If you've been listening to small business consultants at all, you've probably heard the demand to write a book. It seemed to be everywhere laately. Sometimes it looks like the only marketing advice out there. Everyone wants you to write a book.
But why?
Well, obviously it's because writing a book is such a good idea. And because like any small business, consultants keep their ears to the ground and jump on the latest fads. So they tend to follow the trend, as it were.
But beyond this, writing a book is a good idea for any small business leader. No matter what you do. In this article, I'm going to give you four major reasons why you really should have a book.
1. It's a cheap promotional gift
Sorry, I've been in small business too long. Money is one of those hot buttons for me. One of the things that we all like to do is give our customers small promotional gifts. After all, our customers like getting pens and stress balls and mugs and other stuff. The only problem is the price and the fact our bigger competitors can give bigger gifts. A simple pen for example, is going to cost a small business between one and two dollars each. Not only that but your big competitor can buy something with three times the value for less than what you just spent. A small hundred-page book on the other hand, can cost you only a little more and will provide a great deal more value.
2. It gets attention
One of the criteria when selecting a promotional gift is how long your customer will use it for. As long as they use it, you have a chance to remain in their awareness. Of course, there is a vast difference between the awareness associated with a pen and that associated with a book. Your typical pen goes in the garbage within a month – after having the logo rubbed off in about a week. Not only can a book last for years, but it is also going to gain more awareness from you customer. People pay attention to books. It's beat into us in school, after all.
3. It builds credibility
Everyone knows that anything written down in a book is automatically true. Is not it? While we may know intellectually that is not the case, emotionally we still believe what our teachers taught us. Having a book, automatically Promotes our customer's perception of us into the next level. If we then justify that opinion through the quality of our book, we are boosted yet again in our customer's opinion.
4. It qualifies without you
One of the big problems small businesses face, is that of efficiency in sales. Personal selling involves a great deal of time – most of it wasted on people who really are not going to buy. Most of your selling time is spent simply qualifying buyers and eliminating the non-buyer. And a small business can not afford that amount of time. A book, on the other hand, qualifies buyers without you having to spend any time. Your lead reads your book, understands what you are about, and then decides if they want to buy from you. Then they call you. You only get involved if they are seriously interested.
