Can your brand
pass the
four-second test?

Within four seconds,
a potential client will decide how smart you are. If you can be trusted. And your probable net worth.

All without knowing a single thing about you or your company.

What happens when someone sees your business card?
Or your web site?

What makes them smile and want to know more about you and your firm?

It helps if they're ready to buy and you have a great story. Plus pricing that looks like the deal of a lifetime.

But there’s a secret test you have to pass first. Sometimes it's so secret that people don't even know they're running it on you.

Everyone does it. They take one look at your card, or your home page. And in less than four seconds, they turn judge, jury and executioner on your business.

In other words: Does your branding make you look big enough, corporate enough, savvy enough to deserve their business?

People can’t help giving you the four-second test.

We’ve all been taught to recognize the unmistakable signs of quality. And the signs that something's wrong - that a company's underfunded. Unsophisticated. Or just plain uninterested – in doing a decent job, or in doing right by their customers.

But here's the good news: Now you can pass the four-second test every time.

Because you can look like a billion-dollar enterprise long before you become one. (Some would say it’s a necessary first step.) It doesn’t take a billion-dollar budget – or billion-dollar production values.

What it does take is the Four-Second First Impression. For details, check it out at left. And then to get started, click here.

 

 

 

Start building the brand that opens doors
to the success you could be living now.

With this package of basics, you'll pass the four-second test every time.

You'll be amazed at how fast you can become a player with new credibility and access: To new clients and connections. To new income and financing streams. To key people and publicity in your industry and your region.

Here's all you need to make a solid Four-Second First Impression:

So what's the best way to get this done?

Top-drawer international firms charge their corporate clients up to a million dollars just for the graphic design. And that's just the look, with none of the words. Plus they might take up to a year, with endless variations.

Very few entrepreneurs have that kind of time or cash.

You could hire a local ad agency. They do good work and combine a fair amount of expertise in several areas.

The challenge is that their people tend to be young, with some very new to the working world. Often, the entire shop is competing fiercely for the chance to charge their billable hours to your account. Plus, agencies tend to carry a lot of overhead. In tough times, they may be counting on supplemental billings - above and beyond the reasonable-sounding fees they quoted you originally - to boost the margins on your business.

You could ask a friend or a relative for a freebie. But in these perilous times, that's risky too. I'm sure your niece has a lovely portfolio. But unless her day job is at a major firm, she may not have the strategic vision to reach your audience the way you need to now. (And you get to deal with her mom on the phone next Sunday: how can you enforce a deadline on your own flesh and blood when her day job is so stressful?)

What makes the most sense for a package like this is someone with the talent, experience and strategic savvy to understand your business, step into the mindset of your target customer and develop your deliverables - all at a high level of expertise with a minimum of delay, distraction and drama, at a price that's fair to both parties.

So here's my offer.

I will have some (very limited) extra availablility in my calendar between November 15, 2008 and February 1, 2009.

After February 1, the Four-Second First Impression package will be $4,597 plus printing costs for the brochure and business cards, and hosting/domain services for the web site. In my experience, those probably won't exceed $8-900 unless we decide to do something very unusual.

But if you're one of the first six people to commit to the Four-Second First Impression package with 50% down before November 10, you'll save nearly a thousand dollars. I'll commit to delivering the full package within 40 business days for $3497 (plus printing and domain/hosting costs). I'll run your card for the balance at completion.

Keep in mind this will be your branding. For your business, your audience, your needs. We'll work by phone, email and chat unless you happen to be in St. Louis, MO. I will work as your ad/communications agency - only without the junior personnel, layers of management and associated overhead. And about those supplemental billings? I'll eat nails first.

If you prefer, you can also spread the fee into four easy monthly payments of $924.25, plus printing and hosting costs. Or you can choose six easy payments of $649.50.

To get started, I need some basic information about your business and your goals. And, of course, you'll need to make a deposit. Let's take care of both those things now:

Let's go!