With many subjects, the writer may consider themselves the 'expert, imparting their knowledge to the lucky reader'. However, that's a trap that even the most experienced writer can easily jump into feet first. As a the writer, your point of view may be limited, restricted, biased even. The value you bring to the article is in including information from outwith your immediate knowledge, and filtering it through your experience, to the benefit of your audience. This will also increase your own knowledge on the subject - a bonus. As the saying goes, if you want to learn something well, teach it.

So do your research. Check trade journals you may have missed. Research at the library or online. And once you've filled a folder with cuttings and articles, take notes on them so you have new and important facts in bite-sized chunks, but it also makes you more comfortable with any 'new' material you may have uncovered.

Also, backing up any of your claims with solid background information will provide the credibility that will help your audience take your article seriously.

Now you've got all the grunt work done, you can make an outline of your piece. Get a basic template together - a simple street map to guide your way.

How Do I Get Better at Technical Writing?

For instance, the 'Hedging on the LME' article may cover 'what is hedging?', 'how does it apply to the LME', 'blah blah'.

Now all the facts have been pulled together from reliable sources, you can get down to writing. BUT! You must remember that the key to successful writing is to rewrite. To draft and cut and re-draft and pare it down until it's bulletproof.

Maybe 3 or 4 drafts will do you. Allow for that amount of rewriting. It will show.

One the first draft, just batter out the words onto the page. Don't stop to question what you're putting down, or edit or move it around the page. Relax and let all you've learned during the research and organisation stages to go down onto the page. The rewrites are for fixing.

On the next draft, when you take what you just dumped on the page, edit it brutally. Take out all the extraneous words, the 'this' and 'that's and cliches and the like. All the lazy structures you used just so you could get the ideas out. This should be relatively painless if you're using a word processor.

In the final stage, check your figures, punctuation, spelling, grammar - all the nuts and bolts. It wouldn't be the first time I've been present during a management meeting when one particularly asinine Director poo-pooed a business presentation by a colleague because they had spelt 'collateral' incorrectly.

If with the above strategy, you experience writer's block - just an inability to get your finger out and get it done - break it up. Break each article up into small accessible pieces, and work on each of them separately. You'll find that achieving little goals along the way make it easier to keep on track to get the full article completed.
[This is the second part of this article. Read the first part here]

Write abstracts, introductions and summaries when you're all done.

Now go to bed. When you take your article out the drawer a couple of days later, you may find it needs another re-write. That's fine, that's healthy. Do it.

Keep the above in mind, or follow it as a guide, but it should make it easier and less stressful for a non-technical person to write a good accessible article for a variety of audiences.

The hurdles are:
1. Poor planning
2. Poor execution
3. Poor time management and procrastination

As with any project (not just writing!), the optimum outcome begins with a clear and concise definition of the subject you are writing about. Following a lead from the marketing world, ensure your topic is not overly broad. Instead, target your writing on a specific niche. Tackling a smaller niche allows for more effective research. So instead of trying to write on 'Metal Trading', pinpoint your scope with an article on 'Hedging on the London Metal Exchange'.

As well as topic, you should have a good idea who your audience are. You do have an audience in mind already, yes? If you know who will read your article, you will have a better idea what language to use. Knowing how much background info and jargon to use can have a large impact on the time it can take to produce the article.

To avoid (or at least reduce) the amount of time spent faffing around, you should also know the specific purpose of your article. Is it for a reader of your monthly sales brochure? Or is it for your end-of-year management report? Have a think about what underlying message you might want to communicate to the audience, as well as simple facts.

In step 2 you'll learn the importance of research.

Sub-Headlines
After you've got their attention with your rewarding headline you'll want to lock them in to reading the rest of your ad.

Sub-headlines can give you (at least) three benefits.
1. They split the ad up so it makes it easier for the potential client to read your advert. One massive chunk of text can be a little off-putting if the client is in a hurry.
2. You can outline the important points of your product or service without taking up too much of your potential client's time.
3. You get a second-chance to get the reader interested if you then outline, e.g., those "6 reasons to buy our hand-made stationary". Don't make the client work too hard - and give them the reward to make them happy they are reading your advert.

Main Body Copy
You get one chance in Yellow Pages. So make the main content of your advert convert potential clients into paying. Don't waffle. Just give the reader enough information to be interested enough to call you instead of your competitors. Tell them as much as they need, but don't over-egg your pudding.

Only make one offer in your advert, but make it enticing enough to pull in your customer.

Keywords
In addition to the above components, Yellow Pages readers are often also looking for keywords. They want these to be prominent in the advert they select.

For example, you're looking to get your car resprayed. The keywords you need to see in an ad are "car" and "respray". But if the advert just says "bodywork repairs and car renovation", you're likely to skip over it.

Think like your market. Think of the adjectives that are foremost in their mind when they pick up the Yellow Pages. You can't expect to hit every potential client, but you should be targeting a specific cross-section of potential clients. It's easier to hit 100% of the 20 people looking for fish tank repairs rather than 0.00005% of people looking at pet supplies.

Use of Pictures
Readers see pictures before they see words. A meaningful picture in your advert should help your response increase. If your benefit is friendly customer service, a photograph of a smiling receptionist may be attractive. If you are in pest control - a rat in a cross-hair would demonstrate your effectiveness.

But please, as is often the case with 'home-made' Yellow Pages ads, don't try to be clever or funny in your advert. No one buys from clowns.

If you are a sole trader, it can also be useful to put a picture of yourself in the advert. Essentially, you are saying to the client "I am willing to be judged on my workmanship". This can be a powerful magnet to those readers who like the personal approach. But know your customer before going ahead with this.

Call To Action
A principle that is true for all forms of advertising, you have to spell out to your client WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO. There is no shame in printing at the foot of your advert "Call Stacey right now for an over-the-phone quotation". Don't mess about.

Again, in common with other forms of advertising, the client needs three things to make the call to action have an effect on them.
1. When: Right now is preferable. "Call Now!", "Contact Us Immediately" etc.
2. How: How should they contact you? "Email us at...", "Fax your requirement to 020...","Freephone 0800..."
3. What are they contacting you for?: "...to arrange an appointment", "...to get our best locksmith to your door in 60 minutes".

4: How Large Should Your Advert Be?

Who knows. Only by testing will you find the optimal size for your ad. It can depend on the type of business you're advertising. Testing can prove that buying an ad that's twice as big can double your response rate.

Obviously the bigger your ad, the more likely it is to get seen, and the bigger ads usually (not always) get displayed at the start of the section.

You have to think like your customer when they open the Yellow Pages. They'll generally call round maybe 6 to 10 providers so they get an idea of who's offering the bestvalue /prices/response/whatever. So you have to ensure you're at least in this initial set of likely providers. Some shoppers will be looking for something specific, and not call you unless you're display that thing they are specifically looking for. But in general, bigger is better.

But - you have to balance the likely cost of a large ad with the likely response and the amount of cash those responses will put in your bank account. Do your sums before shelling out on the biggies.

The question you might ask yourself when trying to decide how big to make your advert is "How much do I want to make?" then calculate if it costs £12,000 for a quarter-page ad for one year and that is very likely to bring in £15,000 in 6 months...

5: Anything else?

Just to round up here a little bit (as there's plenty of information in the preceding paragraphs), you might not have thought of:

How to produce the ad. Do you need extra photographs of your product, or service in action? Go professional for your photographs - it will reflect well on you.

What to say when customers call. If your Yellow Pages advert starts an earthquake and your telephone shakes itself off your desk, you'll need to know what you're going to say to convert those hot leads into paying customers. You only need a few lines to get things rolling and to hook the customers in. There's acres of pages on how to put together a decent 'phone script'. I should get round to writing a quick page on it soon.

What to say when customers call. If your Yellow Pages advert starts an earthquake and your telephone shakes itself off your desk, you'll need to know what you're going to say to convert those hot leads into paying customers

In the meantime, remember the last time you called a company from the Yellow Pages?
"Hi, VHL Air Conditioning"
"Hello, I'm just calling to find out the price of a portable air-condition unit".
"£200 to £800 for the larger ones".
"Thanks, I'll telephone some other suppliers and call you back".
*clunk*

Did you call back? Maybe if it was the best price, and that was all you were interested in. But instead of just blankly reciting your price list, try and give your prospective customer some *immediate value* by taking an interest in their problem. They're not looking for an air-conditioning unit, they want a cool comfortable environment.
"Hi, VHL Air Conditioning"
"Hello, I'm just calling to find out the price of a portable air-condition unit".
"Thanks for calling us. So we can help you with the most suitable product for your needs, can I ask a couple of questions first please?"
"Yes, go ahead" (no one will ever refuse to be asked a few questions that will help them get what they want)
"Is the unit for a domestic or business premises?"
"Domestic"
"So you need your home to be cool and comfortable. Is this for the main living area? It is? How large is that room?"
"10 by 24 feet"
"Well in that case, that's a very reasonable size, so we'd recommend Model ZC300..."
"That sounds excellent"
"And how about your bedroom area, is that comfortable enough for you? We could recommend the smaller companion model the ZC100 for silent night use".

You get the idea. You've learned something about the customer's needs, and you can better fit your product or service to fulfill their needs. You also have more scope for selling them a combination of products, or services.

Do you have enough stock if the ad goes through the roof? There's nothing quite as disheartening in business as hitting a rich seam of customers, and finding you cannot satisfy them. Be this distribution, time constraints, whatever. At least have some kind of idea what you will do if 30 people need their Chiropractic appointments this week - you might be able to sub-contract them to approved practitioners. And you're on your way to getting paid while someone else does the work...

For further reading, I'll put together a few ideas for writing headlines that will draw in the Yellow Pages customers and have them calling you, desperate to give you their money.

[photo: Andy Hargraves]

Find out how to profit from good old Yellow Pages.

Sometimes starting with the basics is the best way to build up to an effective marketing strategy.

Every man and their dog has used Yellow Pages at least once, and even in the days of the Internet, it's still propping up most people's telephone tables and readily available in homes and offices around the world.

This report will give you some background into how to think about Yellow Pages ads.  In later reports, I'll show you steps you can follow and put together your own ads if you like.  After you've read this, you'll know how to find clear direction in your marketing, and track the results of your Yellow Pages investment.

You'll realise that the objective is not to be the best advert in your section of the Yellow Pages.  The objective is just to get clients to call you.

Testing Testing
Few of the great and good of marketing have been the most creative or intelligent.  What they did understand is the concept of testing.  Testing reveals what works, and what doesn't work.  With testing, no advertisement is ever a failure - because we always know that it did or did not attract customers.  Only an advert that was not tracked and tested can be classed a failure - we have no idea how it returned on its investment.  And we might make the same mistakes again and again, not realising that our advert is not pulling.

With testing, we can tweak and adjust each subsequent version of an advert or a campaign and see how our changes effect results.  Then we stick with what works.

A downside of Yellow Pages advertising is that once you submit it to the book - it's there for 12 months.  You don't get a chance to pull it and tweak it.  You could test it in advance of publishing, by placing it in a local paper or free-sheet.

Measurement of Success
Before progressing, think about what you would class as a success.  Basically, for small businesses, any ad that pays for itself should be considered a success.  The thought of this might send shivers down the spines of the more ambitious businessperson, but at the very least, you haven't lost anything on your investment.

The more savvy businessperson would realise that the sole objective of a Yellow Pages ad (or any ad for that matter) may not be just a like-for-like cost/return figure.  Consider the Lifetime Value of any customer that is attracted to your Yellow Pages ad.  Depending on your product or service, you may need to focus on bringing your customer back again and again.  So even if your Yellow Pages ad recovers its cost like-for-like, you should realise that the customer it got you will keep returning again and again over several years - if your product or service allows it and is up-to-scratch.

What makes for a successful ad?

The 1-2-3-4-5 of Profitable Yellow Pages
Like most other forms of marketing and advertising, you have to focus on 5 areas to stand the best chance of success (nothing is guaranteed).

1: What Have You Got to Say?
Forget nice pictures showing happy customers.  Forget shiny corporate logos.  Forget a biography of the owner.  You better know what you want to say, say it quick, and say it loud.

In Yellow Pages - perhaps more than any other medium - you have to get your sales message across to potential customers almost instantaneously.  They have hundreds of alternatives, all within a few finger flicks.  You better get their attention.

To narrow down what you are going to say, you have to first know WHO you are saying it to.  And go for them directly.

I usually concentrate on 3 or 4 different types of approach, and pick the one that best suits what my client is offering.

Approach one: Benefit Driven.  If you are just a regular domestic electrician, there perhaps isn't a great deal to differentiate yourself from the other domestic electricians on the same page as you.   You might therefore quickly list the 4 top reasons why a householders property value may increase if you do the re-wiring.  You must outline the benefits to the customer of engaging your service.  People love to read about themselves, so make them happy with the benefits they will receive after hiring you.

Approach two: Differentiation.  This can be key when you are just one of many in a busy market - all providing a similar product or service.  Sticking with the domestic electrician - maybe you offer certified appliance check to customers during each house-call.

Approach three: Big, Bold and Best.  Pay more for your ad and just get the most space on the page.  You then get some time to shout about your services and answer the most common question a potential client would have before hiring you.

Approach four: A Great Offer.  The thing to remember about Yellow Pages is that it is a reactive medium.  That is, people aren't flicking idly through it, when they stumble across a great ad that makes them realise how much they need their hot tub cleaning.  People reading Yellow Pages are READY TO BUY.  They need your service right there and then.  Their washing machine is leaking.  They've slipped a disc.  Their dog needs a haircut.  They need you right now.  So to push them over the edge and into your lap - give them a strong offer that makes them dial your number.  More on this later.

So have a think about what approach is most realistic for you.  If you've got some aspect of your service you can offer which is low-cost to you but of high-value to a customer, follow the offer approach.  If you are somehow different in a very cluttered marketplace, highlight that instead.

2: Who are You Saying It To?
You better know who you are advertising to, because if you don't, you're almost certain to miss them. You want to know who they are because then you will know what they are interested in, and therefore how to attract them.  You should try and be as specific as possible here.

Age: If they are old people, they're likely to be on a budget, so advertising to the price conscious amongst the readership is surely a good idea.
Sex: Are they male or female?  Would a female customer appreciate the fact you'll come out at night to restart their car or open their locked house?
Income: How much can they spend? You need to have an idea of the average income of the customers you want to attract so you can price accordingly.
Location: Where are they? Are they local to you? Do they appreciate premises being within walking distance?

3: How To Write Your Yellow Pages Advert

Now that the approach has been covered, here's the component pieces of a Yellow Pages ad as I would do it for a client.

Headline
The sole purpose of the headline is to get attention.  The following well-worn analogy may make this clear:
The headline of an advertisement is like a flag being held up by a flagman alongside a railway line.  He is using it to try to get the immediate attention of the engineer of an approaching train - so that he can give him an important message.  In advertising - on that flag is printed the headline of an advertisement.

The message on that flag must be persuasive enough to distract the engineer away from shoveling coal or adjusting engine pressure or looking at the scenery.  The message on the flag must offer a 'reward for reading' AND be persuasive enough to get the reader's attention amongst all the other clutter.

So, concentrate on getting across in your headline that their is a reward if the reader will pause and continue into the main body of your advert.

Here's an example from a recent copy of the North London edition of Yellow Pages from the 'Central Heating Services' page.   Assume that you need your central heating repaired, and it is February.

First ad I see says "Glow Worm" in large cuddly letters, with a little picture of a cartoon glow worm.  The next ad says "Expert Installations & Repairs".  The third ad says "Feeling Cold?"  Which one of the three are you most likely to read first? I'd read "Feeling Cold?" first because it's talking to me about my current problem, and it's using intrigue to lead me into the rest of the advert.

Try and make your ad stand out by offering some reward to the reader that none of your competitors are to just get them to read the main body of your ad.  Here are a handful of ads that have been successful for clients in the past.

"6 reasons to buy our hand-made stationary"
"Advice on choosing an air-conditioning unit"
"3 special differences with our laminate flooring"
"Don't lift your telephone until you read about these steam cleaners"

These simple headlines can be adjusted for pretty much any product or service.  Essentially, you just have to remember that someone looking at your advert in the Yellow Pages is already in 'buying mode' - you just need to be persuasive enough to get them to buy from you.

[Read on in Part 2]

In addition to explaining your own stories, you can also take articles that have been written in your specialty's trade magazine or web sites, and adapt them for your recording.

Go to the trade magazine for say Dry Cleaning, and find articles that your prospect might be interested in. Use them for a model for an audio recording. Just the structure, and use your own research to beef out the information.

It's probably best not to make your audio product more than 30 minutes long. It's difficult to keep a prospect's attention for more than that.

You want to end on a strong close, that will sell them on your services.

One way of doing this is to give the listener the 'Alternatives' close. Explain to the listener that for them to achieve the results you've been talking about, and giving some attractive details on, they can do one of four things:
1. They can do nothing.
This is probably what they are doing today already (aside from actually performing the tasks running their business requires). And it's not getting them towards their goal of expanding their business. That's what's got them into the 'fire-fighting' position they are in today. This isn't really an option, and any prospect who goes for this is no client you want anyway.
2. They can continue reading books and learning how to make the necessary changes.
Unfortunately it's one thing to learn about what to do - and another thing entirely to actually do it.
3. Get a friend or significant other to help them out
This is a possibility, and can work. But if the other person doesn't share the same goals and motivated to work towards them with you at the same pace, this may flounder.
4. Hire a professional consultant.
Someone who will hold them accountable and help them each step and make sure they reach their goals. They are almost always guaranteed to achieve the goals that are agreed. Someone trained to help people reach their goals, and has a stake in the outcome, you cannot lose. How much are they willing to pay to achieve the happiness and satisfaction that can come from being a successful business owner, with time to enjoy the fruits of their labour?

So after they have listened to your CD, they have four choices.

It should be a no-brainer.

All that we've covered here is the same stuff that you would discuss in a personal presentation.

After you've talked about your services, you want to end by doing one of two things:
First, tell the listener how your consulting arrangements usually work. Let them know that you'll meet them in person, or over the phone for 30 mins, or an hour or two, 2 or 3 times a month (or however you choose to structure your consulting sessions).

Tell them specifically what they can expect in each session.

Then make them a risk free offer. Perhaps, "Consulting may or may not be for you. But if you like what you've heard, and would like to give it a try, I'd like to offer you a free exploratory session. This isn't a sales pitch. It's just a chance to discuss issues you might be having, and areas of your business you'd like to improve. And I'll give you some new ideas and strategies that you might not have thought that have worked for other clients. Simply fire off an email or give me a call right now, and we can arrange to meet. If we find that consulting with me isn't going to fit with your goals - fine, no problem. At least you'll have spent a few minutes talking about your goals."

All very low key.

A technique you could use if you're nervous just talking straight for thirty minutes, is to get someone you know, and do this like an interview. Outline the questions you want them to ask you, and you respond. It can make for a more comfortable and effective product.

Or do a 'phone-in' recording, like you're doing a live tele-conference with other prospects or satisfied customers.

[photo: Mateusz Stachowski]

Once you understand the value of having an audio presentation do the work for you, what should you include in it?

Simply put, You want to educate your potential clients, but also sell them on the benefits of engaging your services.

Some thoughts you can use to to create your own audio product...
Introduce Yourself: tell the listener a little bit about who you are, and begin with your lead in statement. It has to be meaningful and engaging, so couch it in how you solve a problem. People will pay money to solve problems.

And if you can't solve a problem that your prospect is experiencing, then how can you expect them to open their cheque-book to hire your help?

For me, my lead-in statement would be "Hello, I'm Gordon Jackson, and I work with small businesses who are struggling to think of and implement effective ways to get more customers".

Consider if you were a small business owner, and you asked me what I did, and I told you that. Wouldn't you be interested in my services? Most will follow that up with "how do you do that?" - that's what I want them to say, and I reply with a couple of easy techniques they could use.

So if you're a dental technician who helps those with crooked front teeth who is too scared to visit a dentist, you could say "I'm a dental technician who visits clients in the comfort of their homes, to improve their oral hygiene in a familiar environment"...

Once the lead-in line has been delivered, you can focus in on an area you figure has special importance to your prospect. People respond to problems, because they would rather avoid pain than make gains. Focussing their attention on pain they may be feeling ("not enough customers").

So in my case I would say something like "Do you work a 20 hour day, just running your business and fire-fighting, and wonder if you'll ever manage to move your business forward? Do you wish you could focus more on working on your business rather than in your business?"

"Do you sometimes wish you had someone, who could help to be more focussed and to get more done - a partner to bounce ideas off of who is completely independent from your business, with fresh thinking, learned from other industries."

"If so, I invite you to listen to this brief message..."

Call attention to their problems, to get them nodding their heads saying "yes!", and they are open and willing to listen to the next part of your message.

Tell the listener what you do
For instance, tell them "you help small businesses get more customers - and more spend-per-customer, by assessing their offerings and their current marketing strategies. Then developing and implementing new effective strategies to take their customer base to the next level".

"I investigate their current business processes then work on improving them with simple fixes that can be implemented quickly with little risk. The low hanging fruit."

"Then I help develop and implement a marketing system that will give you consistent results that you can eventually put on auto-pilot. Systems that will grow your business, even when you're not there".

So, we tell the listener/prospect what we do, without giving too much away. They are still thinking - "wow, that sounds good. How exactly does he do that?"

At this point, we can tell a couple of short examples of how we've improved some businesses we've worked on. People relate to stories a lot better than simple fact, served up cold. A story is just a case study.

An effective case study
This comes in three parts.
1. Tell them what's wrong
Give them an example, "I recently worked with a sandal store who was top of his customer satisfaction list for Birkenstock Sandals, but wanted to make some more sales with a new range of heavier footwear - Blundstone Boots. He was having a difficult time announcing this service to the market - he couldn't get their attention."
2. Tell them what your solution was
Give specific details of how you helped the retailer announce the product. In my case, we were coming up to a Fringe Festival, with prizes for the most interesting, effective and eye-catching window display. The theme that year was 'Space Travel'. With a slim budget, I worked with an artist to make sure we had the winning display - and notified the local newspaper who had been running 'Fringe' related stories, and this was another they could print." A little imagination and some free publicity, and the retailer was now the premier Blundstone seller in town.
3. Expand on the results.
They went from selling n pairs of Blundstones, to 5 or 6 pairs a week following this free publicity. Simple and effective.

But of course, if you're just starting out, and you have no stories to tell (or so you think), then you can draw on any experience you might have had with a regular employer. For instance, from my background as a developer of online trading systems, I've written press releases and print ads for my specific product. I can tell stories about that, and what the impressive results were. [Read on]

[photo: Miguel Karbage]

An audio CD (or downloadable mp3) is the second tool in your 'Getting Clients' bag.

This is your educational information commercial, what some consultants refer to as their 'Edu-mercial'

It educates your listeners, while it quietly sells your services. You'll sit back and wonder how you're getting so much business over time, from this little tool doing the rounds for you.

They can be built into the very backbone of your cient-getting process.

Have a think - how often have you tried to explain to someone the value of the services that you offer, only to stumble over the words and forget your 'elevator pitch'? You might even avoid explicitly telling potential clients because it can be quite a difficult subject to help someone understand.

You can guage how well you are doing at explaining your services but the responses you get from potential clients. Do they ask you more questions? Do they request printed information? Do they enquire how much you charge? You must be doing something right. If they appreciate the value you offer (and if they ask how much it costs, that means they don't really care - they'll pay at any reasonable price). So they have calculated how much they will have to give up to get what you are offering.

Someone wants to know what they'll get, before they'll weigh up how much they have to give up to get it. So if you've explained to the potential client what they'll get, and they in turn ask what they have to give up for it, you can consider that you've done a pretty good job of explaining it to them.

But you might struggle to talk effectively and persuasively about what you do when you are put on the spot.

But you probably could, given time, sit down and write about what you do in an accessible and persuasive way. Which, in an ideal world, you'd be able to regurgitate back to potential clients whenever the opportunity arises.

And if they are not responding in the desired way, you might find that an audio CD will do a better job for you.

With an audio recording of your best, most considered presentation on the work (consulting, engineering, dentistry) that you do, you will have a powerful tool to distribute to any interested parties that can persuade them, on their own time, when you are not there.

Even when you're on holiday, some potential client somewhere could be listening to that presentation in their office and wanting to pay for your services the very next day.

That is why you need an audio product. Today's technology allows you to create a professional sounding audio product for pennies (if that!).

But without going into the technical aspects, these are the key areas you will want your audio presentation to cover. [Read on]

[photo: John Hartley]

They're not all still available (and we had to do some digging to even get pictures of a couple of them), but here are a handful of the keyboards our fellow clackers most dreamed about...

IBM Model M
Not used by this writer since the heady days of college in the early 1990s, this work-horse came up trumps with many respondents of a, erm, certain vintage. Essentially, the key quality of this creamy grey keyboard was its responsiveness. Each key was spring-loaded, and repaid the typist's keystrokes with a satisfying clack.

As can be seen from the picture, it predates any Windows (or even OS/2) special keys (see the gap between the alter Ctrl and Alt?)

This baby has long been discontinued, but have a word with the old-school chap in your Helpdesk. He's have one somewhere (probably down the back of a gestetner machine or something)

Microsoft Natural Elite
It's nearly 10 years since this smooth little treat first arrived - and we remember seeing it on the news, so it must have been special. The tri-split ergonomic keyboard has a brave and hearty following in our BigCo office. It doesn't have much to offer in terms of flashy features, but it does make up for it in the sheer joy of use. Almost like we are hugging the words we type.

The RSI we once suffered evaporated at the mere thought of this input device.

Apple Aluminium Keyboard
Our current keyboard, just due to its small form-factor and the fact it came with our beautiful iMac, this delicate flower made the grade with each of our colleagues who have jumped the PC ship and taken up residence at Apple Island.

Possibly not the most ergonomic keyboard to type on, it gets points for its beauty. It is slim, sleek, slender... and has (almost) no crannies for bits of biscuit to fall into. Lacking the same satisfying clickety clack of the old school IBM keyboards, the very short travel on the keys aids in the speed of typing.

The white keys may become slightly grimy over time, but it's smooth top makes it easy enough to clean.

Did we mention it looks great?

I want the little man and woman to succeed.

I am the little man and woman, and I want to succeed too.

I want the guy who runs my local dry cleaners to get more for the effort he is putting in.  He is putting in a lot of effort.  He is an ex-accountant.  He decided to run a dry cleaning business so he could "forge his own destiny".  How do I know? I asked him.  I asked him why he wanted to do his own thing.  That's why.

His name is Kieron.  He's a real guy.    He's just bought a shirt-steam-and-fold machine.  That must have cost a shed load.  He also recently just replaced 6 of his washer/driers.  Those things are not cheap.  This is a man investing in his present and his future.

I go to the office most days for 8a.m. I walk past his shop at around 7.20a.m., and he is there putting out his sign.  I come home, usually around 6 or 7, or 8p.m.  He is still there.  I sit on my arse most of the day, it isn't difficult.  Well it probably would be difficult if I knew what I did.  But I don't really.  I know enough.

And I'm good at the other areas that are important in my office - getting on with people, helping them get the most out of the projects they are running, helping them communicate better and to better understand what someone is communicating to them.  Interviewing people.  Hiring people.  I get paid by a company that makes money in other ways, and I provide a small service to the larger money-making part of the business.  I don't actually make the money.

And I think I'm a scammer.

Kieron generates his own income. From his own hard work.

And I think he's wasting a lot of his efforts.

Let me tell you what Kieron, the nice guy, knows about me.

He knows the company I work for.  He knows I wear a suit to work.  He knows (or has deduced) that I have currently two business suits, which I get dry cleaned alternate fortnights.  He also knows I live next door to one of his other customers, Nancy.

I have passed the time of day with Kieron often.  He has recommended me his favourite books, and I mine.  Kieron is the single friendliest businessman/shopkeeper I have met.

Let me now tell you what Kieron, the businessman, knows about me.

He knows the company I work for.  He knows I wear a suit to work.  He knows (or has deduced) that I have currently two business suits, which I get dry cleaned alternate fortnights.  He also knows I live next door to one of his other customers, Nancy.

Now, it is entirely possible that Kieron knows a lot more about me.  Maybe he knows where I live - if he knows where Nancy lives.  Maybe he has found secret stuff in my suit pockets.  Maybe he knows about that ABH charge hanging over me.

But in all likelihood, he knows nothing more about me than you see above.

And that is why I want to help him.

I am a money-making gold-mine for Keiron.  If he only knew more about me. And I am going to show him how he can know me, and how he can know all the customers who he can offer value to, and those who will pay him well for it. And he will pay me well for it.

[photo: Adrian van Leen]

You'll find that the people you approach will most likely be happy to hear from you, and be open to passing on your services to people they know.

First of all, you need two basic 'marketing tools' (don't worry - very simple).

Testimonials
Very powerful.

Imagine you seen an offer for a dry cleaning service. You haven't used it yet, because you think the dry cleaners doesn't open the hours you are passing the door, since you are busy business-person. You go to work early and come home late, and you can't be carting your suits and dresses around on the chance that the place will be open when you're passing.

But then you read a testimonial about the dry cleaners in your local Business Gazette, from a similar business-woman, who loves the service because they pick-up and drop-off to her home or office. That's going to get your attention.

But how do you get testimonials, if you haven't even had a client yet?

Two secrets:
1. Testimonials do not have to come from your clients.
2. Testimonials do not have to come from people you even know.

They can come from authority figures in your industry/service. Resources for quotes, in your industry, can be your trade journal. Or articles written about your trade. Just find an executive or someone in a similar sphere to those you are pitching to, who have used a service like yours, and use that as a testimonial. Eg. "Small business marketing ideas have grown our profits 20%", "Daily delivery of fresh shirts gives me more leisure time".

The next source of quotes could come from the clients of other businesses in your industry. That can sound a little strange, and can work against you if taken out of context. If you run a dental practice, you probably know other dentists. Go to their literature or website and find those testimonials which reference how important their service is in general, and that's perfectly ethical. And get permission of course. The testimonial will just be something like "Regular check-ups saved me dental fees", something that is transferable to any dental practice.

What do you want your testimonial to achieve?
That the service you offer is important and valuable to them.
And that you are good at what you do.

With borrowing testimonials from industry or friends, we just achieve the first objective. For the second, approach friends or those in your network who can attest to your technical efficiency in your chosen field. Do you know any friends who would give you a testimonial about how good you are as a coach or a consultant? Ask them to write a testimonial for you.

Or even better - write one yourself to show them what you are looking for in a testimonial. Most people are happy to help you out.

You'll soon have some pretty smart testimonials, with both angles covered.

The second tool you'll get great mileage out of, is an audio CD.  Read our post here.