You’re about to learn a lesson in a relatively new form of marketing from an uncoventional source: a missionary.
Follow along and it’ll all make sense in a second… 🙂
In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.
After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave his engine running.
He used this ingenious procedure for TWO years!
Finally ill health caused the Jackson family to have to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood.
Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For two years needless trouble had become routine.
The power was there all the time.
Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting the power to work.
Most small business owners don’t realize there’s a relatively new way for them to promote their business, gain prospects, and convert customers.
They’re still stuck in the old mode of buying ads and putting up websites as their online brochure.
And because of that, there’s no connection happening between them and their prospects. And with no connection, there’s no power… no influence.
What people are looking for online and offline is information. They’re not looking for ads!
They’re wanting to answer questions they have, they’re wanting to find an expert on the service or product that they’re seeking.
When you stop advertising and begin educating, you begin to make connections. You begin to answer questions, build relationships and establish yourself as an expert, not just a hawker of ________ products/services.
And guess what will be the residual result? That’s right. You’ll begin to make sales.
Stay tuned because tomorrow I’ll reveal to you one of the most powerful forms of content marketing that there is.
And I’ll reveal it to you in a story from the classic “Arabian Nights”! 🙂
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Thanks!
Scott @rampbusinesses
I’m a business strategist, consultant, content creation specialist, and speaker. I’ve been studying effective marketing and business methods (both online and offline) since 1999.
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I found this out two years ago. I am still struggling but my advertising budget is $200 a month vs thousands years ago and volume is up. I speak anytime I get an opportunity and have been doing a radio show for two years. People want to connect.
Thanks for the comment Leonard. Glad to hear that you’re using the power of content marketing and have seen volume go up and your ad budget drop. You’re so right. People DO want to connect. I hope you get some new ideas from my upcoming posts and learn ways to improve your speaking and use content marketing in new ways.