My Booklet is a Good Product - Why Isn't It Selling?

Whether you are selling single copies as an online booklet or hard copy, or are selling large quantities to companies and associations, sometimes your best web marketing promotion and direct sales approaches are not providing the results you want and your booklet isn't selling.

You put everything you have into creating a booklet. What gives??

Here's some of the most typical realities:

1. It takes time - for the brand to take hold and/or for the buyer to make the decision.
2. It takes multiple times of asking for the sale.
3. The buyer prefers a different kind of delivery of the content (i.e. audio vs. text).
4. The buyer doesn't like the cover design (i.e. your photo is on the cover, the color is orange, etc.)
5. The title doesn't say what the booklet really is.
6. The price is too high.
7. The price is too low.
8. The booklet is too long.
9. The booklet is too short.

... and on and on and on.

What the heck are you supposed to do? After all, you believe in your product and think you've got a winner.

One of the easiest things to do is to ask your market what it would take for them to invest in your product. You may be very surprised by what you learn. It could be something very simple or something you never would have considered in a million years. Regardless, ask them.

Until next time,
Paulette - often amazed by how big a deal the little things can turn out to be


www.tipsbooklets.com
www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Paper or Pixels?

"Paper or plastic" is a common question posed at the check out stand at many grocery stores. You are asked for your preference of containers to carry out your purchases, even in these times of bringing our own re-useable bags to the store.

There are numerous elements in that exchange that are relevant when it comes to tips booklets and your sales.

When was the last time you asked your buyers (whether single copy or large quantity buyers or even the media) if they wanted the paper or the pixel (PDF) version of your product? People typically have a preference, and sometimes for reasons you might not imagine. Here are just a few things that influence a choice of paper over pixels or pixels over paper:

• immediacy of delivery
• cost
• conservation
• focus on content more than container or other way around

The key thing here is to ask what someone wants. If it turns out more of your people want pixels rather than paper, you directly benefit in both time and money. It costs you less of each to take the buying conversation to the next level. And as for the folks who bring their own bag to the store, well, the parallel to that with booklets turns out to be the licensing deals, where the buyer gets permission from you to do the production themselves.

Until next time,
Paulette - delighted by how pixels are increasingly being chosen, yet paper still matters

www.tipsbooklets.com
www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

It's All About ...

...them, not you and not your tips booklet or any other format of your product. That includes when you're talking with a colleague about possible joint venturing, or to a large-quantity prospect at a company or association.

Someone who has known of my work for many years contacted me last Friday afternoon to invite me into a joint venture with her. The entire time we were on the phone, the person made it all about herself and her achievements. While I agree it's useful to have some background about a potential business partner, there was no give and take, no balance, no real interest in a conversation as much as it being a monologue. Then she followed up on Monday with an email in the same way. What WAS she thinking? Even if there had been any remote match here in what she was proposing, there was less than zero interest in my part in doing any business with her. It's too bad, too, since I think she probably has a good product.

It is and will always be about them - whoever it is you are contacting. It is about how your products and services improve the business of the person you are approaching. There are endless ways you can positively add to their business. Focus on that and see the improvement in your business as a result of it.

Until next time,
Paulette - still trying to shake off the "stuff" this woman left all over me

www.tipsbooklets.com
www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

By the Way, Your Booklet Topic Can Be ...

People often ask me what topics are "hot" to write about. I always say it's the one(s) that excite you. Our colleague, Marcia Yudkin, adds perspective to that in her weekly Marketing Minute, which, by the way, is very much worth sharing with you.
==================

                      The Marketing Minute
     by Marcia Yudkin, Marketing Expert and Mentor
            http://www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm

                *******************

Successful people often reveal they discovered what
rocketed them to fortune by others saying, "You know, you're
good at such-and-such.  Can you teach me/help me?"

Beat them to it by highlighting and exploiting hard-to-name
talents or unintended accomplishments.  Ask yourself:

* In what ways do I love going above and beyond, or deeper
than others?

* What kind of commentary of mine - in conversation, on my
blog - seems to strike a nerve?

* Which unexpected skills have I mastered to do what I do?

* What data have I collected that others could use?

Ask customers:

* What do you like about doing business with me that you
don't experience elsewhere?

* Looking back, what results from the work we did together
seemed to come out of left field?

The answers may point to a lucrative sideline service or
information product you can develop - or your next career.

For instance, maybe your B&B hospitality generates matches
among guests or your sports coaching produces better
posture. 

Identify your "by the way" assets, bottle them for sale and
enjoy the extra profits.

                *******************

HOW ABOUT ME?  While teaching my Launch Your Information
Empire course, I realized that I enjoy and get appreciated
for compiling business models for marketing.  Instead of
teaching only what I've done successfully, I also find and
report how others succeed with a different approach.  I
arrange the information so participants can figure out the
model that's right for their personality, audience and goals.

Even if you've already got a system working, you might find
a more congenial model or a way to expand and grow that had
not occurred to you.

Alternative business models are one lesson in the Launch Your
Information Empire course:
http://www.yudkin.com/informationempire.htm

If you're interested but not yet committed to creating
while-you-sleep income, opt into my information products
email series (no cost):
http://www.yudkin.com/infomarketing.htm

Interested in marketing with postcards?  I have a $19.97
report specifically on 10 business models for that:
http://www.yudkin.com/postcardmodels.htm

Or look at the Mighty Postcard Marketing Course:
http://www.yudkin.com/postcardcourse.htm

                *******************

MORE MARCIA...

CD of the Month Club:
http://www.marketingformore.com/cdclub.htm

Marketing Thought of the Day:
http://www.yudkin.com/mantras or twitter.com/marciasmantras

Get Mentored:
http://www.marketingformore.com

Naming & Tag Line Service:
http://www.namedatlast.com

Press Releases & Distribution:
http://www.pressreleasehelp.com

                *******************

If you enjoy The Marketing Minute, please forward it to
friends and colleagues.  It comes to you every Wednesday
from publicity and marketing consultant Marcia
Yudkin, author of Web Site Marketing Makeover and
10 other books.  P.O. Box 305, Goshen, MA 01032.

For a free weekly marketing tip, subscribe: 
http://www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm

++++++++++

Until next time,
Paulette - who knows "by the way" often becomes a pot 'o gold

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Marketing Booklets No Matter What You Believe

Last week a young Mexican husband and wife couple came to my door. They were going door to door handing out their business cards for their cleaning services. None of that is all so unusual. I live 30 minutes from the Mexican border, in a community that definitely hires people to clean homes and businesses. I am about to hire them for a monthly cleaning. After all, I (currently) live alone with one cat who doesn't shed, and am neat by nature. Monthly works fine for me. And the price they quoted me was consistent with what I've paid for the size home I have.

So what's the big deal, and what does this have to do with marketing your booklets? Well, this couple was not the first to ever come to my door seeking new cleaning customers or leave their cleaning company business card stuck in the door. And it's not the first time I've hired people to clean for me.

You are not the first promotional product developer to approach a corporate or association buyer, to companies and associations who have previously bought products like yours.

This couple came at a time I was especially receptive to a new service provider. The person who has done an exceptional job for me is not always available to me since a neighbor of mine needs to bring her from Mexico, and that's only 3-4 times a year. And that person, who I do adore, speaks no English, while I know about 3 words of Spanish.A month ago I might not have been as a receptive, for a range of reasons. This week, I was.

The guy of the couple who came to my door knew English better than his wife, and her English was okay, too. So it would be easier, overall, to do business with this couple since we could communicate well, they live 15 minutes north of me in San Diego county, and have their own transportation.

How easy do you make it for your corporate and association buyers to do business with you?

The couple readily gave me three references for their work, immediately accessed in front of me on their iPhone! I contacted the references. Each one of these references, it turns out, has continuously used the services of this couple for several years in their home and business, including giving the couple the keys to their places. Talk about instant credibility.

What testimonials do you have to readily offer your new clients so they feel comfortable about doing business with you?

Oh, and about this conversation regarding the economy, well, there I am, hiring them right now, and their references continuing utilizing their services. What economy?

You have prospective buyers who want what you have, no matter what the economy is doing. More often than not, the investment in your product is less than other promotional avenues your client might take.

So what conversation are you having with yourself that keeps you from thriving in an area that could be viewed as a commodity, in an economy that some though not everyone is struggling?

This young couple not only got me as a new customer. They got several other people in my world as new customers, too, since I have made referrals to other neighbors and friends about how professionally these two people presented themselves and how well their references stood up.

But hey, there's lots of people cleaning homes and businesses today, and who has money for that anyway? That's a story some could tell.

As for your booklets, what's your next step and where?

Until next time,
Paulette - reminding you that you can and will be right about whatever you believe

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Who Does Best Selling Their Booklets?

Many people think it's best to write a booklet based on "what's hot." That will typically be topics like money, foot, kids, weight, sex, pets, or trends or items in the recent news. Yes, there is a continuing demand for those topics, no doubt about it. Strange as it may seem, though, there is no guarantee those will sell any better than a booklet on road safety, better blogging, forgiveness, or model railroading as a hobby.

You may wonder how the heck that's possible. It's actually quite simple. When you have expertise in and enthusiasm for a particular subject, it's easier to "get that all over people" than when you are writing about something you believe to be a popular topic where you have no first-hand experience or passion. Your first-hand experience is likely to also include knowledge of resources who would find your booklet useful for their own (promotional) purposes. You've got a leg-up over the people who are purely doing research as an objective exercise to get the job done. You also have contacts, whether direct or several times removed, to reach the decision makers who will buy your booklets.

So the closest thing to a magic bullet in all of this is to write on what you know. Write on what excites you. You're going to find it so much easier to engage people when you do. Then your biggest challenge will be how quickly you can deliver all those booklets they want to buy!

Until next time,
Paulette - speaking from first-hand experience and observation about all of this for almost 2 decades

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Booklet Sales - It's Been a Whole Week

Booklet authors never cease to amaze me. Sometimes it's "good" amazement and other times it's a complete groaner. This week brought one of the latter. Someone who took an in-person workshop I presented earlier this year emailed me to say her booklet was finished and she didn't realize how hard it would be to sell booklets. I continue reading the laundry list of places she sent the booklet, all of which seemed logical for her topic. And then the crowning glory of the email: "It's already been a whole week since I sent the letter and booklet, and I haven't sold anything yet."

Okay, now I know I've been in this business a long time. But really, did you expect to have results from corporate decision makers within a week? I couldn't help myself but to reply with "tell me what you've done after you've tried something that really didn't work."

A week? Sheesh. It's very likely the recipient hasn't even unearthed the envelope that contains the booklet yet in a week, much less thought about if it's something that fits a promo campaign or not and talked to everyone else who has to sign off on it for the purchase to happen. So folks, let's get some reality base here. While corporate sales are most definitely a reality, happen a lot, and can be very lucrative, they do take time. It can be weeks or months. A week? Verrrrry rare.

Until next time,
Paulette - wondering where I neglected to teach this part during that class and in my materials

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Booklets and Other Stuff - Why Don't They Buy?

You may know I'm a huge fan of Marcia Yudkin and her work. This week's Marketing Minute hit the nail on the head so precisely on an issue you've probably had that I couldn't help but bring it to you. Here's her Marketing Minute from this week, in full. Subscribe to it yourself. It's one pearl after another each week.
=============================

          ** The Marketing Minute **
    brought to you every Wednesday by Marcia Yudkin
       Marketing Consultant, Author, Speaker
         http://www.yudkin.com/marketing.htm
            http://www.marketingformore.com
            http://www.pressreleasehelp.com
              http://www.namedatlast.com
               mailto:marcia@yudkin.com

                *******************

If you've ever wailed "Why don't they get it?" because
people who clearly need your services don't flock to buy,
try this typology on for size.

Group 1:  They have a problem but do not realize they have
a problem.

Group 2:  They realize they have a problem but understand it
very differently than you do.  For example, you'd diagnose a
midlife crisis, but they consider their wild behavior and
anguish a marital problem or career dilemma. 

Group 3:  They know they have a problem and understand it
roughly as you would but call it something else.

Group 4:  They know they have a problem and understand and
name it as you do.

Members of Group 4 are the easiest to get in the door as
clients.  Group 3 are also easily snagged as long as you
discover and use their words.

Group 2 require more imaginative educational outreach, as
they are looking for a different sort of solution or tool
than you offer.

Stop trying to reach Group 1, the oblivious, as they will
never seek you out or respond to your marketing.

                *******************

RESIZZLE YOUR BUSINESS:  Last week's Marketing Minute
prompted several emails from readers wondering how they can
revamp their business with a more current rationale.  I'm
putting together an intensive "rebrand your business"
coaching program this summer for a limited number of
participants. 

To receive the description of the program in a few days,
press "reply" and tell me your marketing challenge.

Missed last week's Marketing Minute?  You can find it at
http://www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm .

                *******************

IMPLEMENT A PLAN:  If your business is properly positioned
but you're flailing (and therefore failing) in marketing it,
my mini-marketing plan gives you feasible, coherent to-do's
tailored to your goals and target audience.

Details:
http://www.yudkin.com/marketingplan.htm

                *******************
If you enjoy The Marketing Minute, please forward it to
friends and colleagues.  It comes to you every Wednesday
from publicity and marketing consultant Marcia
Yudkin, author of Web Site Marketing Makeover and
10 other books.  P.O. Box 305, Goshen, MA 01032.

For a free weekly marketing tip, subscribe: 
http://www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm

=================

So, do YOU get it?

Until next time,
Paulette - who loves learning from colleagues like Marcia

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Booklet Benefits

What's the benefit of your booklet to the recipient? That seems like a simple question, yet one that many booklet authors never consider. It does get somewhat complicated, too, when your buyer is a corporation or association or website rather than the end-user.

So let's back up here for a moment. You write your booklet because you have information to share, whether from your professional life or personal life. You write your booklet because you want it to market your business and/or to bring in new revenue directly by selling it. Okay, so those are the benefits to you, the author.

Back to the benefits to the recipient. The large-quantity buyer and the end-user do have some similarities in how the booklet benefits them, or rather CAN benefit them. It will make their life more, better, or different in some way. The booklet can make the large-quantity buyer's life better as a vehicle to help them sell more of their own product or get their own word out there further. The booklet can make the end-user's life better by bringing new knowledge to them that will enhance their life.

It is ALL about the benefits of your booklet. Keep that in mind when talking with anyone and you are very likely to benefit by selling a whole lot more booklets.

Until next time,
Paulette - bringing good stuff to better serve people

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

What is Important In Publishing?

What is truly important when it comes to publishing your tips booklets? Is it the particular shade of a color on the cover? How about the weight of the paper? Is it the exact font used in laying out the interior text? Is it the size of the margins? What about a minor typo like repeating a word word? Maybe it's a sense of expecting every single word to be the pearl of wisdom, combined just right.

And maybe it's none of these things.

In fact, most of the things mentioned above matter minimally, if at all, in some cases. Before you get bent completely out of shape, thinking I am advocating mediocrity, carelessness, or sloppiness, take a breath. That's not at all what I'm saying. Your booklet needs to be presented as well as you can present it, by all definitions.

What this is about is taking a look at what results you want from your booklet, and what the return on your investment of time and money is about for you. There have been booklet authors who have labored over the title on the cover being a minuscule measurement off from what they want, or the shade of the ink being ever so slightly different than what matches everything else in their corporate image design of letterhead and business cards.

So what? Who cares? It doesn't matter! You have great content to share with people. You have a booklet that will market your business and make you some money. Your booklet can help other businesses make money. The more you delay the distribution over things that don't matter one iota, the less you serve everyone concerned.

Yes, I know this is heresy for the highly-detailed among you. However, this is the voice of almost two decades of experience talking. Your perfectionism that is causing you to procrastinate serves no one. Get on with it -- NOW!

Until next time,
Paulette - who is grateful for this platform for a periodic rant

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

What's the Best Part of Tips Booklets for You?

Over the years, it's been fun, inspiring, and enlightening to discover what part(s) of the tips booklets business turn people on the most.

• Writing
• Creating a product quickly
• Starting a product line for a service-based business
• Leveraging the booklet content into other formats
  
• Marketing
• Selling (yes, that's different from marketing)
• Getting enthusiasm all over everyone else

These are a few of the many possibilities. What's the best part for you, and why?

Until next time,
Paulette - who loves doing something once and leveraging it like crazy
www.tipsbooklets.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.CollectionOfExperts.com
Follow me at www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

What's the Value of a Booklet?

A tips booklet author asked for input today about assigning a value to a booklet. Not a price, per se, but a value. The author is participating in a joint venture where the booklet would be a gift. The originator of the venture wanted to assign a dollar value to this gift.

The author and I were both in a quandary, and really came to no conclusive answer. Value is such a subjective thing. Over the years, tips booklet authors have sold single copies of their booklet for as little as $1 and as much as $29 and more. Yes, the same size tips booklet, too.

The variation comes from several things. Here are just a few:

* How proprietary the content
* The self-esteem of the author
* The expectation within a particular industry
* What else accompanies the booklet

And that list is far from exhaustive.

Then there's the matter of, quite literally, what the content contributes to someone's life. One tip may have saved someone money or provided an idea to make them more money. One tip could have been information that saved a life or improved the quality of a life. These are certainly not extreme examples, either.

In the days when I was a professional organizer, it was often a challenge for a corporate executive or a business owner to feel comfortable spending a lot of money to bring in a professional organizer to set up a well-running filing system. It's amazing how the point of view changed because that same executive was able to find the single piece of paper that had the crucial details of a major deal, because the filing system worked well!

So what's the value of a tips booklet? To borrow the phrase from Mastercard, "priceless."

Until next time,
Paulette - pondering the possibilities
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.Tipsbooklets.com
www.CollectionOfExperts.com

Reviving Prospects who Disappear into "The Black Hole"

Enjoy this Guest Post. Jill's topic is one that most of us have experienced!

================

Reviving Prospects who Disappear into "The Black Hole"

By Jill Konrath

Have you ever had hot prospects who suddenly stopped returning your call? Then you know how disconcerting it can be - especially when they'd expressed so much interest in your product or service only days before.

At first, you assume their lack of responsiveness is an isolated situation that will quickly self-correct. But after repeated failed attempts to connect, you start to question your own sanity.

You could have sworn they were interested, but their current behavior indicates otherwise. And, not wanting to appear too desperate or to come across as a real pest, you're stymied in terms of what your next steps should be.

Why They Disappeared

As a seller, it's always important to analyze what may be causing this behavior before taking action. In my experience, these are the typical reasons why prospects disappear into "The Black Hole." Jill Konrath

• They're totally swamped. Without a doubt, this is the most common. In virtually ever company today, people have way too much to do and not nearly enough time to get it all done. They fully intend to continue the conversation, but not right now.

• Priorities changed. This can happen overnight. Changing market conditions, bad 3rd quarter results, and new leadership are just a few of the possible root causes. But when this happens, it's darn near impossible to regain your momentum in the short term.

• Lack of urgency. Sometimes sellers confuse a prospect's interest level with a desire to take action today. As such, they share all the glorious details about their offering instead of building a business case for immediate change.

• Column fodder. Occasionally prospects just need comparative bids/pricing to justify their decision to go with another company.

• They know everything. When prospects feel they have all the information they need, there's literally no reason to talk with you any further.

Different reasons call for different actions. Some you can prevent by doing things differently in your customer interactions. Always be open to this possibility since prevention is your best cure. Others you have no control over.

In any case, you need answers! Is it "yeah" or "nay"? Are they still interested or not? Should you keep pursing them or find new prospects?

What You Can Do

When you don't know what's behind their silence, figuring out how to respond can be a dilemma - especially since you don't want to be a pest. Here are some strategies you can use in dealing with "The Black Hole:"

• Just keep trying. Realize that prospects expect you to carry the "keep in touch" burden - so do it. It can often take 8-10 contacts before you actually reach them again. Don't panic. This is normal in today's business environment.

• Make each connection valuable. Don't just say, "Hi Eric. Just getting back to you as I promised about your xxx decision. If you have any questions, give me a call.
  
  Instead, you might say, "Eric, Based on our conversation last week, I know how important it is to you to shorten your sales cycle. There's a white paper on our website that addresses this issue. I'll be sending you a link via email shortly."

• Have a sense of humor. After 4-5 contacts, leave a funny message such as, "Eric. I know you're swamped. But I also know that shortening your sales cycle is important to you. That's why I keep bugging you. I'm looking forward to FINALLY reconnecting."

• Leverage a variety of mediums. Mix up phone calls with emails, mailings, invitations to upcoming events, sending articles, etc. To position yourself as a resource, makes sure each connection educates, informs or adds insights.

• Create multiple entry points. Never let one person be your total gateway to a company. Identify and nurture multiple relationships concurrently. When appropriate, reference others you're talking to in your messages/emails.

• Re-evaluate your initial connection . How could you increase their urgency? Determine if you're just column fodder? Or, tie your offering more into their business priorities? In way too many cases, sellers have done a product/service dump when talking to prospects. Instead you need to on critical business outcomes and the difference you can make.

• Plan your next step now. Never leave a meeting without a homework assignment (for you and/customer) and a firm follow-up appointment scheduled. If they're unwilling to do this, it's an indicator that something may not be quite right - which should prompt you to explore their need and urgency in greater depth.

• Let them off the hook. Send an email stating that you thought they were interested, but perhaps you misjudged the situation since you haven't heard back from them in the last 6 weeks. Believe it or not, this strategy often gets a response & an explanation from a prospect who is feeling guilty about not reconnecting.

• Reduce your contact frequency. If, after ten touches, you still haven't heard, start contacting them less often. A quarterly schedule might be more appropriate. Or, you might want to keep on top of what's happening in the account and reconnect at a more appropriate time.
  

By leveraging one or more of these strategies, you'll often be able to re-engage a prospect who has disappeared into "The Black Hole." Not always, but often. And, if you've continually provided value and focused on the impact your offering makes, they'll likely be ready to implement your solution yesterday.

Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts. She is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events.

For more article like this, visit http://www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com Get a free Sales Call Planning Guide ($19.95 value) when you sign up for the Selling to Big Companies e-newsletter.

==============

Until next time,

Paulette - who can think of more than a few prospects this article describes

www.tipsbooklets.com

Example for Selling Your Booklet from Your Site

When booklet authors ask about good ways to sell their booklet from their site, I'm often concerned that their approach will be kept to selling single copies as a download. Following the link from a booklet author's ezine today, I discovered an excellent example of how to offer a booklet as single copies, bulk sales, and with customization. You can see that at the following link.
http://www.atlanticconsultants.com/forms/104tips.htm

By the way, on a personal note, four years ago this author and I met for what we thought was the first time, when I spoke at a conference she attended in Boston. Three years ago, we discovered that, in fact, we had gone all the way through high school together in southern New Jersey. I saw her name on the emails coming through about our 40th reunion, looked in my yearbook, and yes, we had gone through high school together. Talk about a small world!! We both chuckle about how this unfolded, much less that I still had my high school yearbook.

Now, go see what she's done with her booklet.

Until next time,
Paulette - who usually is anything but a pack rat
www.tipsbooklets.com

Enough Credentials to Write a Booklet

The conversation about credentials came up over the weekend. A colleague is looking at what's next on the career path, incorporating years of various related experiences, and taking it all to the next level. I connected the dots in a way that focused on what I saw as strengths and interests, and what I thought was a healthy yet not paralyzing stretch. Within the reply I got back was reference to not having the kind of credentials I have.

This is not a new conversation among clients and colleagues. The piece that is either forgotten or not known is that I didn't have credentials when I started selling my booklet in 1991. Yes, the booklet is about organizing and I had been a professional organizer. However, when I started selling the booklet, it was just that. I was starting.

It's years later that over a million copies were sold, and thousands of people around the world know of this booklet work. And I didn't know what I was doing when I first started. My credentials were no more than my thinking I could do it, and doing it. That was it! I did the same thing when I became a professional organizer in the early 1980's, before that industry had a certification program, and even before a professional association had been formed.

Yes, some technical or scientific or medical topics do require some credentials if you're getting into the depths of those area with recommendations. That's often been presented as a collaboration of someone who has had personal experience, combined with someone who has had professional training. That could be a patient and a doctor, for instance.

I ended the reply to my colleague over the weekend by saying "I'm not sure that you will ever feel you've got enough credentials." I personally see it as a reason for not just jumping into the pool and starting to swim.

Until next time,
Paulette - who left fields requiring credentials a long time ago
www.tipsbooklets.com

Booklets for Nurses

Google alerts are a wonderful tool. They send an email to you telling where something has been written about that includes whatever key words you choose. That's an easy way for me to see who is writing about booklets, tips booklets, tipsbooklets.com, and Paulette Ensign, for instance.

This week I saw a Google alert about a tipsbooklets.com client, Jackie Brookman. She's written several booklets after her "65 Tips for Foreign-born Nurses Working in American Hospitals" that I knew about.

Here's what a Google alert looks like, arriving in your email inbox. Oh, and visit Jackie's site to see how she's selling her booklets and if you have any interest in nursing.

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Google Blogs Alert for: "tips booklets"

An Unresolved Conflict affects the Team
By supportfornurses
... a nurse can do—particularly one who is
committed to providing good patient care!
Want more good tips and strategies, check
out SupportForNurses.com excellent, top
quality Tips Booklets!
http://www.supportfornurses.com/booklets.php.

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Until next time,
Paulette - always delighted to see what my clients are doing
www.tipsbooklets.com

Pricing Your Booklet

The following query was in this week's issue of a newsletter for professional speakers:

A client wants to buy copies of my booklet for all 300 attendees. It usually sells for $12. I said I would give them a discount, but didn’t say how much. What are people usually doing in instances like this?

My reply:

I saw your query. You're asking a question in which I've had 17 years of experience as my complete business, and have sold over a million copies of my own booklet during that time. First of all, there is no "usually" about this, even when it seems cut and dried wholesale discounting. Your client could be pleased as punch to have as small as a 10% discount off the $12, or be expecting and hoping for a 50% discount.

My suggestion is to view this as part of a larger picture, coming at it from a couple different directions. I'd start with a 10% discount. If your client balks, first ask what price she/he had in mind, and determine in your own mind if there's a reason for you to live with that. If so, one way to finesse a drop in price is to come back to the client with the news that you were able to bundle their order with a larger one for someone else, allowing you to give this client the benefit of the larger print run. In my opinion, this is admittedly a harmless white lie that allows everyone to have what they want.

It's wonderful that you are able to expand your speaking fee with this sale of your booklet. However, 300 copies is a small bulk sale for what's possible out there. I go into this in great detail in my flagship product, "How to Promote Your Business with Booklets," found at http://www.tipsbooklets.com/index.php?page=prodlist.php&p=285&c=12

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Until next time,
Paulette - expanding the pie
www.tipsbooklets.com

One Reason You're Having Trouble Selling Booklets

T'is the season. No, not the December holidays season. It's the season for kids to be selling things for their scout troops and their school fundraisers. Among the many things kids are not typically taught in school are sales skills. It is never more apparent to me than when an annual gaggle of girls outside the local grocery store (which is never how we did it when I was one of them a zillion years ago) ask "would you like to buy some cookies?" Or when a well-meaning kid comes to my door and asks if I want to buy some magazine subscriptions. It's an obvious set-up for a "no" answer from most who are asked. There is no suggestion about what these cookies or magazines will do to enhance my life experience (i.e. benefits).

One high school age young woman did ring my doorbell around dinnertime last night with a totally different approach that was lovely, in spite of the fact that I sent her on her way because I was eating dinner. She said she knew she was an uninvited guest intruding on me at that moment, extended her hand to say something about her providing the opportunity to make a new friend, and then I told her it was not the time for me to talk with her. Someone had at least given her some training about how to do it differently. And I have no idea what it was she was selling.

Why does any of this matter? Well, think about your own attitudes and self-perception of your selling skills. More booklet authors than not tell me that they cannot sell anything, don't like selling, and would do almost anything to avoid it. They hear it as brand new information when I suggest the idea of presenting multiple products to a potential buyer, with the conversation being "which of these is our starting point?" or starting with "these products will help your company sell more of your own product." This is all basic sales stuff, yet new for more people than not.

As soon as you go to anything like "do you want to buy some booklets," you are in the same arena as the gaggle of girls outside the grocery store. The odds are very high that your prospective buyer will just keep walking.

Until next time,
Paulette - which of the products and services at my site is you next step in your journey?
www.tipsbooklets.com

A Confused Mind Always Says No

Marcia Yudkin's weekly Marketing Minute ( http://www.yudkin.com/marketing.htm )reminded me of an important concept today that applies to the booklet business as well. The message is about giving people fewer choices when marketing or selling to them. What that means for you is that when you approach a large-quantity booklet buyer, I consistently encourage you to offer them three of the most typical uses for booklets so they can quickly relate without going into overload. They will either realize that one of those three uses is ideal for them, or they will be prompted to think of some more important or immediate use. You haven't thrown them into overwhelm, shut-down, and "no."

I always tell people that the starting place for writing their own booklet is my product, "How to Promote Your Business with Booklets." That's it. No fuss, no muss. Yes, I have other products and services for after that. However, it's crystal clear where to begin.

Look at your starting point and how many choices you have. This doens't mean to eliminate other choices as much as to determine when to present them.

Until next time,
Paulette - who loves choices, and loves making sales
www.tipsbooklets.com

Selling Each Other's Booklet

I had an email exchange this morning worth sharing with you. Here goes:

From a booklet author:
Have you thought about perhaps having some program where people who had previously worked withsomeone who bought a quantity sale could get a commission if they successfully placed someone elsewishing to make a quantity sale into a connection with that buyer? I am thinking sometimes people maybe asked by a previous purchaser if they've written a booklet on a specific subject and if they hadn't theymay be open to a commission idea. Thanks again.

My reply:
I have encouraged people (booklet authors) to do this forever. The easiest thing is to look at booklets being sold on my ebooklet catalog to find other titles, since I consider those booklet authors to be the most engaged and serious about making sales. And then approach those authors directly to make individual commission arrangements. You may want to consider putting your own booklet up there for sale, especially since the month is ending and I'll be putting featured booklets of the month of February onto the home page of the site tomorrow night, and announcing new uploads in my monthly ezine next week. The details for selling your booklet on my site are at:
http://www.tipsbooklets.com/index.php?page=prodlist.php&p=165&c=32

What about you?

Until next time,
Paulette - reminded that we absorb things when we are ready
www.tipsbooklets.com