During a recent session with my creative team, we were debating the merits of offers designed to make the phone ring for a potential new client. It’s tough these day, isn’t it? I meet many business owners, and the economy is driving many of them to ask for advice on what’s working out there.

While every situation is unique, here are a couple of ideas to think about. They use two different strategies: One is already a well-known community builder – bringing millions of people together. The other is a recent direct sales promotion with a titillating offer.

[For greater detail on the sales promotion example below click here]

An American Social Network

There’s one thing that’s tried and true in America. It’s even considered recession proof. Offer an opportunity for a little entertainment, keep it free or extremely affordable, and make it easy to access. And as I write this I’m preparing to engage in one of the greatest social networking activities in the country that encompasses all three of these characteristics.

Need a hint? Today is a late October Sunday in America.

On fall and early winter Sundays in America, millions of professional football fans (and some who aren’t even fans) sit down with their picks. They watch upwards of 6 hours of football on TV; eat wings, subs, and chips; and drink beer, soda or other beverage of choice. They want to win this week’s football pool (for entertainment purposes only of course.) And on Super Sunday in February, the number of people in football pools reaches the tens of millions.

It’s entertainment folks, and it fits their lifestyle. The NFL has legions of fans who have incorporated football on Sunday into their lives. It’s part of their “cause” called life.

Is their something about your organization, industry, its participants, or the environment in which it operates that a certain segment of the population will care enough about to incorporate as a regular part of their lives? A recession doesn’t kill a person’s passion. Oh it may get in the way or dampen it sometimes, but it won’t kill it. People need to feel alive. And connecting with people, events, and things they like is an important way they stay energized.

Made you look

A good, old fashioned direct sales pitch seems rare to me these days. Recently I got an email with a very intriguing subject line:

How to Make Millions in a Bad Economy

OK, I’ll bite. I clicked and learned that InfusionSoft, a CRM vendor I’m interested in, is offering me an “Economic Stimulus Package”. Seems they’ve helped hundreds of small businesses, and to help me in these tough times, they’ve established a package that only 19 businesses will qualify for. Then, an email 2 days later, offered “Proof: InfusionSoft Doubles Sales in Any Economy”. It’s a pretty good email campaign.

I’ll bet lots of targets on their lists are intrigued, and at the very least, are taking some action. They made me look and that’s the highest compliment I can pay a direct marketing campaign.

[Again, if you want more detail on this campaign, see this article]

What’s timely in your business? What’s the biggest objection your sales effort is running into? Can you craft an interesting promotion that addresses that main objection and is relevant?

Remember, recession or not, good marketing still works.

Posted by: Steve Banis