Lately we’ve been hearing about proposals to abolish the United States Postal Service (USPS). Is this a good idea?

Proponents of getting rid of the USPS point out that (1) bills can more cost-effectively be paid electronically, (2) correspondence is sent today via e-mail, not letter, (3) packages can be sent by alternative delivery services including FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS).

Those who favor keeping the USPS operating point out that not everybody has a PC and an Internet connection. Some people don’t want them and others can’t afford them. Does the federal government have a right to force everyone to buy them?

My Uncle Paul is in? his late 80s and loves to send us letters with newspaper clippings; he doesn’t use a PC. Should he be shut out of communicating with us because he is low tech?

What about greeting cards? Yes, there are electronic greeting cards. But these are difficult to place on the mantel.

Many advertisers depend on direct mail for their business; they cannot get the same response or reach as broad an audience with e-mail marketing.

If it were up to you, would you keep the Post Office operational? Would you downsize it? Or would you close its doors forever?

For an article I am writing, I would like to hear of your experience marketing professional services on LinkedIn.

Specifically:

1. HOW do you use LinkedIn to promote yourself? What tactics are successful?

2. What is your goal? To build relationships? Or do you actually produce leads and sales on LinkedIn?

Thanks!

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I won?t deny cold calling can work.

Yet in 99 out of 100 cases, I tell people who ask for my advice never to cold call.

The reason is that, even if the prospect on the other end of the phone expresses interest, the very fact that you cold called him puts you in a weak position ? for three reasons.

First, people by and large want to deal with vendors who are busy and successful, not those who are desperate and need the work, right?

Well, when you cold call, your prospects assume that you are not busy and you need the work.

After all, if you were busy, you would not have time to sit there calling strangers and asking them for their business, right?

Second, cold calling puts you at a disadvantage when estimating prices and quoting fees.

A large part of what determines how much you can charge is the law of supply and demand.

When the demand for what you sell outweighs your supply, it?s a seller?s market and you can name your own price.

By cold calling, you are signaling to the prospect that the demand for your services is less than the supply ? the amount of time you have available to render those services.

Therefore, prospects generated by cold calling are more price resistance ? and more likely to haggle.

Third, cold-calling puts you in a weak position as you close the sale and negotiate terms with prospects.

Again, cold-called prospects know you want and need their business.

You are perceived as being easy to hire, and therefore prospects feel they can dictate deadlines, payment schedule, work arrangement, and other terms.

Why is cold calling so ineffective?

Because it violates the ?Silver Rule of Marketing.?

The Silver Rule is a universal principle of marketing and selling, first stated to me many years ago by my friend, marketing consultant Pete Silver.

The Silver Rule of Marketing states: ?It is better for them to come to you, rather than for you to go to them? ? where ?them? is your potential clients.

You can see why the Silver Rule makes sense.

If you go to a potential customer, seek them out, ask for an audience, and plead with them to buy from you, you are seen as needy and desperate.

Your prospects think you can?t be any good at what you do.

After all, if you were good, your book of business would be filled to overflowing ? and you wouldn?t be spending your valuable time on the phone, dialing for dollars.

The only prospects who buy from needy and desperate vendors are those looking for the low-priced bid.

So cold-calling risks dooming you to being the low-priced provider.

When ?they? ? prospects ? call you, instead of you calling them, the dynamic reverses.

They call because they have a need or problem ? and because they are hoping you might be able to give them what they need or solve their problem.

But how do you get prospects to call you?

There are two methods. The first is good, and the second is better.

The first method is to generate inquiries through traditional marketing.

This includes Yellow Pages advertising ? magazine ads ? TV commercials ? direct mail ? radio spots ? billboards.

When someone calls in response to your ad in their industry trade magazine, you know they have either an immediate need — or at least have some interest in what you are offering.

Otherwise, they would not have called you.

However, all they know about you is what they read in your advertisement.

Therefore, they may not be convinced that you are the right one to hire.

The second method of getting people to call you eliminates this problem.

This method is to establish yourself as a recognized expert or authority in your field.

You can do this through such activities as: writing articles or a column for your industry trade publication ? being interviewed as a guest on radio talk shows ? writing a book (e.g., Tom Peters writes books on management) ? giving speeches as industry meetings ? writing a blog ? distributing a podcast ? publishing an informative print or online newsletter on your specialty ? writing a white paper or special report.

When people call you because they read your book, they ? like prospects who respond to your ad ? are telling you that they have a definite or possible need.

However, the people who call after reading your book ? unlike those who merely saw your ad ? are already predisposed to buy from you.

After all, your prospects are skeptical of advertising claims.

But authors are perceived as experts.

You?ve heard the phrase, ?We wrote the book on it.?

When you are the one who wrote the book (or the article or column or content-rich Web site) on the topic your prospects are interested in, you will be the one they call first when they need help solving problems in that area.

Action step: Think about how you can establish your reputation as a leading expert in your field or industry. Can you volunteer to be a speaker at the next big industry conference? Publish a white paper on your area of expertise? Write letters to the editor? Start a blog?

Best place to start: write an article about the solution to a big problem your prospects have and publish it in a magazine, periodical, or on a Web site where they are likely to see it.

The overwhelming majority of e-books I see fall into one of two categories.

The first category is lousy quality in writing, editing, and page layout. They?are extremely amateurish?and therefore not worth reading.

The second category is e-books on the same? old topics that have been done 1,000 times before — topics like leadership, marketing, sales, starting a small business, how to get rich online. Not only are they on topics that are already overdone, but they repeat virtually the same information as other e-books on the topic.

If you are going to write a crappy e-book … or write an e-book that simply regurgitates other e-books on the same topic … I would urge you not to. The world doesn’t need more mediocre content.

On the other hand, if you think you can produce a quality e-book with original ideas, analysis, strategies, and content — fresh thinking the reader has not encountered before — then I say go for it.

One of my subscribers SP writes: ?How do I stop people who buy my e-books from making illegal copies and giving it to their friends??

?Here are a few techniques that offer a degree of protection:

?1?Have a copyright page in the front of the book. Add a copyright notice. Mine reads:

??? Copyright 2010 by The Center for Technical Communication. All rights reserved.?

?2?Register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, DC:

?http://www.copyright.gov/

?3?Lock the PDF so the contents of the book cannot be altered and the copyright information cannot be removed.

?4?Place this warning on the copyright page:

??This is NOT a free e-book!

??Purchase of this e-book entitles the buyer to keep one copy on his or her computer and to print out one copy only.

??Printing out more than one copy or distributing it electronically is prohibited by international and U.S. copyright laws and treaties, and would subject the purchaser to penalties of up to $100,000 per copy distributed.?

?5?Within the text of the book, put URLs of the landing pages for your other products and offers.

?That way, if the book is stolen and passed around illegally, you?ll at least get lots more orders from it.

?6?Offer an extra free bonus the readers of the e-book can download ONLY if they are ?authorized owners? of the e-book.

?That way, someone who has an illegal copy and wants the free bonus will go pay for a legal copy to get the free bonus.

?7?Don?t spend a lot of your time and energy worrying about people copying and stealing your stuff.

?Most people are honest. A few aren?t. In the long run, you won?t really be hurt by the few cheaters here and there. Dedicate your time and energy to other, more important issues.

Many marketers, both large and small ? and I include myself among the latter ? go bonkers when customers return products for refund.

BK, an executive with one of the biggest and most famous direct marketing publishing companies, told me each refund request drives the company?s owner crazy.

?Our books contain great information, incredibly valuable,? the boss says. ?Why should we allow someone to read the book, benefit from all that great content, and then cheat us by sending it back for a refund??

Perhaps you may feel similarly, or you?re asking the same question. If so, let me share with you a few important facts about refunds in your business.

FIRST, a refund doesn?t mean your product is bad or the customer doesn?t like it.

It may mean that, after reviewing your product carefully, they decide your product is not right for them.

Example: a customer returns your $300 DVD set on investing in real estate.

?It actually seems like a great program,? the customer says in his refund request. ?But after watching it, I?ve decided this isn?t a business I want to get into ? it?s just too much work!?

To me, this is a perfectly legitimate ? and reasonable ? position for the customer to take ? don?t you agree?

In this case, offering a refund is not only a legal requirement, but also eminently fair:

Why would you want your customer to be out of pocket $300 for something he can?t use?

SECOND, offering a refund doesn?t cost you money. It makes you money.

Novice marketers fret about offering a money-back guarantee.

?If I do that,? they worry, ?won?t some customers take advantage of me by reading my book, profiting from the information in it, and then sending it back for a refund??

Yes, some will.

But here?s the thing: offering a money-back guarantee reduces buyer reluctance and increases buyer confidence ? resulting in more orders.

In almost every instance, the greater revenues and profits from the increase you get in orders by offering a guarantee is MUCH greater than the small amount of money you lose issuing refunds.

After all, would you buy a product for $30 or $100 or more ? sight unseen ? without a money-back guarantee?

Of course not.

THIRD, longer-term guarantees are better than shorter-term guarantees.

If you are currently offering a 10 or 15-day money-back guarantee, extend it to 30 days.

Already offering a 30-day money-back guarantee? Test a 60 or 90-day money-back guarantee.

The longer guarantee term invariably increases response rates and sales, because it eliminates the concern buyers have with short guarantees ? specifically, that they will forget to open and try the product — and by the time they get around to looking at it, the guarantee will have expired and they?ll be stuck with it.

But amazingly, the longer guarantee actually reduces refund requests, rather than increases them.

Reason: the buyer is in no hurry to evaluate and return the product, because you are allowing him to try it according to a more leisurely schedule.

Result: the buyer soon forgets about the guarantee ? and whether he actually uses the product or not, just keeps it.

FOURTH, generous guarantees sell more product than miserly guarantees.

Ever see a guarantee that says money back if product is returned ?in saleable condition??

The prospect worries that you?ll claim it arrived scratched or broken, and won?t honor your guarantee because it?s damaged and can?t be resold.

Similarly, some sellers of information products offer a money-back guarantee, but only if you offer documented proof that you followed their system and it did not work for you.

But what if I get your system, and something comes up, and I decide I don?t have time to work through it ? are? you telling me I?m stuck with it because I didn?t use it?

The more unconditional your money-back guarantee, the higher your response rates.

Conditional guarantees depress orders.

Here?s one interesting thing to consider?.

A year or so ago, I began selling e-books online.

With a physical book, the guarantee is: if you don?t like it, return the book, and we will refund your money.

But you can?t really return an e-book.

I thought about eliminating the guarantee, but realized this is absurd.

So instead, I stress the fact that they can get a refund without returning the product in my guarantee, rather than downplay it.

My standard e-book guarantee reads:

?If you are not 100% satisfied for any reason ? or for no reason at all ? just let me know within 90 days.

?I?ll refund your $29 payment in full. No questions asked. And you can keep the e-book FREE, with my compliments. That way, you risk nothing.?

Result: my refund rate on e-books is lower than for any other information product I sell, including CDs and hard copy books.

In fact, I get very few refund requests on e-books, though one could say my guarantee openly invites people to take advantage of me.

My conclusion?

Yes, there are a few con artists out there.

But most people ? especially when you are open and fair with them ? are honest, and will be fair with you in return.

So, follow my advice on refunds in your business. Then watch your sales volume ? and profits ? soar.

I guarantee it ? or your money back!

My job is writing, and I have always found it fun as a rule, though not for every minute of every day.

I was thinking about what it takes for a job to be fun and I think three conditions must be met:

1. You find the job interesting. For a writer like me, that means you find the subject matter interesting.

2. You go about your work as if it were valuable and important — even if it is not.

3. You have the right amount of work — enough to keep you productive and busy, not so much that you can never dig out of it.

Do you agree with these 3 requirements of having a job that is fun to you?

Any I am missing?

For decades, I have made it a practice to refer my clients to vendors who can provide services those clients need ? and that I don?t offer myself.

?I have also made it a policy never to accept a referral fee from any vendor, though many offer it, and some even argue with me when I turn it down.

?I do not accept referral fees for this reason: my primary mission is to give my clients the best recommendations I can ? and that means being totally objective.

?It follows logically that I make recommendations that are the best for my client, not the most profitable for me.

?And yes, sometimes what?s good for the client is not good for the vendor.

?For instance, I have many people calling who are eager to pay me thousands of dollars to write a promotion for them.

?In many instances, I turn them down, advising that their idea won?t work or their product won?t fly.

?By telling them this, I am saving them from financial disaster ? but I am also talking myself out of a nice, fat copywriting fee.

?Even worse, my recommendation that they not proceed is based on my nearly three decades of marketing experience.

?Therefore, the advice is valuable to them ? but I am not getting paid a dime for it, as they have not engaged me on a consulting basis.

?I want my clients to know that the advice I give them is always in their best interest ? and if I took referral fees from vendors, it would create a potential conflict.

?I sincerely believe I would always recommend the best vendor for the job ? not the vendor who paid me the highest commission.

?But could I ? or the client ? be 100% certain I was always motivated by their best interests, and not a juicy referral fee?

?The reason I bring this up is that PF, a copywriter, recently contacted me asking for referrals.

?But unlike the many other copywriters who want referrals from me, PF was offering me something in return ? a free lobster.

?Or rather, a $50 gift certificate to a Web site selling Maine lobsters for each new client I referred to her.

?Now, while I am against taking referral fees, I do make it a practice to send a small thank-you gift to people who refer business to me.

?So if it?s OK for me to send a small gift to a referral source, it seems like it should be OK for vendors to send small gifts to me when I am their referral source.

?Now, I don?t want them to do it. And I openly discourage it.

?But, if a nice gift arrives in the mail, I usually don?t send it back. I keep it and thank the vendor for it.

?I don?t think a small gift influences who gets my referrals ? except, PF?s free lobster offer sticks in my mind.

?Actually, I don?t eat lobster, which I know is unusual.

?Any food that comes in its own armor is not for me ? and truthfully, I don?t even like the texture or taste.

?But ?.

?My oldest son Alex loves lobster ? and a $50 lobster would put a smile on his face.

?So when I am asked for a referral to a copywriter these days, by clients who can?t afford my fees or to wait until I am available, I find PF?s name popping up in my mind first.

?Should you take ? or give ? referral fees from and to other vendors?

?That?s up to you.

?But my position on this issue is: make your recommendations ?pure,? unbiased, and objective ? and let your clients know it.

?That way you get something far more valuable than the referral commission the vendor wants to pay you.

?You get your client?s trust ? and a reputation in your industry as someone who is honest and trustworthy.

?That?s something ? unlike a lobster ? that money can?t buy.