How to Drive Off Your Customers

By David Johnson

Too busy in your business? More than enough revenue? Here are some ways you can keep those pesky prospects and customers away...

#1: Make Sure Your Marketing is All About You
After all... people who want to spend money with you want to understand how your products and services benefit them, so if you focus on you, your company's history, your features, etc., you'll be sure to keep people from bugging you. Whatever you do, don't use pictures of the people most likely to actually buy from you, and avoid connecting their needs and wants to aspects of your business most likely to appeal to them. Instead, just subtly communicate the notion that you're in business for your own benefit and that you really aren't interested in customers. They'll smell this a mile away and bug someone else instead.

#2: Ignore the Web
If your website hasn't changed since the Clinton Administration, you're on the right track here. Even better: no web presence at all! If you must have a website, make sure it doesn't show up in any search engines... and whatever you do: don't add fresh new content on a regular basis! You should convey to visitors that you might already be out of business just by the aged look of your site. To support this notion, hire a neighbor's kid to build it -- especially if he/she has no design experience whatsoever. Websites that have that "we don't care" feel do wonders at keeping people away. If you're still having response from your site, just bury the information that your customers want to find and add some contact forms to your site that do nothing and go nowhere. If you can get them to generate an error message, it's even more fun!

#3: Keep Your Marketing Efforts Unfocused
If people have a clear idea of who you are and what you're all about, they're much more likely to pester you. So, make sure that there's no unifying theme to your marketing. Buy ads at random, and always let whoever who sold you the ad design it for you. This way, all of your ads will come out looking different from each other. Make sure that your marketing doesn't target any one type of customer, and stick with the "shotgun" approach. Otherwise, your marketing might actually connect with someone, and then they'll show up or call, expecting service from you.

Well it's obvious (hopefully) that this is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but sometimes we need a bit of humor to see things the way they really are. Does this strike a little bit close to home for you? If so, I'm reminded of the famous saying, "If the shoe fits... change it!"

With a little bit of strategy and some focused effort, you can bring clarity and effectiveness to your efforts to reach out to your future customers – and your past and present ones if you have the opportunity for repeat business.

For some coaching and some up-to-the-second pointers on how to multiply the effectiveness of your efforts to keep your pipeline (and that of your team) full, join me along with Tom Ziglar on our upcoming webinar. Watch your inbox for a note from Zig Ziglar with your personal invitation.

David G. Johnson is the Founder of Epiphany Marketing, LLC. Since 1998, David has been delivering small business marketing solutions to companies whose reach spans the globe -- whether in software, healthcare, retail, services, contractors, or Internet-based business, the work that David has done with Epiphany has an impact that is measured in the millions of dollars. His company specializes in training, coaching and consulting small businesses in the art of high-impact, high ROI marketing. If you want to hear more from David, come join him at his webinar. Click here for more information.