Word Power: Writing to win in business

April 16, 2010

What and how we write can have a huge impact on our success in business. The image we create on paper is just as important as the image we create by our wardrobe, posture and handshake. Is your business writing as effective as the rest of the marketing you do?

You want everything you write to be powerful and have impact. There are several things to consider in order to achieve this.

Firstly, know your audience. Whether you are writing a cover letter or a business development proposal, the most important factor of your business writing is your reader. One good strategy is to imagine you are the reader. Ask yourself, “As a reader, what’s in this for me?”  ( . . . a  prospective new employee, a bigger bottom line, good publicity, etc.) Try to answer that question as you write.

Secondly, keep your sentences short and to the point. This will help you maintain good sentence structure and makes it easier for your reader to understand what you are saying. A good rule is to write to a grade seven or eight level. Although this may seem like you’re aiming low, remember that many readers will scan your work, not read it closely.  Author Tom Sant points out that “one of Lincoln’s greatest speeches was his Second Inaugural Address. Of its 701 words, 627 have just one or two syllables. (That’s 89.5 percent.)”  If the “short and simple strategy” worked for Abraham Lincoln, couldn’t it work for you?

Avoid jargon unless you are certain that your reader will understand every single word. It could be that English is not be the first language of everybody who reads your work. If you avoid jargon and slang, you will reach more readers. That could make the difference between winning or losing a contract.

Be yourself. If you don’t speak and act with a stuffy, intellectual tone, why would you write with one? What is your personality and how can you incorporate it into your business writing? I know one person who signs her e-mail with, “Smiles, (her name)” instead of the traditional “Sincerely, (name).” It works for her precisely because she lights up a room with her vibrant smile. She’s always smiling — it’s her signature and it works for her. If you’re not sure how to do this in your writing, read your work out loud. Does it flow with a natural rhythm? Does it sound like you? You can also ask yourself, “How would I say this if I were sitting right in front of the person reading it?” Then, write it that way.

Finally, take the time to check over your document. Most word processors have spelling and grammar checkers. While they may not be perfect, they can help to catch typos and other common mistakes. By taking the time to do this consistently, you become your own quality assurance manager when it comes to the image you are projecting with your business writing. This is a crucial step that many people overlook.

It’s important to check the final version of the document. It has happened to most of us that we spell check something, make revisions and send it out without a final spelling check. Then — oops! –somehow that silly mistake jumps off the page after it’s too late to change it. Once I had to throw out 500 brochures because they came back from the printer with a spelling error. Talk about a costly lesson!

There may be times when it works to your advantage to hire a professional writer or editor. Even as a person with two university degrees in languages who writes and edits professionally, I often ask others to proofread my work before I send it out. I do this especially with marketing materials, as I know that others will judge my competency by the image I project in my marketing materials. I have learned a lot from doing this.

Writing is like any other skill:  it can be learned. If you already know how, chances are, there’s room for improvement. Ask yourself, “How can I make my writing the best it can be?”  That’s what professional writers do on a daily basis. That’s what entrepreneurs and other business people can do to polish their image, enhance their credibility, win customers and increase sales. It’s about presenting the best of yourself – both on and off the page.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Tips for preparing an effective marketing strategy

April 15, 2010

A marketing strategy is a map that gets you and your business where you want to go. It gives you a plan to promote your business, target the right clients and allocate your resources wisely. They say that trying to grow your business without having a plan is like going on a road trip without a map. You may get somewhere, but will it be where you wanted?

Marketing strategies are useful in any business or organization dedicated to generating revenue. This includes educational institutions trying to promote programs that make money.  Some people may tell you that you need a business degree or a marketing expert to prepare a strategy. While these things may help, you can outline a basic plan yourself, even if you don’t have a business background or the resources to hire a consultant. Common sense, a clear head and a vision of where you want your business to go can do wonders for helping you prepare a good, solid marketing strategy. In fact, the process of creating that vision can open marketing opportunities you would otherwise miss, simply because you are able to clearly describe your business anywhere, any time.

Here are the essential elements of a marketing strategy.

  • Define your product / service. What are you offering? Define it clear, simple, objective terms. Depending on what it is you are selling, your definition may be one line or several paragraphs. You want to be able to concisely answer the question, “So, what does your company do?” If you fumble for an answer – or don’t have one at all – your marketing efforts may never be sufficiently focussed to help prospective customers decide on you. Depending on what you’re selling, your definition may be one line or several paragraphs. If you offer more than one product or service, consider having  a broad, but concise definition for all of it, along with brief definitions of each individual product or service.
  • Highlight the benefits. How will your client benefit from this product or service? This can be tough to articulate. One way to do this is to ask yourself, “If I were a customer, what would I get out of this product or service? What good is it to me? Why would I want it?” Another way to think of it is, “For what problem does this product or service provide a solution ?” For example, if you own a coffee shop benefits to your customers might include a variety of regular and specialty drinks, delicious snacks, a friendly atmosphere, free reading material and an excellent meeting place for friends and business people. If you have snacks that are wheat-free, sugar free or dairy free, that is another benefit for clients with certain dietary restrictions.
  • Be clear about the strengths and weaknesses of the product / service. Let’s be clear. Every product or service has limitations. Trying to be all things to all people may hurt your business in the long run. We may like to think that the market for whatever we offer is limitless, but the reality is that the better we know exactly what we offer, the more likely we are to attract exactly the right client.

You will want to identify a few key strengths and limitations of your product or service. You may find that the strengths and weaknesses are closely related. For example, some strengths of my language program consulting services would be:

  • Strong niche market. Not many people offer services that help educational institutions promote their language programs. Most educators are not business people and so, promoting their programs is not generally their strong suit. I offer a unique service that helps them increase their enrollment.
  • Worldwide market. Language programs are offered in numerous countries and I can help them all improve the way they promote their language programs.
  • International experience. I have lived, studied and had business experiences in several countries. All of these things help me understand the international market better. I can pass that experience on to my customers.
  • Bilingual service. I’m a native English speaker with a Masters Degree in Spanish, and almost ten years of experience teaching that language. I can confidently offer clients service in either language.

Notice that the limitations facing this aspect of my business are closely related to its strengths:

  • Narrow market – Even though I am passionate about helping language schools promote their programs, and my potential market is global, there may not be enough demand for this to be the only service that I offer. I continue to offer other services related to languages, culture and marketing.
  • Services are only available in two languages. There are thousands of language schools out there that are managed by people who don’t speak English or Spanish. If I could help school administrators and language program managers who spoke only French, German or Japanese to promote their programs, my potential market would grow exponentially. My bilingualism is both a benefit and a limitation.

We have to be realistic about both our strengths and our weaknesses. It helps us focus on what we do well, so we can do even better.

  • Know your competition. Take the time to find out who else is offering similar products or services.  In today’s world, there are very few totally new ideas or products. It is in your best interest to know who else is offering something similar to you. Remember these tips to success: “First, best or different.” If you are the first one ever with a new idea, product or service, lucky you. If not, you want to either be the best at what you do, or offer something slightly different from your competition.
  • Determine who your market is for your product or service. This may seem self-evident, but all too often, business owners say, “Well, everyone is a potential client!” That’s not true. After you define your product or service and assess its strengths and weaknesses, then you are in a position to ask yourself, “OK, who needs this most?” Whoever needs it most is your best target market.
  • Develop a vision for the sales of the product / service. Where would you like it to be in 5 years? 3 years? 1 year? Next month? Although it may seem unreasonable to plan so far in advance, remember that a plan can change, but without a vision of where you are going,  you will never get there. This kind of vision may be developed by the owner or the executive team of a business. Rarely will this vision be the responsibility of a single employee.
  • Establish a budget for marketing, promoting and advertising. This is often the hardest part. Some people say that 20% of the gross annual earnings of a business should be funneled back into promoting it. Often, small businesses are reluctant to put a number on how much they want to spend on marketing. In this case, one of two things often happens: either you overspend or you miss excellent opportunities to promote your business.
  • Decide what to spend your marketing dollars on. If you have a vision that stretches a couple of years into the future, then you are better prepared to allocate your funds in certain areas such as web site development, printing brochures, attending networking events, etc. Be sure to include items such as postage, packaging, envelopes, stationery and business cards. If you mail out a brochure or coupon to 1000 prospective clients, then the money you spend on postage is a marketing expense.
  • Keep track of what you spend on promotions and the results. This takes time. The idea is to track what works for your business and what doesn’t. You can speculate all you want, but unless you have numbers in front of you, the idea that you have is just a hunch, not fact.

A final reminder: marketing and sales are not the same. Marketing takes place over a longer term and is related closely to public relations and promotions. You are building an image of your product or service, your business and yourself. This takes time.  Even if you don’t have huge dollars to invest in marketing your business, the time you spend developing a strong, effective marketing strategy is an investment in your business, your future and your success. Write your own road map to success and then enjoy the journey!

© 2003 Sarah Elaine Eaton

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Avoid these 5 marketing blunders

April 13, 2010

Some of marketing is trial and error. As our business evolves, we try different ways to sell more or diversify the kind of clients we have. Here are a few things that we overlook sometimes. They can mean the difference between successful marketing and the frustration that comes from not getting the results you want.

Blunder #1 – Having no idea about what’s happening in your business, from a marketing point of view.

Do you know how much money you’re spending on marketing? And what percentage of your total income is spent on marketing? How many customers do you have? How many magazines have you advertised in during the past year? If you don’t have the answers to these questions at your fingertips, then you may be unaware of what your business is actually doing, as far as marketing goes.

If this is you, then it is time to figure out what marketing ideas you have tried this past year and how much money you spent. Research means knowledge. And knowledge is power.

Blunder #2 – Having no clear or attainable goals.

Not having any goals, or having goals that are vague or simply unreachable is a common mistake.

Have you set your marketing and recruitment goals for this year yet? If not, what are you waiting for?  Writing down your goals and sharing them with your support staff and teachers can be an excellent motivation to help you reach them. To simply say, “We need more sales” won’t do it. You want to be clear and specific.

Saying, “We will increase sales by 1000% this fiscal year”  may put unreasonable expectations on you and your business. Or you may give up because it’s more of a dream than a goal.

If you say, “We intend to increase our sales by 10%, and that includes diversifying by having more customers from (insert the name of a city, country or industry here)”, then that’s an excellent goal, because it is both specific and attainable. Check out an earlier post I wrote on Setting Reasonable Goals.

Blunder #3 – Not tracking your marketing efforts.

It’s important to remember that marketing is a process and you need to monitor and track your results on a regular basis. If you advertise in a magazine, then it’s helpful to keep track of how many responses you get to your ad. This can include inquiries you get about your business. It is part of the tracking process.

It’s worth it to give a new marketing effort at least 6 months before you expect to see a return. In some cases, it may be more. But if you’ve been advertising in the same community newspaper for the past 8 years and you’ve never had a response to your ad, drop the ad and use that marketing money elsewhere.

Blunder #4 – Not tracking how your marketing efforts relate to your sales.

When you examine how your marketing efforts relate to your sales be sure to look at the whole picture. Ultimately, you want to see that your marketing activities impact your “bottom line” in a positive way. Marketing really involves a combination of activities that include advertising, networking, branding, etc. Together, they should impact your sales. If, when you examine your marketing efforts, you see something that doesn’t increase your sales and also doesn’t help you in developing professional relationships or branding your business, you may want to consider dropping it and trying something else.

Blunder #5 – Thinking that you have to do it alone.

Even if you are a one-person business, you are never alone in the business world. Call upon your network of graphic artists, web designers, and other professionals to help you. One of the most valuable activities you can undertake in marketing is to develop trusting relationships with people who can help you. Of course, you don’t want to give away all your secrets, but if you can have someone to talk to who also understands the industry and the challenges you face then you may be able to help each other succeed.

If you are lucky enough to have staff, they can also help you market your business. Ask for ideas and advice. More often than not, people feel important when you ask for their opinion. They’ll usually be happy to share their ideas and input with you.

I have met many marketers who feel isolated and alone in their jobs. Their frustration leads to decreased productivity and general unhappiness. If you think you have to do it alone, then you’re doomed to feel disempowered. Join a local business club or two. Go to networking events on a regular basis. Stay in touch with others who are like-minded and success-oriented. When you know you have support, you can focus on what needs to be done to get the results you want.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

How to find a good ESL agent: Tips from the trenches

April 12, 2010

One question that comes up time and time again is, “How do you find a good agent?” I think that part of the answer is to avoid wasting your time with unproductive potential agents. Sound harsh? It’s not, really. If you’ve ever been in the classroom, chances are that you’ve had a student who wants to monopolize your time in ways that don’t contribute to the overall lesson or are just plain distracting or even bothersome.

As teachers, we learn how to handle students with all kinds of personalities and motives of their own. We learn to set boundaries with them while keeping the lesson focused and hopefully avoid too much disruption in the classroom. We call that good class management. We try to achieve this without embarrassing the student, if possible, while making it clear that as the teacher, we’re the one in control of the class and that’s the way it should be. In fact, if we don’t do that as teachers, we may lose others respect and not be taken as seriously.

The same idea applies to business relationships, particularly when it comes to others outside your school who want to work with you or represent you. The larger your program grows, the more people you will have knocking on your door wanting to work with you. Annoying though it may be, this is a good sign. It means you are being noticed and your image is one of success.

One of the ways that businesses get more business is to let the world know who their partners are. If an educational agent or tour operator can say they are working with ABC Language School and that school is well known in the community, either locally or internationally, then it lends them credibility and prestige.

That’s precisely why you want to take your time establishing new business relationships. It just may be that you don’t want your name associated with that business.

One tactic that I learned while managing a university ESL program was to ask prospective new “business partners” or agents for a package in writing. Sometimes if the person was in the same city as me, either living here or just passing through, they would insist on a personal meeting first. I would gently but firmly state, in every case, that it was our policy to consider written proposal first, before a meeting. The reality was that the first few times I said that, I was fibbing. We didn’t actually have such a policy. Having said that, we quickly created an internal policy that stated we had to receive all proposals in writing before a telephone or an in-person meeting.

Once everyone in the office knew the policy, we all stuck by it, asking frontline staff to help prevent such calls coming through to us. One polite way for a frontline staff member to do this is to say, “If you send the written proposal to my attention, I promise that will hand-deliver it to our manager to ensure she receives it.” Anyone who took the time to send a proposal – even a one-page, detailed letter – would gain our attention, at least long enough for us to review the proposal.

If they couldn’t deliver, we would gently but firmly apologize and move on. I was able to stop wasting time on agents and others who may or may not have had good intentions.

That was the first step. From there, we would ask for references and examples of previous work done. If this caused our prospective business partner distress or caused them to become uncomfortable, we eliminated them from our list of possibilities.

Sometimes, the prospect would say, “Oh, well… our partners are located in a foreign country and no one here speaks the language.” We would always reply that we were prepared to hire professional, accredited translators to check references. Very rarely did we ever hire a translator to check anyone’s references.

The steps we followed were:

  • Insist on a written proposal first.
  • If you receive a form letter or pre-made package, request more details on how exactly they would propose that you work together. Get this information in writing.
  • Insist on references. If they can’t or won’t give these to you, the process ends there.
  • Arrange a phone or in-person interview during which they do most of the talking. Ask about the history of the business, the person’s credentials, and examples of experiences they have had working with other language schools.
    • Close the meeting saying that you will consider their proposal and you will get back to them within a fixed amount of time (usually not more than one week, unless you’re about to leave on a trip). Never agree to anything on the spot.

Part of the process involved abiding by our policies and the next step was to gauge the reaction of our prospective partners at certain points along the way. It became like a behavioral interview.  If the other party wanted to bend our rules from the very beginning, insisted on doing things their way instead of ours or if they became frustrated, aggressive or unwilling to cooperate with us at any time, we knew we didn’t want to work with them.

In the end, there can be any number of reasons why you would choose not to pursue a business relationship, including (but not limited to):

  • The relationship may not be mutually beneficial.
  • What the prospective agent wants to provide for you is not something you need at the moment (i.e. not a “good fit” from a business point of view.)
  • The timing of the proposal is off. This can happen if you are undergoing changes in your organization. You can always ask the other party to check back with you again in six months.
  • Your gut tells you that working with the other party would be a bad decision.

Although we sent some policies and procedures in place for dealing with prospective new business partners, the bottom line was for us to feel comfortable with the new person. You want your business partners to respect how you run your organization, be willing to provide you with what you need and be as interested in your success as you are.

Remember the 80/20 rule. 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients. You want to ensure you have the time and energy to cultivate strong relationships with your top 20%. Part of being able to do this is to avoid those who have big ideas and good intentions, with no way of ever realizing their goals or yours. Be polite, be considerate and be firm.

© Sarah Elaine Eaton

Related posts:

Tips for finding ESL educational agents

Tips for success at educational trade fairs

Finding an ESL agent – A open discussion (with link to webinar recording and slides)

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

World class business: The basics of intercultural awareness

April 10, 2010

Being culturally aware is like being diplomatic. For some people it seems to come naturally. Others blindly hurtle forward, unaware that their ignorance is offensive to others. In business, being sensitive to other cultures can win you contracts and life-long relationships on which you can build your business – and keep it.

But what exactly is this abstract awareness? Basically, intercultural awareness is knowing why people from different backgrounds act the way they do. Once that we understand that, we can use that information to have better relationships with  them.  This awareness will help you predict how people who come from different backgrounds will act, speak, think, make decisions and perceive the world.

It is important to note that this does not mean endorsing stereotypes or pigeonholing people into categories. It is about being open-minded and willing to understand others for who they are. For example, you may learn that while dining with a Chinese colleague, it is not customary to discuss business. One normally talks about the meal itself and pays compliments to the person who has prepared it. Somewhere, there is probably a Chinese business person who will talk about business incessantly during a meal. The important thing to remember is that you are dealing with an individual and that human interaction is fluid and dynamic. The more flexible and aware you are about what to expect, the better your cross-cultural interactions will be.

If people from other cultures want to do business with us and interact with us, why don’t they learn our customs?  Often they do. But that is only half of the battle. If you make the effort to learn about your counterpart, you will both be making the effort to understand each other, doubling your effort and chances for success.

While your counterpart may act like you and sound like you, he or she isn’t. That person may think in a different language, process information in a different way and make decisions differently than you do. If you understand how culture may affect this person’s character, you may give yourself an edge in business and in communications. That’s an edge that your competitor may not have.

Cross cultural awareness is one of those abstract, “soft skills”. It takes time to cultivate. It is an evolutionary process that continues throughout our lives, if we chose to open ourselves to it. There are a number of ways to gain this awareness, such as through direct contact with the culture or through popular media.

Everyday the media bombards us with images from around the world. Although sometimes we can learn interesting material from the media, it is good to be aware of sensationalism and media bias. It is important to remain open-minded and non-judgmental.

People are usually delighted to about the customs and culture of their homeland. Many of us are embarrassed to ask questions because we fear that we will be judged as ignorant. My experience has been that non-judgmental questions that are motivated by a sincere interest to learn are always answered with enthusiasm.

If you know that you are going to be dealing with someone from another culture it pays to do your homework. The internet and general interest reading material may be helpful. Some things that may be helpful to know before dealing with someone from another culture include such things as forms of address and greeting. Knowing what to call a person and how to greet people properly can win you friends and business. Not doing so, or making a blundered attempt, may be remembered – in a negative way – for a long time. When in doubt, ask how your counterpart would like to be addressed. If nothing else, this shows respect on your part.

Another important issue is table manners.  This is a huge topic, but suffice to say that if you will be dining with clients or prospects from another culture, it is worthwhile to find out what their customs are. Take the time to learn about this before you sit down at the table.

By making the attempt to become culturally aware you will expand your mind as you learn more about the world around you, give yourself an edge in business and negotiations, and enjoy friendships with people from diverse backgrounds. When you become culturally aware, you gain the riches of the whole world. Isn’t it worth it?

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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