Grow Sales Using Image Tactics

Grow Sales Using Image Tactics

by: Sharron Senter

In my dreams, I envision being the marketing consultant equivalent of Oprah or Tiger Woods. Oprah, for her premise, ขYou’re a woman and only you are responsible for yourself.ข Tiger Woods, for his ultimate dedication to the game. Respectively, this is what they’re known for or what their personal value can be identified as; put another way, this is what their brand identities are.

Once you’re known for something and people perceive value in ขthis something [your brand],ข it’s at this moment that you start to make money. Once you have perceived value, other entrepreneurs and businesses will pay money to be associated with the perception for which you’re known.

To be an entrepreneur, the first decision you must make is, ขWho do you want to be?ข Or, put another way, ขHow do you want to be perceived by others?ข The answers to these two questions are equivalent to the foundation that’ll drive all of your future marketing decisions, from what advertising vehicles you’ll use, to the type of customers and clients you’ll target.

For example, would you like to be known as the world’s most prestigious dietician? People all over the world seek you out and pay money for your advice on how to integrate more color into their diets. To build a foundation and reach such prestige, your image marketing plan might involve the following actions.

Complete appropriate credentials such as certifications and higher education.

Obtain and make visible reputable references including popular media personalities quoting you as an expert, current and past clients quoting specific things you did to help them, and a variety of print articles and electronic news bulletins in which you’re quoted.

Build credibility by hosting, writing or producing a weekly healthyeating column called, ขGot Colors, Get Healthy.ข

Socialize and be seen with other healthrelated wellknown experts or people who exhibit healthy behavior such as: other dietitians, diet book authors, athletes, personal trainers, physiology professors and food scientists. Why? Because a person can create an implied credibility about themselves simply by hanging out with other experts. Generally speaking, people assume that because the other experts let you hang with them, then you must be worthy of your ขexpertข status.

Pick a unique clothing and makeup style and stick with it. A simple example, perhaps every time you leave your house, you always wear something purple, a scarf, pin, shirt, tie or nail polish. The repetitive purple creates a subliminal image, that, after awhile, causes people, when they see you in the news, at an event or in a magazine, to say, ขI’ve seen her somewhere.ข And from this statement they extract that you’re sought after, and therefore, you must know what you’re talking about.

Always evolve your image based on current trends. However, remember to make small changes, so as not to walk away from the image you’ve been working hard to build.

Every entrepreneur’s imagebuilding plan will be unique. In fact, it must be. It’s the subtle differences about you as an entrepreneur that distinguish you from your competition. More importantly, it’s also these differences that help your customers find you, since you’ll be more able to effectively and affordably reach customers by selecting an image niche.

About The Author

Sharron Senter is a New Englandbased marketing consultant, speaker, writer and founder of Senter & Associates. She helps small and homebased businesses deploy affordable marketing strategies. She’s well known for her free weekly emailed marketing tips and her ข14 Imagebuilding Dos & Don’ts,ข small biz survival report. Receive Senter’s free marketing tips at http://www.sharronsenter.com.

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This article was posted on March 20, 2003

by Sharron Senter

3 Tips to Fix Unreliable Wireless Connections

3 Tips to Fix Unreliable Wireless Connections

by: Sharron Senter

Generally speaking, wireless computer connections are reliable. However, nothing is perfect, and sometimes you may lose your connection or experience a weak signal. There are many factors that impact the reliability of your wireless connection. For example, if your wireless adapter is too close to a 2.4 GHz wireless telephone, you may notice a decrease in your computer’s wireless single strength. Why? Because the phone and the computer reside on the same frequency and can interfere with each other’s performance.

Handy Repair Checklist for Wireless Interruptions

1. First check to see if your cable or DSL is actually working. Usually located in your basement, most modems have four lights. You have a live Internet connection if the ขdataข or ขstatusข light is on. If it’s off, or flashing, your cable is out.

2. If your cable/DSL is working, then reboot your computer. Sometimes, if your cable/DSL goes out for even 10 seconds, your computer and the wireless router may no longer be able to talk to each other. By rebooting your computer, a new IP address is assigned, allowing them to once again communicate.

3. If your desktop is wireless and you’ve moved the wireless adapter [the box that sits next to the computer with antennas], then you may need to move the adapter until you find a stronger signal.

About The Author

Sharron Senter is cofounder of http://www.VisitingGeeks.com an on site computer repair, security and networking company serving north of Boston, Southern NH and Maine. Visiting Geeks’ technicians are crackerjacks at squashing viruses, popups and securing and making computers perform faster. Learn more about Sharron at http://www.SharronSenter.com

This article was posted on October 19, 2004

by Sharron Senter