www.b2billinois.
com The Weekly Business-to-Business Forum
Opportunity Returns: Around the County with the State of Illinois
DCEO Bureau of Business Development
Edward S. Piatt | B2B contributors
This month I would like to highlight DCEO’s Bureau of Business
Development, which administers a wide array of programs and serv-
ices designed to help Illinois businesses thrive in today’s economy.
DCEO offers expansion incentives, technology support services,
access to capital, global marketing expertise and job training and
education for workers. Our trained staff is committed to forging
partnerships with the private sector in an effort to build upon Illi-
Want a “Yes” Decision From Anyone? Trigger It
Russell Granger | B2B contributor
You can have anything you want, yes, anything! All you have to
do is to persuade someone to decide to do what you want. The most
successful people in the world are those who can get things done
with and through others. By applying new scientific breakthroughs,
it’s now quick and easy to get “Yes!” decisions and actions.
Let’s face it; life is a challenge. From the minute our eyes pop
open in the morning until they close exhausted at night, we deal
with an avalanche of decisions. All day long, requests and decisions
drive activities.
If we had to use logic, reason and cognitive thinking for every
decision, we’d be trapped, locked in place, unable to move in any
direction as we analyze, evaluate, contemplate, measure and cri-
tique options. We’d wind up dazed and immobile.
Fortunately, our emotion-based limbic system has provided us
with a highly effective and simple solution enabling us to easily get
through each decision-making opportunity. Our “internal naviga-
tion system,” referred to in the book and PBS series as “The Secret
Life of the Brain,” resides in our brain’s emotional center and is
activated by our personal databank of emotion-based internal trig-
gers. The take-away summary from the breakthrough live brain
research is that, ‘We are not thinking machines. We are feeling
machines that think.’
A trigger is an emotion-based gut-feeling shortcut that helps us
avoid the pain of rational thinking, of laborious cognitive mental
Seven Public Relations Secrets That
Get Your Business Noticed
Pam Lontos | B2B contributors
Publicity can come from anywhere, and in many different forms.
It can be as simple as having a letter published in the editorial col-
umn of your local paper, or as dynamic as having a front-page arti-
cle with your name splashed across the headlines. But a successful
publicity campaign is harder than you may think. It takes huge
effort on your part to get your business noticed by the media.
The effectiveness of your publicity campaign will ultimately
determine the success of your business. It adds credibility to your
message and develops name recognition in your field. Essentially,
publicity makes you stand out, above all the other businesses, to
the buying public.
Now, you don’t have to be a public relations expert to maximize the
results of your publicity campaign. Use the following trade secrets to
increase your visibility and sell more of your product or service:
1. Get to Know Your Audience
According to a survey conducted by Jericho Communications,
the typical Fortune 1000 CEO is more likely to have watched The
Simpson’s than to have watched all three presidential debates. So,
what does this mean for your publicity? Simple, it means that you
can’t make assumptions about your audience. Understanding your
audience and what appeals to them is important if you want to get
noticed.
2. Create News
By familiarizing yourself with popular publications within your
Submit Your News and Articles to B2B Illinois
Part of the ongoing success of B2B Illinois is found in the quality of the
articles we receive from business people just like you.
Articles should be about your field in business and informative in nature.
Visit www.b2billinois.com/submissions for additional guidelines.
To submit an article, or if you have any questions, please contact
Andrew Wheeler at 815-929-5416 or awheeler@b2billinois.com
B2B Illinois is YOUR forum for local
business news and information.
B2B Illinois is a product of The Daily Journal Advertising Department.
nois’ reputation as a world-class center for business and industry.
This includes a strong emphasis on programs designed to provide
small businesses — particularly minority and female entrepreneurs
— with the resources they need to succeed and grow their business
opportunities.
The Participation Loan (PLP) program is designed to work
through banks and other conventional lending institutions, to pro-
vide subordinated financial assistance to Illinois small businesses
that employ Illinois workers. A business with 500 or fewer employ-
ees may apply for a PLP loan of
not less than $10,000 nor more
than $750,000. Loans shall not
exceed 25 percent of the total
project and may not be used for
debt refinancing or contingency
funding.
The Rural Micro-business Par-
ticipation Loan Program is a vari-
ation of the Participation Loan
Program designed to provide sub-
ordinated loans of up to 50 per-
cent of a project (maximum
$25,000) to Illinois Rural Micro-
businesses through participating
lending institutions. A rural
micro-business is a for profit
business that: (1) employs five or
fewer full-time employees,
including the owner if the owner
is an employee, and (2) is based
on the production, processing, or
marketing of agricultural prod-
evaluation. We are pre-programmed to comply with other’s requests
when the request activates the appropriate triggers.
The smart manager, leader, sales rep understands this need and
prepares her requests accordingly. The exciting new science of live
brain imaging documents that one emotion based brain element,
the amygdala, receives most outside stimulus and requests for deci-
sions. Reason and logic do not persuade; that is now a scientific
fact. They might back up an emotional decision, but they do not
heavily influence the decision.
To get what you want through others you must activate their
emotion-based triggers.
One of the seven primary emotional triggers is the Authority Trigger.
What do you do when your doctor, the “authority,” gives you a pre-
scription? Do you search the Internet and research the chemical com-
pounds? Do you check the FDA website to evaluate the documentation
for safety and efficacy? No, you get the prescription filled. The doctor’s
authority triggered you to make a quick automatic decision.
How do you persuade with the authority emotional trigger? Be
the authority! We give unthinking automatic compliance to those
who have done the hard digging for us. Show the other person you
are fully informed about your subject and that you can be trusted
to give expert information.
Each of the triggers can be activated to produce easy, automatic
decisions and actions. In the most simplistic form these triggers are:
• The Friendship Trigger
Activates trust and agreement through bonding
audience, you should gain an understanding of what issues are
important to them and what interests them. Understand what they
find newsworthy, and develop your publicity around these issues.
Tie your topic to current events and target your audience directly
when you pitch stories. And remember; create news that interests
your audience, not that interests you.
3. Send Press Releases
Press releases are the easiest and quickest ways to advertise to a
large audience, and they inform the media that you have something
to offer. Press releases are also a good method for getting your prod-
uct or service reviewed in publications. Watch the breaking news,
and if something ties to your business, send a press release to the
newspapers, radio and television shows, and magazines offering
your take as an expert to interview about the situation.
4. Develop a Winning Media Kit
As you approach the different media outlets, you’ll need to send
them a media kit. Think of your media kit as your resume; it tells
the media professionals about you and your business. A profession-
al media kit should include your short bio, a summary of your prod-
uct or service, and your contact information. Also include sample
questions about your topic that the writer or host can use during
the interview.
5. Solve Your Contact’s Problems
When it comes to stories, each reporter and producer has a
unique personality and unique needs. If you can figure out what
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BEST
in Local Dining
Available and searchable online at www.b2billinois.com/directories
or available in print at any Daily Journal office.
Send us your articles, news, press releases, event photos,
questions and comments:
E-mail Andrew Wheeler at awheeler@b2billinois.com
Editor: Andrew Wheeler
815-929-5416 awheeler@b2billinois.com
ucts, forest products, cottage and craft products, or tourism. The
borrower is required to provide equity of at least 10 percent of the
project up to $1,000 (10 percent of a $10,000 project). Funds can-
not be used for debt refinancing or contingency funding.
The Manufacturing Modernization Loan Program is designed to
provide manufacturers with access to adequate and affordable
financing for upgrading and modernizing their manufacturing
equipment and operations.
The Enterprise Zone (EZ)/PLP is a variation of the conventional
PLP Program, in that DCEO subordinates the loans through par-
ticipating lending institutions, but the EZ/PLP may be able to pro-
vide small businesses located in an enterprise zone a more attrac-
tive loan rate than a conventional PLP.
The Illinois Capital Access Program (CAP) is designed to encour-
age financial institutions to make loans to small and new businesses
that do not qualify under conventional lending policies. CAP is a
form of loan portfolio insurance, which provides additional reserve
coverage to the lender on loan defaults. By participating in CAP,
lenders have available to them a proven financing mechanism to
meet the needs of financial institutions and Illinois small businesses.
I would also like to take this opportunity for anyone interested in
the Opportunity Returns program or seeking business assistance to
contact me at 312.636.0739 or email me direct at Ed.Piatt@illi-
nois.gov.
Until next month, see you around the county…
Edward S. Piatt is the northeast senior account man-
ager for the Illinois Department of Commerce &
Economic Opportunity.
• The Authority Trigger
Activates acceptance through expertise
• The Consistency Trigger
Motivates consistency with past actions
• The Reciprocity Trigger
When you give, you get
• The Contrast Trigger
Structures contrasts to make one approach better than another
• The Reason Why Trigger
Emotional reasons to make decisions and actions
• The Hope Trigger
Instills positive expectations that persuade agreement
Activate a combination of these triggers and you will get anything
you want.
Twenty-five hundred years ago, Aristotle wrote, “The best route
to persuasion is with reason and logic.” It took science 2,500 years
to learn he was wrong. The brain just doesn’t work that way. Acti-
vate the brain’s emotional triggers and achieve the results you seek.
Russ Granger is the founder of ProEd, an internation-
al training consultancy specializing in management,
sales and personal productivity courses. To become
more successful getting “Yes,” the decisions and
actions you want from others, visit www.seventrig-
gers.com.
they want, you make their job much easier. And when you make a
media professional’s job easier, they will come back to you for more
quotes and more interviews. So ask them what other stories they’re
working on, and for what other publications they write. Ask how
you can help them and what other topics they’d like to see. Estab-
lish working relationships with media professionals and develop
strong contacts for increased publicity.
6. Give a Great Interview
Do you know what it’s like to talk to a boring person? They drone
on for hours about topics that don’t interest you, and all you can
think about is getting rid of them. Keep this in mind when you talk
to the media, because if you’re boring, they won’t want to talk with
you ever again.
7. Follow up
Once you’ve established contact with media professionals, main-
tain the relationships and follow up for more exposure. Avoid nag-
ging with “did you decide yet” calls, but do ask when the article will
be published or when the show will air. Maybe you can offer a new
bit of information in your follow-up call.
With these seven secrets, you can maximize your public relations
success and secure free publicity for your product or service.
Pam Lontos is president of PR/PR, a public relations
firm based in Orlando, Fla. She is author of “I See
Your Name Everywhere” and is a former vice presi-
dent of sales for Disney’s Shamrock Broadcasting.
PR/PR works with established businesses, as well as
entrepreneurs who are just launching their company.
For a free publicity consultation, e-mail Pam@prpr.net
or call 407.299.6128. To receive free publicity tips, go to www.
PRPR.net and register for the monthly e-newsletter, PR/PR Pulse!
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