Training the New Network Marketing Distributor: Working Depth With Your MLM Downline – Step 3 of 3

Work with your distributors; give them tasks to accomplish each time you contact them. But, that’s about all you can do. If they don’t want to build their business and be responsible for their own success, then you must spend your time on those who have earned it, i.e. those who are willing to take responsibility.

Keywords:
mlm, network marketing, training, train, train your new, train your downline, downline, distributor, distributors, depth, work depth, working depth

In Step 1, “Laying Down a Track to Run On,” we talked about how to get your new distributor started the right way. In Step 2 “Being a Good MLM Sponsor,” we discussed how you should go over “The Rules” of your operation with your downline so they can develop the discipline to grow their (and YOUR!) business. In this, the third step of the series, we’ll discuss “Working Depth,” or making it too expensive for your downline to leave the business!”

Step 3 – Working Depth With Your MLM Downline
Working depth means sponsoring your downline when they sponsor their new distributors. It means assisting your business partners to help them get their downline (and YOURS!) started the right way.

Essentially, you’re taking the track that you’ve laid out for your downline to run on and getting them to pass that knowledge on to their personally sponsored distributors. Naturally, they’re going to need help helping others and that’s where you, as their sponsor, come in. This is the essence of network marketing, i.e. building relationships and helping others succeed.

How deep should you go? Theoretically, you only have to go down two levels, i.e. lay out the track for the people you enroll and for the people they enroll. If everyone follows that format, the method perpetuates itself.

In reality, however, not everyone is going to approach the business the same way. Some will work a their own pace (usually more slowly than you would like!), or will want to “tweak” the methodology to fit their style. So, don’t just think “one or two levels.” Realize that you can do this with EVERYONE in your downline that’s willing to be coached, whether you personally sponsored them or not. The downline pays the upline; if a new distributor enters your downline, and is willing to work to grow the business, why wouldn’t you work with them? They may not bring money to you directly, but they will bring it to you indirectly. Who pays the downline that pays you? Their downline. Your success depends on their success, so don’t be afraid to work deep into your organization.

Remember, one of your goals should be to make it too expensive for your downline to leave the business! If you don’t build builders, you’ll never acquire the lifestyle that can come from having a significant passive residual income stream.

In closing, let me reiterate something from Part 2 – you can’t change human nature. People will only do what they are willing to do. However, people can change themselves if they are willing to change. Being a good sponsor means showing your downline the benefits of (a) following a proven track, (b) being a good sponsor themselves, and (c) working depth.

When you work with your downline to create an independent network of builders, and help them to develop other builders who, in turn, develop more builders, you’ve found the winning formula.

One last thought: don’t take it personally if some of your downline distributors don’t turn into dynamic business builders. As long as you have done your part in educating them, you’ve done all you can do. You can’t build their business for them. While you can provide inspiration, they must provide the perspiration!

Work with your distributors; give them tasks to accomplish each time you contact them. But, that’s about all you can do. If they don’t want to build their business and be responsible for their own success, then you must spend your time on those who have earned it, i.e. those who are willing to take responsibility.

To your success!

Bruce Bailey, Ph.D.

Share This

Follow Up To Get Quality Event Feedback

“Well, how did it go?” asked the CEO as he wandered past Siobhan’s desk on his weekly tour of the offices. He was referring to the conference Siobhan had organized and run to involve their industry in standardization guidelines. Although her first impression was that the conference was a real success, she knew that she only had a small proportion of the total feedback. “I’m still in the middle of collecting feedback data”, admitted Siobhan, “but the initial data looks more po…

Keywords:
online booking, event managment,booking mananger, booking, registration

“Well, how did it go?” asked the CEO as he wandered past Siobhan’s desk on his weekly tour of the offices. He was referring to the conference Siobhan had organized and run to involve their industry in standardization guidelines. Although her first impression was that the conference was a real success, she knew that she only had a small proportion of the total feedback. “I’m still in the middle of collecting feedback data”, admitted Siobhan, “but the initial data looks more positive than we hoped. I’ll have the full results at next week’s review meeting.”

Seminars, roadshows or workshops are held for a very specific reason and they will belong in one of the following categories:

• To generate sales opportunities for your products or services

• To spread information or increase productivity throughout an organization

• To raise general awareness about a topic

• To gain support for a change (political, legal, social or environmental)

It may be tempting, once the event is over, to sit back and wait for a reaction but, because you have invested time, emotion and money into developing and running an event, you ought to be pro-active in testing its effectiveness. Events are like all other products, some do everything they were expected to do whereas others fall short and need to be improved either by modification or enhanced design, if they are to be repeated.

With an event you cannot expect to satisfy everyone 100%, but you can get close by understanding what worked and what did not. As you will see, not everyone is prepared to give their true opinion during or directly after the event and some degree of post-event follow-up will be necessary to draw a balanced picture of audience perception.

Because your delegates have different learning styles, you will not have seen a complete and considered reaction from all of them during your event.

Delegates, whatever their background, can be pigeon-holed into 4 categories:

• Activists

• Pragmatists

• Theorists

and

• Reflectors

The activists and pragmatists are most likely to have responded immediately to the information or activities that you provided as they enjoy interaction. Activists and pragmatists, by nature, have a strong tendency to engage and take on board new ideas. Pragmatists will test the realism of the new idea whereas activists just enjoy the thrill of the new.

Theorists, as you might expect, like to take time to break ideas down and think things through step-by-step. Reflectors prefer to gather information, stand back and consider things from different perspectives. Both of these learning types may need a little more time and space to assimilate what has been said and would probably respond well to a follow-up process.

Siobhan was right to hold back on boasting about her success. Some of the later feedback demonstrated that there were real practical problems that would take time and money to overcome. These had only surfaced once the delegates had returned to base to analyze the in-depth business implications for themselves.

Share This

[Emini Course] Market Order, Limit Order, Stop Order, Stop Limit Order Demystified!

Types of Orders
Placing orders is an art in itself. Beginners often do not know when to use market orders and limit orders. Different orders are used in different market conditions. But the limit order is the one that is most versatile. Understanding a limit order is essential to your trading success. I will only discuss the case for buying, the reasoning and mechanism is the same for shorting.

Market Order
In a market order, you are basically giving instructions to you…

Keywords:
day trade emini, ebook, s&p 500, nasdaq 100, market order, limit order, stop limit order, stop loss,

Types of Orders
Placing orders is an art in itself. Beginners often do not know when to use market orders and limit orders. Different orders are used in different market conditions. But the limit order is the one that is most versatile. Understanding a limit order is essential to your trading success. I will only discuss the case for buying, the reasoning and mechanism is the same for shorting.

Market Order
In a market order, you are basically giving instructions to your broker to buy at the prevailing price. You cannot set what price you want to buy. Market orders might be prone to slippage in fast moving markets. For example, if you give a market order to buy 10 lots, 3 lots might be filled at $10, another 3 lots at $10.50 and the remaining 4 lots at $11.00. We usually use a market order when we need to get in or out of a market fast, such as when the market suddenly moves against you drastically.

Limit Order
A limit order is different from a market order in that you can specify the price at which you want to buy. For example, if you specify you want to buy 2 lots at $10, you will not get a fill at prices above $10. Hence a possible scenario is you get both 2 lots at $10, or 1 lot each at $10 and $9.50. The beauty for the limit order is that you will not get a fill unless the price is better than what you specified.

Stop Order
A stop order is better known as a stop loss order . In day trading stop loss is essential to your survivor. Some traders do not set a stop loss because they are monitoring their trades real-time. They feel that they can step in fast enough to close the position when the situation goes against them. However, in fast moving markets, you can very well lose $200 or more on a single contract in a matter of minutes. Setting a stop loss order removes the psychological hesitation to exit a position. From my experience, this is an absolute requirement, please master it and use it to your advantage.

Assume you are currently long at $10 and you set the stop loss at $8, you are giving instructions to your broker to sell at market price when the price falls down to $8. When the price is above $8, the stop loss order lays dormant, it will turn into a market order only when the price hits $8 to save you from further losses. Note that a stop loss order is always used to exit a position. Hence if you are long, the stop loss order will give instructions to sell. If you are short, the stop loss order will give instructions to buy.

Stop Limit Order
A stop limit order is similar to a stop loss order, except that it will turn into a limit order at the predetermined price. For example, assume you are long at $10 and you set a stop limit order to sell at $8, when price falls to $8, the order will become a limit order at $8. Recall that limit order will assure you of a fill better than the price you specified. Hence, a limit order at $8 means that you get a fill at $8 and above.

Share This

Window Signs Making Tips

Success of every business lies on how well you are able to present your products and services in the market.

Keywords:
poster banner printing

With the competitive industry that the present world has businesses must be able to deliver a well organized and detailed presentation. Mainly the utilization of an effective ad campaign tool would be a great factor for your business success. Making use of signs and banners for your presentation will greatly aid in delivering a valuable product presentation.

The window signs in particular are widely used promotional tool in filling up a window space for companies’ recognition and product endorsement. Primarily they are designed and produced through the state-of-the-art design computerized facilities or can also be possible done by appropriate design at hand.

Moreover in designing for your window sign there are several tips you have to keep in mind:

1. You have to know what your sign’s over all purpose – mainly the purpose of your material is to efficiently deliver your message toward your audience and vice versa. For your audience to recognize the products and service that your company is offering.

2. What kind of approach you are about to give to your audience – an informative and persuasive approach will be a good way of gaining confidence from your targeted audience.

3. What message you want to communicate – an effective communication is great way of bridging the gap among businesses and its customers. By effectively delivering a well detailed presentation will give your audience a thorough understanding on what is being promoted.

4. Target audience – in producing ad campaign tools you have to specify who your audiences are. This is for you to come up with an appropriate design that will match with the taste of your audience. In order to avoid wastage of material you have to clearly specify your target audience in order for designers to come up with a design that will perfectly suit with your audience tang.

5. The viewing distance – window signs must be viewed in its farthest distance in order for customers to easily recognize the products promoted. The farther it’s viewing distance the more chances of catching customers attention.

Furthermore, a well developed and produced window signs can bring a good communication medium that will respond with the mobile standard of living. The visibility and gigantic feature of your material will increase your businesses range and as well as expand your companies’ ability to speak with the passersby. With these grounds for sure you will be able to increase your sales and as well as boost up your companies earnings.

Share This

Wholesale Marketing Business

Now you have made the decision that you want to get into the wholesale marketing business, it is now time to start making some money, this is great as it is one of the fastest growing industries on the net, actually it is one of the fastest growing industries period. So, what have you decided to sell? Have you figured this part out yet?, or are you still up in the air with this one? There are some very important things to consider when going into wholesale Internet marketing,…

Keywords:
home based business,work from home,marketing,advetising,opportunity,home workers,make money online

Now you have made the decision that you want to get into the wholesale marketing business, it is now time to start making some money, this is great as it is one of the fastest growing industries on the net, actually it is one of the fastest growing industries period. So, what have you decided to sell? Have you figured this part out yet?, or are you still up in the air with this one? There are some very important things to consider when going into wholesale Internet marketing, capital is a huge issue, but the biggest issue seems to be the storage and product capacity problems. Do your research first and gather all the information you can, try to find out what seems to be working for other people who are working in the same kind of business.

Have you ever considered selling a product that people collect? What about sports cards? This is a very big market, and you could easily find some storage space in even a modest sized home for the product to be shipped in mass quantity. This is a market that is really taking off; there are people in every walk of life that collects these sports cards. From football cards to baseball cards the product is still the same, small and easy to store until it is sold and shipped. You see the problem with choosing a large-scale item such as clothing, or stereo equipment, means that you will need adequate space to store it until you ship it. If you are just starting out, renting a storage space for the product makes for a certain drop in your profits. Not to mention the insurance you will want to take out to keep you and your wholesalers business safe, in the event of fire or theft.

This is why smaller items that are still popular may be the best bet for positive results and a chance to keep all of your profits. The option is there for the wholesaler to keep the product at their storage facility until the sale is final, and it is even possible for them to ship the item to the customer saving you the trouble. The major problem with this is, everything that the wholesaler has to do such as storing and shipping the items eats away at your profits. If they store it, they will charge you for the use of space. and if they ship it for you, they will ship it the way they want to regardless if that ends up costing you more, either way it matters not to them. This is because it will come out of your share in the end. This then takes you from a legitimate business partner to a simple run of the mill salesperson without most of the perks. When starting your wholesale marketing business maybe it really is better to think small.

Share This

Package Forwarding Services

The United States of America has a prominent place in the global market because of its new, unique and innovative products. Thanks to computerization and Internet, people throughout the world have easy access to different products and services that are launched in the US market. Many shopping portals are cashing upon this craze for American products by selling those online. But the actual problem lies in the delivery of products.

Keywords:
The United States of America has a prominent place in the global market because of its new, unique and innovative products. Thanks to computerization and Internet, people throughout the world have eas

The United States of America has a prominent place in the global market because of its new, unique and innovative products. Thanks to computerization and Internet, people throughout the world have easy access to different products and services that are launched in the US market. Many shopping portals are cashing upon this craze for American products by selling those online. But the actual problem lies in the delivery of products.

Most of the US retailers don’t show any interest for cross-border shipping and those who are ready to do so create a financial burden that is beyond your imagination. There is also severe doubt regarding the safe and fast delivery of package as it takes a long period to reach you and it is better not to speak about the condition of the package. As a result, you might have to repent on the decision of purchasing from America. Of late, many companies like oneUSAaddress.com have come to the rescue of these customers by offering effective solutions to their problems.

The first thing a customer comes across is the website of the company. The oneUSAaddress.com is well designed and contains all the related information for the first time users. The Company provides a USA address to its clients. To get a USA address, you need to register with the company. The registration process is completed in six easy steps. You will have the option of choosing from different rate plans like Free Plan and Advanced Plan which is further categorized as Basic, Plus and Premium Plan. The website has secured Internet payment gateways through which you can make payments by credit cards, Paypal and Money bookers account.

A USA address is a real American street address and not a post box number. The USA retailers will accept it as your valid shipping destination. The Company receives the products on your behalf. You can always access and control your packages through secure, 24 hour online service. The company also displays a detail 640 by 480 pixels image of your package. Apart from that, the client can know about the sender, package size, package description, package condition and other additional comments and details. Its online representatives are always there to redress your grievances.
On receipt of your merchandise, its staff will open the package and verify the products to make sure that the products conform to the specifications given by the client. The client can review, choose, consolidate, reject or accept the package instantly.

The Package Forwarding Services ensures safe repacking of the products. The consignment arrives at your location in 4 to 7 working days. The shipping cost is always lees than regular shipping charges. So the company facilitates smooth delivery of the merchandise and wipes out all your past bad experiences about package delivery. So your all shopping solutions are just few mouse clicks away.

Share This

Two Week Free Trial Not a Good Introductory Offer for Audio Books Right Now

Audio Book renters need to empahsize the audio book medium more. A “why audio books” sales pitch will attract more attention than a generic introductory offer.

Keywords:
audio book rentals on CD

I have discussed the similarities of audio book renters to Netflix numerous times in my reviews. Similarities include “unlimited rentals”, an online prioritizing queue to speed up expediting of customer shipments, no due dates and free shipping. All these features helped make Netflix a successful business in a short period of time. This business strategy and my belief that the Regular CD format and MP3-format are a long way away from disappearing amidst the ever increasing amount of data downloadable to iPods, cell phones, car stereos, etc. works well for audio books too.

Larger and thoroughly catagorized audio book sections at book stores are being created to encompass the increasing demand as people continue to find the CD format more accessible and convenient than before, largely due to most new cars automatically equipped with CD players. The high price of new audio books has helped make the audio book renters’ monthly subscriptions a Godsend to many commuters. People trying to update their business acumen, escape from the pressures of work into a master storyteller’s drama or lighten the day’s load with something humorous or inspirational.

The similarity between the door-to-door DVD renters and audio book renters that needs some adjustment is the introductory offer. For Netflix a two week free trial gives the customer just enough time to decide if they’d rather run down the street to video store or wait at home for the DVDs to come in the mail. As suspicious as a two week free trial on a monthly subscription plan may seem it works for Netflix because people don’t need an introduction to renting DVDs. The same is not true for audio books because most people have not yet seen the access to the vast wealth of literature an audio book subscription presents.

For many commutors driving two or more hours a day listening to audio books is increasingly becoming a necessity and a way of life. But still most people can’t yet wrap their mind around how driving to work can be enjoyable. Instead of a monetary inticement, focus on how listening to books can give people an opportunity to enjoy literature they wouldn’t otherwise have time to read.

First sell the product, then the subscription. Show the prospective subscriber that listening to books can broaden their imagination. Show how this unique medium allows the listener to experience the author’s story with their own imagination while guided by a narrator’s gift to unlock the emotional and sensational elements of a book’s characters.

People first need to know that with the help of audio books they can realize the adage “The book was better than the movie”.

Share This

To Pitch Or Release

The Internet has, without question, provided more opportunities and better communication between the media and business owners. However, it has also encouraged an onslaught of press releases for which the media simply can not keep up. This means, that you, the business person must either deliver press releases so compelling that they will shine through the proverbial slush pile, or find a better approach for reaching your target editors or producers.

For the very same reas…

Keywords:
press releases, press release distribution, marketing, promotion, Internet marketing, online busines

The Internet has, without question, provided more opportunities and better communication between the media and business owners. However, it has also encouraged an onslaught of press releases for which the media simply can not keep up. This means, that you, the business person must either deliver press releases so compelling that they will shine through the proverbial slush pile, or find a better approach for reaching your target editors or producers.

For the very same reason that the personal approach works so well on the Internet with consumers is the same reason it works well with editors and producers. Press releases are without a doubt the easier route. Simply write and click send then sit back and hope someone with a valuable title will notice. The hard truth is that getting a press release noticed is becoming more and more of a challenge. Unless you happen to like standing in a very long line and hoping an editor will dig through a very deep slush pile to notice your news, may I suggest a more direct, successful approach to garnering press space? The pitch.

The pitch requires a little more work, research, and preparation but also nets better results. The pitch is really only a verbal press release. If you can get the phone date, you have a better chance of being heard, of personalizing the story, and therefore getting the much coveted time in the media spotlight.

Publicists have long understood the value of the pitch and in fact, the pitch is the number one reason publicists are paid the big bucks. Do they have something you do not have? No. It’s a tool anyone can learn to hone. Will you mess up a few pitches? Yes, without a doubt just the same way you messed up a few press releases. The difference is that you didn’t hear about it with your press release, which in reality did not help you. It is a tool that will require constant improvement but the rewards and both personal and professional.

So what does a pitch consist of? A pitch contains all the same information that a press release requires but you present it in a less formal way, over the telephone, directly to the editor or producers. It’s important that you take the time to prepare your pitch and be able to discuss it without reading it. Research the publications, radio shows, or television spots to be sure that your particular story will fit in with their theme and then either write, email, or call for an appointment to present your story.

Not only does the pitch personalize your story and make you real for the editor or producer but you will also begin to build contacts within the media. These contacts will eventually become professional friends that will smooth the road to greater and greater media opportunities.

Once you have delivered your pitch, asked for a time or space slot, don’t forget to thank the editor or producer both in the conversation and in writing. Be courteous and respectful at all times. Never try to talk and editor or producer into your story, as they know their market better than you do. If you get a rejection ask for a referral to a more appropriate market and keep trying.

Yes, press releases definitely have their place. A consistently distributed press release will keep you in the eye of the media, which can pave the way to a more productive pitch. So in affect, using both tools is the best approach. One is definitely weaker without the other, but together they make an impact that can’t be beat.

Overall, it’s persistence that wins in the long run and this is a quality every publicist has. However, you can learn the ability of persistence simply by practicing it. Keep at it and before long you will be a media hit!

Share This

Viral Marketing – A Study Of Successful Sites

Viral marketing is a concept which allows word of mouth advertising to spread your message far and wide without ongoing maintenance and promotion from the originator.

Hotmail is the most famous example I can think of to show you the power of viral marketing.

Everyone who used their free email service would advertise the service at the bottom of the each email they sent out.

The types of advertising messages which grow the fastest are services which advertise themselv…

Keywords:
viral marketing,website promotion,internet marketing,marketing tips,increase traffic

Viral marketing is a concept which allows word of mouth advertising to spread your message far and wide without ongoing maintenance and promotion from the originator.

Hotmail is the most famous example I can think of to show you the power of viral marketing.

Everyone who used their free email service would advertise the service at the bottom of the each email they sent out.

The types of advertising messages which grow the fastest are services which advertise themselves when being used…such as the Hotmail example.

Another good example is a service such as http://Plaxo.com

This is an online address book. When a user signs up, the service scans the user’s address book in the user’s email client and emails all those users an invitation to join Plaxo. This is done with the member’s permission, of course.

Other services which use this technique of viral marketing are social networking sites such as http://Myspace.com

When users sign up for a free account, the first thing they see is a form to invite their friends to the site.

I’ve deducted a few tips from following high profile and low profile viral marketing campaigns of many types.

First of all, you can provide incentives for someone to spread your advertising for you, such as giving them money but just the incentive of money will not make something truly viral. Often some of the best viral marketing campaigns are purely accidental as you’ll discover in a later example.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the example of a site called “The Interview With Jesus”.

Here’s the url: http://www.interviewwithgod.com

The story of that site, I think is, the owner took a public domain poem and created a website to host the poem. Word got out and the thing just exploded with traffic from friends sending to friends.

So something that is truly viral will spread on its own even without an incentive attached to it.

Another truly viral example is the story of a New Jersey teenager who created an online video with his webcam. In the video, he lip syncs to a popular Romanian pop song called “Dragostea Din Tei,” which translates “Love Among the Linden Trees,”.

He sent the video to his friends and it became so viral that he got some television time and his 15 minutes of fame.

To create a truly viral campaign such as the above two examples is not easy but there are ways to boost your viral marketing efforts from studying those examples.

First, it must have mass appeal. The wider the audience, the better. Second, it must advertise itself. Look at the Plaxo and Hotmail examples.

If you study the examples I’ve provided of viral marketing, you’ll find that some require a lot of programming knowledge and others require nothing but an idea that many people enjoy and like to pass around.

If you’re aiming to make money from a successful viral marketing campaign then you have many options.

1.) Capture email addresses and build a target database of prospects.
2.) Place Adsense ads on your site and benefit from the sheer volume of traffic to your site.
3.) Promote affiliate products.
4.) Sell advertising on your site.
5.) Create a product of your own.
6.) Take donations.

Even if your site is purely altruistic, you will need extra money to pay for bandwidth charges so the above forms of monetization will come in handy.

Share This

What’s In A Name? The Six Essential Elements You Need To Know

Selecting a name for your new business is not easy. A name does more than identify your company. It tells customers who you are, what you do, and more than a little about how you do it.

Keywords:
trade show marketing, trade show planning, trade show training, trade show staff training, exhibitor staff training, trade show books

Selecting a name for your new business is not easy. A name does more than identify your company. It tells customers who you are, what you do, and more than a little about how you do it. Your name differentiates you from your peers, peaks customer interest, and invites further investigation – if you do it right.

I didn’t do it right. At least, not at first.

All entrepreneurs make mistakes, and I made one of my first ones right off the bat. Thrilled with the fledgling business I was starting, this precious enterprise so near and dear to my heart, I christened my company Diadem Communications. Diadem means crown- a fitting name for what I felt was a
crowning achievement.

What does Diadem say to you? Does it evoke thoughts of me coming into your company, training your sales team to be the best booth staff ever, ensuring that every single trade show you attend turns out to be amazingly successful? Does it make me sound so good that you just can’t wait to hire me?

No. It doesn’t say that to me either. And even worse, it didn’t say that to any of my potential customers. Going by name alone, no one would be able to determine the least bit of information about me, my company, or the services we offer. The name said nothing, and it did nothing for me.

The name had to go. More importantly, it had to be replaced by something effective. How do you come up with an effective name? Consider these six elements:

An Effective Name:

1. Tells Who You Are: Your name should reflect your identity. This is an essential aspect of branding. You’ll be promoting this name, getting it in front of as many eyes as possible as often as possible. How do you want the public to think of you?

For some, that means integrating your personal name into the name of your business. This is very common in some professions: legal, medical, and accounting leap to mind.

Others prefer a more descriptive name. One successful small baker runs her business under the name “The Cookie Lady” because that’s how her first customers identified her. It’s doubtful that most of the customers even know her first name (It’s Pat) but everybody in her market knows “The Cookie Lady”.

2. Tells What You Do: It’s incredible how many company names give little, if any indication of what type of work the organization actually does. Take the following examples:

- Smith and Sons
- Hulbert Brothers
- Only One

Can you tell me what any of these companies does? Of course you can’t. They’re relying on customers already knowing who they are (a tricky proposition for new businesses!) or by having their name found in ‘context’, such as a yellow pages or on-line business directory.

3. Tells How You Do It: Words are very powerful. By carefully selecting what words you use in your name, you can convey a great deal about your company’s image. Consider the names of three different massage and bodywork centers:

- Champlain Valley Therapeutic Massage
- Clouds Above Massage
- Speedy Spa

All three companies are providing the same service: massage therapy. Yet the first appears to favor a more medical approach, the second, a dreamy, luxury approach, and the third focuses on fast service.

4. Differentiates You From Your Peers: Your company name is the first opportunity to tell customers how you differ from the competition. This can be done by emphasizing what makes you unique, pinpointing what aspect of your products and services can’t be found anywhere else – or that you do better than anyone else.

Consider the massage therapy example we looked at in number three. Each organization clearly has a different focus and approach to their customer base. They’re attracting different types of clients, who are seeking fundamentally different approaches. All of which is conveyed in less than five words.

5. Peaks Customer Interest: Creating customer interest is an art and a science. Think carefully about your target audience. What qualities of your services are of the greatest import to your customers? What kind of words are likely to appeal to them?

Emphasize the important qualities in your name. For example, busy homeowners are drawn to the inherent promise of speed offered by “Bob’s Instant Plumbing” while a reader in search of a good mystery will gravitate toward “Crime Pays Books”.

Word choice is also important. Two yarn shops can both specialize in specialty fibers, but the one who labels themselves “All Hemp All the Time” will draw in a decidedly different crowd than the one named “Natural Beauty: Organic Yarns”.

6. Invites Further Investigation: Customers are funny creatures. What one group finds to be funny and engaging turns another group off. You want your name to be inviting and approachable – as those qualities are perceived by your target audience.
The best example of this may be seen in the individual investor segment of the financial services industry. Charles Schwab has spent years cultivating a classic, formal image – but now that the consumer base is changing from ‘old people with money’ to ‘everyone with a 401K’, Charles Schwab has launched the “Talk to Chuck” campaign in an effort to be more approachable.

Make sure your name doesn’t intimidate customers away! Some industries are more formal than others, but adopt pretension at your peril.

After following a series of simple step-by-step instructions to match my corporate identity with my service offering, I came up with the quintessential name: The Trade Show Coach. This name instantly tells customers what I do – assist companies with trade shows – and a little of the manner in which I do it – coach, rather than dictate, direct, guide, or organize.

See the difference? So did the buying public, some of who quickly became my best customers. The same thing can happen for you – if you pick the right name.

Share This