, and he reached down, grabbed his son’s hand, turned around, and marched out. The boy was almost in tears. “What happened, Dad? Why did we leave?” His father barked, “I’ll not buy an expensive car from a man with a soiled shirt.”

It seems the negligent salesman had worn his shirt two days in a row.

Read more ……

George Torok, co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

MEDIA - Advertising

Try to avoid paid advertising. Everyone recognizes ads and discounts them as less credible than other types of exposure. If you must pay for an ad, design it so that it doesn't look like one. Make it an advertorial or a print tool that presents information in an article format. The publication that carries your advertorial will probably label it with the words advertorial or paid advertising to make it clear that it is separate from their own editorial content. Negotiate to have them use the word advertorial; it is much more effective than paid advertising. Some publications may disguise this type of advertisement by calling it a corporate profile or business spotlight. If you must advertise, disguise it as news.

When negotiating the purchase of advertising, think like a tough customer. You might have to talk to their competition to get a better deal.

If you advertise in one of your customers’ trade publications, make sure you're listed as a sponsor instead of as an advertiser. A sponsor seems friendlier than an advertiser. The perception is that we believe a sponsor is supporting us, while an advertiser just wants to sell us something.

Sponsor events, publications, and awards for the associations that your customers belong to.


Read more ……

George Torok, co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

LEVERAGE – Strategy Four - with Secrets of Power Marketing

If I had a lever long enough I could move the world.
-Archimedes

If I said, “I bet you $20 that I can lift a car with my own strength”, you might take one look at me (I’m no Arnold Schwarzenegger) and take that bet. Then I would take your money as I set up the jack and lifted the car.

“Wait a minute,” you’d stammer, “You said you’d lift it with your own strength – that’s no fair.” And I’d point out, “The jack is not lifting the car. It is the tool that I use to lever my strength. The jack does not make me stronger but it helps me focus my limited strength to do the job. With the lever I am lifting the car using my strength in a smarter way.”

In your business you have limited resources, but if you focus those resources you can leverage your strength to compete with big business. Power Marketing is like the jack - it helps you create amazing feats of marketing.

In this chapter we will examine the resources you have at your disposal and the three key principles you can use to leverage those resources into something greater. You’ll also learn about several Power Marketing tools you can use to make your work easier.

….read more on Page 159

George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

Great book for small firm starting up

....or regenerating
Reviewer: John C. Dunbar (Sugar Land, TX United States) , July 6, 2001

This is a gem of a book. It covers a lot of material (maybe too much) and yet it is a relatively small book. I liked the book for its comprehensive coverage and links to entrepreneurship as a personal mission... as well as marketing.

The authors are Canadian and I'd like to say that their nationality interfered with the topics or slant of the book... but it didn't. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised that this Swiss-banking immigrant (Bender) and this successful radio broadcaster (Torok) in Canada really had their feet on the ground. They offered lots of practical marketing and strategic advice.

I would suggest that there are two major parts to this book. The first 1/6 of the book describes their concept of delivering value, tying your products/services to personal values, and your vision/mission statements, etc. I thought this was truly great and apparently some of it flows from Peter Urs Bender's other book: Leadership from Within. I see that it is favorably reviewed here at Amazon and I will order it right away (forthwith in Canadian?).

The remaining 5/6's of the book is an encyclopedic account of marketing techniques that you can (and should) apply for your business. The target market for this book is a firm of 1 to 30 employees... a small firm. This book would also do well for an individual working for a big company, as it tells you how to market yourself to become more valuable.

There's a ton of good ideas here. You won't go wanting of things to implement. There are new ideas that you won't see elsewhere.

For example, they speak about the need to write articles to establish your expertise. They then go on to list many different kinds of articles you can write. Under this section, one sub-topic was Tips Sheets. There they listed about 10 different kinds of tip sheets you could write. I knew about writing articles and tip sheets, but they provided excellent lead ideas to get me going. There were many other such new things in their book that greatly extended the topics I was already familiar with.

Because it was encyclopedic in coverage, I was worried that it would repeat a lot of what I already knew. But, instead I learned a lot of new ideas that I can implement. Overall, I highly recommend this book for any small business owner, or marketing chief... or any individual who wants to shine and promote himself within a corporation.

Now if we could just figure out some way to get these good business thinkers out of the cold socialist northern territories! I found the book in a Vancouver bookstore and have never seen it in the U.S.
-John Dunbar

George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

The Power of Volunteerism

I met with the president of The Body Shop Canada, Margot Franssen. My first question was, ‘What business are you in?’ Without pause she answered, ‘We are in the communication business. We communicate through our actions, products, and words in order to effect social change. It’s what we do well. We use our shops to communicate with the public.’

I reminded her that they sell body-care products. Franssen replied, ‘It’s not what you sell, it’s how you manufacture it and what you do with the money you make.’

The Body Shop is very effective in advancing the causes they support. They are also profitable.

Read more…….

George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

NETWORKING - Secrets of Power Marketing

Dig your well before you’re thirsty.
-HARVEY MACKAY

Networking: Five Myths and Realities

Networking has a bad name. Ever visit one of those networking meetings? You’re told, ‘Arrive with a pocketful of business cards and don’t leave until they’re all gone.’ I get so desperate to escape that I stuff the free gift box with a fistful of my cards and take off!

MYTH #1: YOU MUST GIVE YOUR CARD TO EVERYONE IN THE ROOM
If people aren’t interested they won’t keep your card, let alone call you.
Reality: It is more important to get business cards than to hand them out.
After you identify a prospect, ask for their card. Mark which ones are important. When you have their card, you control the contact. Add them to your database and follow up.

MYTH #2: NETWORKING IS SELLING
The term network marketing confuses people. It is meant to. Network marketing, also known as MLM, or Multi-Level Marketing, generates sales through a vast, layered network of product representatives, each of whom is given incentive to recruit still more committed reps. MLM sales pitches can come across as vague and evasive.
Reality: Networking is marketing.
When you network you are building a network – hence the term – of people who know about you and your product. They may buy from you or help you. Networking is a long-term strategy, not a quick-sell scheme.

For more….read on Page 81
George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

RELATIONSHIPS

The only things worth counting on are people you can count on.
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Okay. In case you haven’t heard, marketing is about people, people, people. People make decisions – buying decisions – and anyone marketing a product should realize that. In recent years, business has changed from mass production and mass merchandising to customization to personalization, as leaders become aware that everyone wants to be treated as unique.

The faster technology moves, the more it automates our lives, and the less human contact is required. Technology gives us more choices. Too many choose to become impersonal. But the need for human contact does not diminish just because technology is changing. Therein lies the opportunity for you. Neither technology nor corporations have relationships – people do.

How can you nurture positive relationships?

• Be honest
• Be friendly
• Make others feel special
• Be consistent
• Build trust

And many more….read on Page 81

George Torok, Co-author

Secrets of Power Marketing

CREDIBILITY

I am only an average man,
but I work harder at it than the average man.
-Theodore Roosevelt

To establish and maintain your credibility you must answer the following questions for your clients and prospects (even though they may not ask the questions out loud).

Your client will ask:

Are you serious about your business?
Are you a contender?
Will I actually like doing business with you?
Can you really do the work?
Will you do the work to my satisfaction and on time?
Are you going to be around next month or next year when I need help?
Do I even believe you at all?
Will I regret doing business with you?

Your actions will answer those questions.

George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

Harry Rosen on Power Marketing

My advice to the rising executive or budding entreprenuer is to look good, feel good and follow the Secrets of Power Marketing to market yourself in today's competitive marketplace.

Harry Rosen
Executive Chairman
Harry Rosen Inc.

Read the rest of Harry Rosen's letter

George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

PERCEPTIONS

A language is not a medium for messages but an organ of perception; collective, corporate perception. The discovery that languages are not channels like the telegraph, but basically forms of perception and association by perception, has been a tremendous revolution.
-Marshall McLuhan

Marketing means communicating your message. A communication is not what you say, but what is heard - and remembered. You influence the perception of a message by determining how it is expressed.
Remember when you experienced the frustration of talking to a friend or family member, only to discover later that they had completely misunderstood you? You knew what you said to them, but you didn't know what they heard, believed, assumed, or remembered. Then when you discovered the misunderstanding you had to spend even more time sorting out the mess. That little miscommunication may have cost you an opportunity, money, and time - not to mention some bad feelings.

-When a message is sent, and the receiver does not understand, who needs to change?-
The sender!

If you have communication problems with family and friends who know you and care about you, imagine the misunderstandings you will have with strangers. This chapter will give you many ideas and techniques for sending messages to the marketplace - but always from the point of view of how they are received and deciphered. Remember that. You must feel good about what you do. But it is more important that your clients and prospects feel good about what you do.

George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

Christine Magee on Power Marketing

To all entrepreneurs I urge you to follow your dreams, challenge convention and keep a copy of Secrets of Power Marketing in easy reach.
Christine Magee
President
Sleep Country Canada

Read the rest of Christine Magee's letter

Marketing comprises everything that expresses what it is that you do

You market by the products or services you sell - by their quality and style, effectiveness, or usefulness. You market by your service. Do you really serve the needs of your customers and clients? And of course, you market by your communications to others: The quality and content of your advertising or direct mail. The attitude of the people who do your cold calling. The usefulness and quality of your promotional items (like pens, calendars, and T-shirts).

Marketing is how you treat others: your staff, your customers and clients, your shareholders, your community, and the environment. It's the relationships you build. The value or caring you invest. It is even the attitude that lies behind what you do and how you communicate it. Do your employees like what you produce, or do they think it's rotten? Would you personally use it? Are you honest or deceptive in the way you advertise and market your product?

All of these factors express to the world what you think of your product or service, your customers, and yourself. And all of them get noticed. The old advertising slogan, "You tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on," truly applies for every business. It can be a slow process; but it does happen.

To some, the idea that others are talking about them or their product may sound scary. But it really is an opportunity. Think about how many ways you can market without spending any more money! The better you treat all your stakeholders - including yourself - the better your "marketing" will be. (And others will be doing it for you.)

George Torok, Co-author
Secrets of Power Marketing

Frank C. Buckley on Power Marketing

I am so pleased to see that you have captured so much practical advice in Secrets of Power Marketing. You understand and illustrate the importance of being focused, of feeling proud about your product, and connecting with people. It does not take expensive advertising campaigns. It is more important to be unique, be real and be human.

Frank C. Buckley
President
WK Buckley Limited
manufacturer of Buckley's Cough Mixture
"It tastes awful and it works"

Read the rest of Frank Buckley's letter

Secrets of Power Marketing - Introduction

If a man can . . . make a better mouse-trap than his neighbor, the world will make a beaten path to his door.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Once, this statement of Emerson's may have been true. In fact, millions of us were raised on the "theory of the better mousetrap”. Entrepreneurs believe that if they create a great new product or service, someone will invest. PhD’s believe that if they get the best education, they'll get the best jobs. Investors believe that if they find the right company with the best management or product line, they will make a fortune.

In Emerson’s time, that may have worked. Today, experience shows that the world will no longer beat a path to your door just because you are talented. You may be the most highly educated person. The best inventor. The most intelligent thinker. The most artistic painter. But the results speak for themselves. Many people with truly excellent skills are either hurting for business - or driving cabs.

The one common denominator I have found among high achievers in many fields - and I've studied and talked to a great number of them - was not that they were the best at what they do. The key to their success was their ability to market - or be marketed.
"Preposterous," you may say. "Excellence always wins out.” But think about it for a few moments.

Is the best wine the one that sells the most? Do consumers buy the best product or service, or the one that is most cleverly marketed? How many products are successful in the marketplace simply because they were marketed effectively?
Now, I am not suggesting that you sell low-quality products. I want you to do good work. I also want you to do good marketing.


George Torok
co-author, Secrets of Power Marketing