Revealed: How to Make Sure You Get Results From Your Advertising

If you hired a salesperson to be the face to your product or service in your market place and after paying her/him for a few months you discovered that they had not generated one single sale, what would you be tempted to do? Put them on a sales boot camp until they got the results?

Well I am truly fascinated by so many conversations I have with small business owners who spend a sizeable amount of money on print advertising, and never measure the results of their advertisements.

So let’s go back to basics for a moment: Advertising is nothing less than salesmanship in print. If for some strange reason you cannot measure the results of your ads or if you have measured and got no results, you need to ask yourself “Is my virtual salesperson getting more clients through the door”.

If not, then your ads need to be put through a sales “boot camp”. When writing your ads, ask yourself if you are committing any of the Seven Deadly Marketing Mistakes…

Seven Deadly Marketing Mistakes

• Marketing Mistake #1: Not sticking with what’s working. If it has generated good results, just repeat it. People have a short memory and won’t remember your last advert.
• Marketing Mistake #2: Cutting a new path when someone else has already built a highway. Don’t re-invent the wheel. Do your homework.
• Marketing Mistake #3: Writing jingles and clever slogans instead of giving lots of reasons why someone should buy your product. “The more you tell, the more you sell” contrary to a widespread belief among business owners. This vital element is usually overlooked by all those creative minds in the marketing and advertising world.
• Marketing Mistake #4: Not marketing and selling to those who already bought the same thing from you.
• Marketing Mistake #5: Thinking your customers are smarter than they really are. When selling, explain things in baby talk because if what you say can be misunderstood, it will be.
• Marketing Mistake #6: Forgetting that most people have been “Burned” in the past. As a result they don’t trust all businesses and will probably be skeptical about your offer.
• Marketing Mistake #7: Not asking for help, especially from other people in your industry. Almost every problem you face has already been solved by someone else. Successful people are almost always givers, who will lend a helping hand.

Four Essential Elements of Effective Ads

Once you have avoided all these mistakes, look at your ad and make sure it has the 4 following vital elements:

A) Attention grabber. You need a very strong reason for people to read you ad. No your logo won’t do it, but a good headline will!

I) Interest. You will have to feature the best parts of your products or generate interest through some intriguing facts or studies etc…

D) Desire: spell out what’s in it for your clients, how they will benefit, how it will make them feel

A) Action: a clear call for action with a good offer is the best approach. Make it easy for them to respond to the ad.

I’m sure you agree that in the present climate, you need all the efficiency you can gain, so don’t hesitate to put your ads through Boot Camp and start reaping real benefits!

Author: Eric Billoud is a Queenstown business consultant. For more information you can get in contact with Eric at:

Eric Billoud
Breakthrough Business Systems
PO Box 1241, Queenstown
Mob: 021 711952
Ph: (03) 442 1091
Email: eric@earth-fit.com