How to Give Sample Experiences2 min read
share:
When I was intensively studying marketing in the “early days” of Action Plan Marketing, I read Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins.
Perhaps the best marketing book ever written, published in 1923.
Hopkins was the father of modern advertising and his clients included Goodyear Tires, Pepsodent Toothpaste, Palmolive Soap, Schlitz Beer, and Quaker Oats.
These, and many other companies he wrote advertising copy for, are still in business 100 years later.
Hopkins taught many essential marketing principles, but If there’s one thing I learned from him, it was this:
Give away samples. Lots and lots of samples!
If he had a client company where he could give away samples, he knew he had a winner.
He ran newspaper ads giving away samples of soap, toothpaste, cereal, and household remedies.
And made a fortune in the process.
As a self-employed professional you can also give away a lot of samples – both tangible and intangible.
Reports and an endless array of information products are all tangible samples.
But the intangible samples are always the most valuable.
I’m talking about free consulting, coaching, and training.
There’s really nothing better to give your prospective clients a taste of what you do.
But consulting and coaching are a little harder to give away as they need to be offered one-to-one.
Live training, however, is the ideal sample giveaway for almost all independent professionals.
Something I recently realized is that when you offer a webinar, it can feel like a promotion, like you are selling to them.
But if you offer a Sample Training, a Masterclass, or a Demonstration it feels like 100% value.
Do you have past clients or associates in companies that would appreciate an experiential sample giveaway like this?
If they like the idea, set up a session and give away your BEST stuff – your most compelling ideas and strategies.
You just don’t give away ALL your stuff in a 60 to 90-minute sample of your work.
Most will realize that they need help in implementing those ideas in their company.
After the session, set up a time to talk and explore whether they’d like more of what you gave them for free.
I’m convinced this is the VERY BEST WAY to market your professional services.
Be like Claude Hopkins. Give away samples that demonstrate the power and value of your professional expertise.
They’ll want more. They’ll buy more.
Cheers, Robert
share:
