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Every professional writer is selling.

Their work is their product. They have to build their brand, push their product, and get it in the hands of publishers and readers.

The Great Gatsby author, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In 1938, The Great Gatsby author, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a letter to an up and coming author, Frances Turnbull about his work, advising him ways to write better and sell better.

There are 4 lessons a modern-day sales rep should carry over from this letter. Full transcript below.

1: Sell your heart

Fitzgerald understood the ability to connect with a reader ' or in our case, a buyer. When we call prospects everyday, helping them feel the pain your product solves is vital. Do this by selling with your heart. Your product solves a problem, wrap that problem and the feelings associated with it, in a conversation so your prospect can feel what you do.

2. You only have emotions to sell.

When you initiate your first call, you don't have a demo, marketing collateral, or anything else. All you have is yourself and your emotions. Sell them, get to the next step in the sales cycle'hopefully that includes marketing collateral, a demo, and a great product.

3. Tell stories to connect.

It was necessary for Dickens to put into Oliver Twist the child's passionate resentment at being abused and starved that had haunted his whole childhood. Ernest Hemingway's first stories 'In Our Time' went right down to the bottom of all that he had ever felt and known. In 'This Side of Paradise' I wrote about a love affair that was still bleeding as fresh as the skin wound on a haemophile.

Fitzgerald uses examples from Dickens, Hemingway, and himself as ways to tell a story to connect with the reader. In sales, stories are powerful. Learn how to tell them'with emotion.

4. Talent only gets you so far. 

You have talent'which is the equivalent of a soldier having the right physical qualifications for entering West Point.

Being a great speaker or insanely smart doesn't make a great sales rep. The ability to connect with your reader/buyer by developing an emotional connection does. Keep practicing your sales skills, use emotion to connect with your buyer and keep us updated on how it goes.

'- Full transcript '-

(Source: F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters; Image: F. Scott Fitzgerald, via.)

November 9, 1938

Dear Frances:

I've read the story carefully and, Frances, I'm afraid the price for doing professional work is a good deal higher than you are prepared to pay at present. You've got to sell your heart, your strongest reactions, not the little minor things that only touch you lightly, the little experiences that you might tell at dinner. This is especially true when you begin to write, when you have not yet developed the tricks of interesting people on paper, when you have none of the technique which it takes time to learn. When, in short, you have only your emotions to sell.

This is the experience of all writers. It was necessary for Dickens to put into Oliver Twist the child's passionate resentment at being abused and starved that had haunted his whole childhood. Ernest Hemingway's first stories 'In Our Time' went right down to the bottom of all that he had ever felt and known. In 'This Side of Paradise' I wrote about a love affair that was still bleeding as fresh as the skin wound on a haemophile.

The amateur, seeing how the professional having learned all that he'll ever learn about writing can take a trivial thing such as the most superficial reactions of three uncharacterized girls and make it witty and charming'the amateur thinks he or she can do the same. But the amateur can only realize his ability to transfer his emotions to another person by some such desperate and radical expedient as tearing your first tragic love story out of your heart and putting it on pages for people to see.

That, anyhow, is the price of admission. Whether you are prepared to pay it or, whether it coincides or conflicts with your attitude on what is 'nice' is something for you to decide. But literature, even light literature, will accept nothing less from the neophyte. It is one of those professions that wants the 'works.' You wouldn't be interested in a soldier who was only a little brave.

In the light of this, it doesn't seem worth while to analyze why this story isn't saleable but I am too fond of you to kid you along about it, as one tends to do at my age. If you ever decide to tell your stories, no one would be more interested than,

Your old friend,

F. Scott Fitzgerald

P.S. I might say that the writing is smooth and agreeable and some of the pages very apt and charming. You have talent'which is the equivalent of a soldier having the right physical qualifications for entering West Point.

' End Transcript'

(h/t Letters of Note)

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How Small and Medium Enterprises can Tap the Potential of Mobile Search Techniques

Every day we see new businesses popping up around us and not all of these have the backing of big corporate names. In fact, most of these start ups are small in terms of starting capital and scope of sales and targets. But, due to their sheer number they collectively generate a lot of revenue for the many people who run these businesses. Some of these entrepreneurs consider selling their stake and cashing the company out by handing them over to the bigger players. On the other hand, there are others who want to run and expand their small businesses in such a way that they end up being the bigger players one day. One of the ways of seeing that dream fulfilled is to adjust your business style to fit in with the changing trends of communication.

There was a time when products used to sell on the basis of how people perceived them. That was the golden era of advertising ' on TV, print and billboards. With the rise of the internet in the last two decades, consumers had the option of choice. This is when advertising was compelled to go digital. How good one's sites was, decided how visible it was. In the internet, visibility was the biggest challenge for any small business. Search Engine Optimization was born around that time. So what has changed now? What's the new thing that SMEs need to consider?

The answer is simple ' make your website compatible with mobile surfing devices like Smartphone, androids and tablets. Even businesses which have had successful websites that were meant for consumers with PCs, are now revamping their sites so that they can attract the mobile savvy crowd. Mobile browsing has risen by 1000% in the last two years. If SMEs are to survive the competition from the bigger players and that amongst themselves, they need to upgrade. This urgency is totally justified as one should know that if your business is not showing up on someone's mobile search query, then somebody else's business, which is most likely a rival to you, is showing.

But, here's the good news ' there are tools available on how one can make their site mobile friendly and easily noticeable by the people who are always on the move. There are few techniques by which you can optimize the chances of your business showing up as search query results. To start with, ensure that the ad for your product or service clearly mentions where you are located. Research has shown that most people who access Google through mobile devices do so when they are already out and searching for a certain service, product or merchant. Sites that do not mention the location of the vendors do not show up when people look under local search results.

You should also ensure that your site is technically equipped to detect the browser and handset settings of the consumer so that the result that pops up on his screen can be viewed by him properly. A difficult site can potentially turn away lots of customers. How can you ensure that your site is technically equipped? Well, there are businesses like Telnames.com that cater to SMEs and help make their site pocket-search friendly for very reasonable prices; prices which easily cover themselves up through the amount of business they bring you. If you are running a blog to promote your business, then tools like Buddypress and wptouch help converting your WordPress blog into pages that are easy to load and are more mobile browser friendly than your actual blog.

The important thing is to understand why it is necessary for you to exploit these tools. They make your business visible to people who are actually looking for what you have to offer. These are not casual browsers; they are people who are out and about and want to reach out to people who provide the best services. If you think you are the one they need, make yourself seen.

This article is an original contribution by Preetam Kaushik.

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Subrogation: Recapture Your Capital

One marker of a successful insurance company claims operation is the effectiveness of its subrogation process. Over the years, a variety of benchmarking studies have shown that the best-performing insurers recover about twice as much through subrogation as the average insurer. And by one estimate, companies miss $15 billion a year in opportunities to recover from the responsible parties ' often including their competitors. (For a summary of some of the studies, see this 2011 blog by Christopher Tidball.)

Why haven't property/casualty carriers invested more in subrogation?

The primary challenge has been technology ' or the lack of it. Without automated resources to help claims adjusters identify claims with subrogation potential and refer them to the subrogation unit for assignment, opportunities fall through the cracks. Many good referrals for subrogation come from adjusters with the experience to recognize conditional liability, but those adjusters suffer under increasing workloads and the continued pressure to attain closure rates of 100 percent. For junior adjusters, their lack of experience makes them likely to miss some opportunities.

Current volume-oriented goals to improve the number of referrals compound the problem. If adjusters must increase the number of claims they refer to the subrogation unit ' they will. However, some of those claims may have no subrogation opportunity. More referrals may merely overload the subrogation department and be counterproductive: Missed opportunities become inevitable if the applicable statute of limitations passes on claims with legitimate subrogation potential.

ISO Claims Outcome Advisor^® (COA^TM) has the answer to the property/casualty industry's $15 billion question: How can we get more out of subrogation? Our new tool, ISO Subrogation Advisor^TM, offers an integrated approach to recapturing claims paid through subrogation. With a few mouse clicks, adjusters can identify and refer cases for subrogation. And because ISO Subrogation Advisor is easy to use, the increase in referrals comes without a significant increase in adjusters' workloads.

Simply put: The right people see the right claims sooner, leading to increased recoveries and lower loss ratios.

Using Brand Advocates To Attract ERP Leads ' Good Idea? Bad Idea?

If you think that celebrity endorsements exist only for B2C, you may be half-right. It's a popular tactic and there's no doubt having a famous artist or public figure advocate your brand is the highest form of influence marketing. The logic isn't even all that complicated. Superstars have fans and if they see a superstar endorsing a particular brand, then they'd be eager to use it too!

On the other hand, B2B industries can have their own version. No industry might demonstrate this better than the tech industry. And what's unique about this industry is that its superstars have fans both among consumers and big business. However, is brand advocacy via an individual really an effective way to attract ERP leads?

You see, a popular way to generate leads is through another marketing strategy called referral. Brand advocacy is what happens when you enter a very influential industry figure into that strategy. Still, you'd be surprised by at how many decision makers are listening to them. This can be done through testimonials, the actual use of the product itself, and perhaps even an autographed picture mounted on your office wall. If you managed to convince a powerful figure to advocate your ERP solution, then in some way, you'll have a lot of other curious decision makers coming in (and thus, more ERP leads to qualify).

Now, perhaps a few examples are in order. Take a look at Steve Jobs and Bill Gates; these two CEOs are the biggest examples of brand advocacy because their public image became synonymous with the brands that they represented. In B2B, if you could have involved your business with anything they had a direct hand in, then you could use it to raise your own company's image. Referrals also aren't as direct as other popular B2B marketing methods such as telemarketing and email.

All right, here comes the trade off. Brand advocacy has its risks. Some of you might already be thinking that the idea of getting a famous CEO to endorse you is lofty enough, you might also want to know if it's even worth the effort at all! As a matter of fact, the University of Colorado Boulder published a study saying that the negative perceptions about a celebrity are more likely to transfer to the endorsed brand than positive:

''In three different studies, negative celebrity associations always transferred to an endorsed brand, even under conditions when positive associations did not,' said Campbell, an associate professor of marketing. 'The overall message to marketers is be careful, because all of us, celebrities or not, have positives and negatives to our personalities and those negatives can easily transfer to a brand.''

Such words of caution should be heeded by anyone who is considering the role of a major influential figure to influence referrals. The strength of the endorsement lies no longer in just the brand but in the individual endorsing it. Relying on this kind of advocacy is a double-edged sword that can either make or break your ERP software brand. In fact, this isn't just about tying your brand to celebrities and CEOs but simply tying to a single individual. Everyone's perception of that individual will be their perception of your brand (hence, the great risk). You should also remember that there are other ways to conduct software lead generation. Traditional methods are still viable. Don't just bank your marketing efforts on a single approach.

Little Things 2 ' Form Functionality

Welcome to the first edition of 'Little Things', a weekly blog series covering the small changes that you can make to improve marketing performance.

Last week's topic was updating the look of your web forms.

This week's tip:

Make Your Web Forms Easier to Use

The easier your forms are to fill out, the more likely it is that someone will fill them out. It's that simple. And if we make the same assumption as last week and say that your web forms are there to be filled out (if someone fills it out it's a good thing for your company), than you'll want to take advantage every opportunity you can to make them easier.

Here are some quick tips that will take your web forms from good to great:

1. Eliminate extra fields ' only ask for what you need, the longer a form takes to fill out, the less likely it is that the form will be completed.
2. Use tab ability ' I should be able to fill out the form without taking my hands off the keyboard, hitting tab between fields and using directional keys for dropdowns.
3. Mark required fields ' make it easy for me to see what information is required and what is not before I start to fill out the form.
4. Allow for flexible inputs ' if you're asking for a phone number, for instance, allow me to enter it in with spaces, dashes, or none of the above (ie. 555-555-5555 or 5555555555).
5. Use in-line validation ' let me know right away if the information entered into each field is valid so that I don't have to go back and change it later.
6. Make it easy to read ' no one ever complains when a font is too big or easy to see, so make sure I can tell what the form is asking for with just a quick scan.

Making your web forms easy to use makes it more likely that people will fill them out. It's a quick way to add a boost to the conversion rates of your web forms and can start you on the path to improving your business.

The Party Plan: Mixing Business With Pleasure

'Hey! I am having a party and would love you to come''and buy something.'

I remember hearing the concept of a 'party plan' as a youth and can still feel my face scrunching up in confusion and incomprehension. It must have been in the context of a Tupperware party as that company enjoys an instant connection with the concept. The idea is largely credited to Brownie Wise for devising the actual party plan system of marketing in the 1950's for Tupperware.

Iconic Tupperware Party

Wise was a former sales representative for Stanley Home Products who then joined Tupperware, and that is where credit for party plan marketing is slightly contested. Stanley Home Products claims on their website that the innovative selling method is theirs ' 'this concept was the brainchild of a Stanley dealer, who began giving product demonstrations to clubs and organizations to increase sales volume.'Regardless of birthright, the concept was a hit because it was premised on the idea that everyone should win. The Stanley approach is described as, 'Homemakers would invite small groups of friends to their homes for a product demonstration and light refreshments, and the hostess in turn would receive a gift of choice from the Stanley dealer, who took orders from attendees.'

1969 Stanley Home Products Party

Some social event/sales presentation formats are largely disdained and represented in popular culture as ethically questionable like resort timeshare presentations. But the party plan has found new life and the underlying business model has only slightly morphed since its inception. It works as follows. Brand representatives approach potential hosts to throw the event in their home. The representative will give a product demonstration and explain pricing and delivery. The host will receive in some combination: a gift, a share of proceeds and/or discounts. Orders are taken from attendees and then the representative is almost always compensated by commission. The representative may also recruit others to be representatives and that is another form of revenue.It may sound trite or hokey but when you think of it ' party plan events are truly premised on social networks. Their efficacy lies in their face-to-face nature and leverages the impact of word-of-mouth. But there are detractors who argue that the format exploits a party's normal social convention and applies undo pressure on the guests to make a purchase.

I had my first experience with this form of marketing and selling when my stepdaughter announced she was having a stella & dot trunk show at our home (http://www.stelladot.com/trunkshow). The brand representative had got to her somehow and then it largely fell on my wife to pull off the event and ensure there were enough guests to make a go of it. I was fascinated by it so stuck around to pour the wine (or grease the wheels of commerce).

stella & dot Website

The format went through its straightforward paces and delivered both on the social enjoyment and the sale process. Without sharing numbers, allow me to say it was well worth it for the stella & dot representative. But of course, sales success cannot only be based on the sales process. The company provides quality products that cannot be sourced through other channels along with a pricing range that works for many. My wife benefited by receiving a gift and discounts on her own purchases.There are many types of products now being sold through the party plan system. A cursory look turned up:

• Wine including Wine Shop at Home, 'Our Independent Wine Consultants throughout the country present in-home Wine Tastings that make discovering and purchasing great wine effortless and fun.' (http://www.wineshopathome.com/)
• Toys including Discovery Toys, 'Host with us and discover what fun a night in your living room can be for you and others like you. Discover the thrill of throwing a party with a love for learning and giving to children, and the joy of shopping ' without leaving your home! Become a Discovery Toys Hostess.' (http://www.discoverytoys.com/homeoffice)
• Scrapbooking and albums including Creative Memories, 'Host a summer project party where everyone gets together to create their own family travel album. Everyone walks away with something great, and you get wonderful free products!'. (http://www.creativememories.com/)
• Cooking including The Pampered Chef, 'A Cooking Show is a fun, easy and affordable way to get together with friends and family. As a host, you can share simple recipes that are so delicious and impressive too! Many are ready in 30 minutes or less and feed your family for around $2 per serving.' (http://www.pamperedchef.com/)

Pampered Chef Recruiting

I also wasn't too surprised to discover an aggregator service for party plan businesses: 'House Party (http://houseparty.com/) makes it easy to have a party in your own home and get exclusive access to products for you and your friends. We provide the fun, you provide food and feedback and promise to have an awesome time.' They have twined it with a daily deals function.The range of products sold in-home are extensive but are skewed towards women. There is definitely a way to apply party plan marketing to both genders. Certainly wine and cooking can appeal to both and make for a fun social event. And when you think about it a book club is actually a party plan that prompts you and yours to purchase multiple copies of the same book.

Male-focused party plans could work too. I wouldn't mind a scotch tasting. But it might be a stretch to suggest a custom dress shirt and ties event for men (but who knows until it is tried). To me the event format appeals for its social nature, product exclusivity but most importantly for the product knowledge and related education. I could see fishing and golf equipment working for guys if the product is unique and the brand representative highly credible in knowledge and experience.

The Tupperware party has long been a part of popular culture and has now given rise to many more brands using the format. This is because it leverages human nature and has the benefit of bringing people together. It will be interesting to see what other products adopt this marketing and sales channel and how it could evolve into fully grown clubs of people who share similar interests. So the challenge is to have people connect with both the brand and the sales model. That is its next frontier: creating customers for life rather than one-time party hosts and guests.

This article is an original contribution by Jeff Swystun.

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What's Your Story? (And How Well Are You Telling It?)

A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words

They say that a picture is worth a 1000 words. I say it is worth 1000 emotions. After reading Gini Dietrich's post last week appropriately titled 'The 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Die', I was reminded of how I want to get my masters in photojournalism. Photography, both taking photos and looking at them, is one of my favorite escapes. When I look at photos, I'm teleported to another time or space. I've spent countless hours looking at Zach Arias' and Ansel Adams' art as well as hundreds of others.

Last year, I found Instagram after reading about how billions of photos were being uploaded to social photo sites. Consequently, within a few hours I had a mad APP Crush. I love looking at other people's photos. Photos of life. Photos of creation. Photos of art. Some are bad, and some are breath taking. Some of my favorites include #Tattoos, #Pittbulls, and a few other things.

Not long after joining Instagram, I found photographer Wendi Williams. Her account includes images of the tattoo shop she works in, Rockstar drinks, her pets, and the images that convey how many days till her husband comes home from Afghanistan. This countdown is what pulled me in. I'll comment from time to time about our common love of tattoos and who I should trust to do mine. I always looked forward to her next post.

One particular morning, I started my day doing the same thing I do every day ' laying in bed looking at Instagram. One photo took my breath away like a solid kick to the chest:

Wendi's husband had been killed in Afghanistan.

I felt like I lost a buddy. Even though I never met him, if I had walked down a street and seen him, I would have instantly recognized him. It hurt. The photo that she posted of him was priceless; it spoke more than a thousand words in one moment.

I've never met Wendi, but I feel like I know her. We've never talked, yet I feel like we've lived life together. The skeptics will say that we have a faux friendship (blaaah, blaaah, blaaah). But, that doesn't matter to me. Wendi eloquently told her story through Instagram photos. She did it so well that I feel that I know her better than some of my 'real, in-person' friends.

Here are some of the reasons why Wendi rocks at telling her story:

1. It is her unique story unlike any other.
2. She isn't afraid to be different and stand out from the crowd.
3. She invites everyone into her life.
4. She relates to people to who talk to her.
5. She is honest.

How Well Are You Telling Your Story?

How do you tell your story? Are you telling it well? Read through some of your online content from a different perspective or have a third party check it out. Does your personality shine through? Don't be boring (unless that's how you really are in person!), and don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd. Engaging storytellers draw their readers in and leave them wanting more. Like I said above, I am always waiting for Wendi's new photos to pop up on Instagram. Be like Wendi!

This Post Is Dedicated to SGT Eric E. Williams

Photos From Wendi Williams