In the last 5 years I have come across some of the best marketing tools for small business and the incredible thing is most of these are free or at a very low cost. I want to share them with you!
It is such a good time to start a business because many of these applications allow you to run your entire business at a very low cost and achieve things that only a few years ago, just large corporations could do. The tide has seriously turned in favour of the small business.
I was working with a client today and she has engaged a designer. It struck me that many designers don’t provide a good design brief template for clients to use. This seems like a no brainer to me. I have scanned the internet and here are the key points of what a good brief for a design of a logo, website, brochure should contain.
Project title:
Project background:
Objectives/ purpose(s)/desired response.
Existing marketing to be aware of:
Existing guidelines to follow:
Format required
Creative concepts
Design work
Artwork
Copywriting
Size
Style or look and feel; Funny and casual,
What do the audiences believe or think, before you start communicating with them?
What tone and imagery should we use to engage them?
Specific visual goals?
Budget and delivery schedule:
What are you providing the designer with: Product shots, website screen shots, photographs, diagrams, etc. (Check these are high-resolution.) Text
General description of format: Describe any formatting issues you have arranged with the printer.
Description of target audience: Occupation, gender ratio, average age, nationality/location, psychological demographic, lifestyle preferences.
Message objectives: Hierarchy of copy messages, treatment of headlines, body copy, visuals, product samples, call-to-action. Messages from Features, Benefits and values List top features and/or facts about the program, service or organization, and its value to target audiences
How do these stack up against the competition?
If you could get one sentence across, what would that be? How would you prove it?
Other major points?
Where to look for inspiration: Give brief examples of style / overall look you want the item to achieve. What aspects of the product or branding can be used as a starting point for the design? What feelings or metaphors reflect the spirit of your product or company?
What not to do: Also give examples of what the design shouldn’t include and what styles to avoid.
Many of my clients pay for google ad words. I find google ad words can be a waste of money (left hand side of page below). It can be effective but it needs to be so targeted to ensure that the customers clicking on your ad are really likely to buy your services. I think it is much more effective to improve your chances of getting found on the organic search (right hand side) on google.
So how do you do it? Many would say you need to get the services of an SEO expert. I say no. No one can guarantee you a page 1 listing in the organic search, at least not for long. This is a constantly changing landscape. However there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of being found. Here are my top 5 tips for getting a top google ranking.
If I can do it so can you.
5 TOP TIPS FOR GOOGLE LISTING
1. Think like your customer when constructing your website. Look up key words that are descriptive of the service you deliver and words that your customers would use in their search. Use key words once in the title and a few times on each page, in bold if possible. Use a tool like Google key words or compete. This will allow you to filter those words that are heavily competed for and those that aren’t. Then choose the words that you think give you the best chance of exposure and pepper them through your home page and site. I used marketing and marketing plans.In the visible page text, include words users might choose as search query terms to find the information on your site. Don’t forget to use your geography to narrow your customers to the right location. Don’t be all things to everyone if you want to attract the right customers.
2. Creating valuable contentand updating it gives the search engines a reason to crawl your site and the more links you have to your content then the more likely Google is going to rank you higher. Having headings that describe the content is important. Answer customer questions. Link your blog on your website so the information is constantly updating. Be careful.Web pages that use Flash, frames, Java applets, plug-in content, audio files & video have content that search engines cannot access. Once you have that valuable content post it on other sites so you can link back to your own site. Pick sites that have a high authority if you can (valuable to our target audience).
3. Submit your site to search engines that are relevant to your customers. This also increases the chances of your site being found. As SEOMOz explains “Search engines have four functions – crawling, building an index, calculating relevancy & rankings and serving results.” SEOMoz is another great site to visit to learn the basics of SEO and they have a pdf download which is useful.
4. Look at your overall website SEO. The key words, subject heading, picture tags. The more information you can give Google when it crawls over your site the better you will be ranked. You can use Hubspots website grader to give you an indication of how to improve your site.
5. Do your own analytics.Don’t believe any SEO company that says they can guarantee you a 1 page google listing. It is impossible. Sites are updating all the time and so it is a constant moving landscape. Instead keep on top of key words and have an google analytics account so you can adjust your approach by monitoring your client visits and more importantly your conversions. It doesn’t matter how many people visit your site, the real measure is how many end up being a real prospect that you build a relationship with. Have a way of capturing these potential customers.
I am only half way through one of the best books I have come across in some time. It is called I love you more than my dog by Jeanne Bliss. Jeanne discussed five key decisions that drive customer loyalty and I would even say brand love and these decisions I think are easier to make when you are a small business so why not take the advantage leverage them.
Here they are:
1. Decide to Believe: Beloved companies trust their employees and their customers. An example that I love that Jeanne explains in her book is the Grameen Bank which loans money to impoverished people in Bangladesh so that they could buy materials to make bamboo furniture back in 1974. The village people repaid every cent as it was their honour at stake. In 2008 the bank has over 7.8 million borrowers, with a repayment rate of 99%. This belief in people has changed their lives. Jeanne makes the point that beloved companies understand that most people want to do the right thing. “I believe you, I trust you”, goes along way for your customers and and your employees.
2. Decide with Clarity of Purpose: Companies who have a compelling clear promise to their customer are rewarded with loyalty and love from their customers. Nudie juice makes no secret of their multicultural juice and in-fact they use it as a point of differentiation in their brand personality and customers love them because of their honesty and sense of humour.
Decide to be Real: What you see is what you get. This transparency, this openness, and authenticity is a rare trait. It is not easy and it takes guts, but fake it and customers can see it, feel it and smell it. Companies that are real talk to their customers, really listen and take action. They make genuine offers and earn their customers trust. As Jeanne states, “they blend their personalities with their business decisions.” A manager that models real behaviour gives you the okay to be “real”. There is no better feeling than to say, “you are okay as you are, just be you” and customers are staying this to businesses they trust because they are authentic. This behaviour is embedded in your values and your behaviours. If you heard one of your employees talking about your customers would you be proud of their conversation or cringe? Restaurants are incorporating open kitchens as a way to show their customers that their is nothing to hide.
Decide to be There: Beloved companies are “there” by giving their customers what they want. They listen, the want to serve. To do things the way their customer wants, to rethink things, to make the experience the best it can be, makes companies loved. These companies don’t go the extra mile because they can, they do it because they want too. They live their company through the eyes of their customers and organically grow to delight them. They celebrate a culture that looks to go the extra mile for customers and rewards employees for embracing this philosophy visibly. Threadless is a great example of a company that started as a community of artists an graphic designers designing t-shirts online. Customers have embraced the concept and taken it a step further to be involved in the design process. Threadless.com customers having a say in what got sold has expanded the business to over 700,000 members.
Decide to Say Sorry: being able to eat your words and be humble about it is something that customers appreciate. Everyone has to say sorry at some point but it is how companies take responsibility for actions that really tells customers about their brand. Companies that are accountable and do everything possible to earn back their customers, sets them apart and makes us love them even more in some cases. Again being sincere, taking responsibility and trying to make things better is the way great companies have an ongoing relationship with their customers and employees. Sometimes companies come undone and show their true colours when everything goes wrong for the customer and instead of been given the opportunity to say sorry and make amends, loose the customer and their friends for life.
My takeaway tips for small businesses.
1. Decision to believe – How much do we know about our customers, how do we interact? How do we encourage our employees to share their insights? Do we select our employees based on their values or skill-sets?
2. Decision Clarity of Purpose -What is our unique experience our brand promise and do we need to check-in and refresh it? What is our vibe, what steers our decisions? What do we want our customers to remember about us after we say goodbye?
3. Decision to be Real – Do we walk in our customers and employee shoes? Would our customers want to know us after reading our, emails, letters, invoices? What is our tone? Behind the scenes how do our people talk about our customers? Do customers want to talk to us? Does everyone have permission to do what it takes, to find the right solution for each situation?
4.Decision to be There - Do your customers ask, where-else could I have got this? Lets look at this from the customer’s point of view. Do we earn the right to their business? Do they have a seat at our table? Is our experience memorable? Do we collaborate as a team and jump a fence to serve the customer?
5. Decision to say Sorry - Do we take accountability for our mistakes and take care of our customers for life? Do we fess up? Do we have it in our DNA to say sorry and mean it? Does our culture stick when things are tough? Are we proactive and put in place a recovery plan to “wow” our customers again? Do we learn, adjust and grow from our mistakes?
I agree with Jeanne in that the choice is yours. How you run your business and the decisions you make every day tell your story to your customers and employees. Be active, deliberate and take the lead. Do the customer audit from Jeanne site and see how you stack up!
More than ever you as a business owner have to be able, and ready to move with today’s market. The potential customer is turning to the Internet today more then ever. They have a computer at home, at work, even our cars and cell phones that provide a quick and accurate list of businesses.
What is a business profile you ask? This is your businesses digital business card online. Almost every business has one. It has your business name, address, phone number and a link to your website if you have one. It also opens up to a business profile page. This has all the info listed above and more. It tells a customer what you do and the areas you service. They call this a customer connection page.
As for websites, many of today’s small and medium businesses do not have websites. Or the old adage is that “I have a website I am on the Internet” doesn’t mean you are found in local search. No Sir/Ma’am, we have to think outside the box or the belief of what we had been told in the past about the Internet. Today’s search engines take a whole new approach to getting found. Remember when we had to name our business “AAAA Plumbing” to get put at the top or the first page of the phone books. Well let me tell what the search engines look for. It is best to have the type of service you provide in the name of your business. i.e. Plumber- Joe’s Plumbing, HVAC – Joe’s Heating and Air Conditioning. Get the idea? Next, if you have a website does website match you name. i.e. Joe’s Plumbing – www.joesplumbing.com
If your business is on the front page of Google you have a good chance of getting contacted by the potential customers who looking for the services or products you provide. I can tell you this if your business name and number are not there on the front page the likelihood of you getting a call are slim to none. You may say well I am on front page or have been on the front page before and I didn’t get any calls. My question to you is: How long ago was it that you were on the front page? What Category were you listed under? What “key phrases” or “key words” were you found for? And what cities were you found in? Typically most businesses are ranked in the city in which they are located in. This is good however, You and I both know we travel long distances, sometimes 50 miles radius or more to get a job. There may be 10, 15 or 20 different cities in that radius. You need a good company to take care of your listing while you take care of answering the phone and servicing your new customers.
Let’s face it your customers, I mean your potential customers are looking elsewhere today. The old idea of mailers, fliers on cars and homeowners front doors and those expensive full or half page ads in the yellow pages are gone for good. I don’t even own a phone book any more and when we were visiting the grandparents, my father asked my youngest son if he knew where the yellow pages was he looked at him like he was speaking a foreign language or thought it was some sort of coloring book. Then I said son where would you find a pizza place near grandpa’s house he immediately bolted for the computer and Googled “Pizza” immediately a page came up and in the local map section there a list of pizza places. It showed where they were located in relation to Grandpa’s house. It gave him the name and phone number. He showed Grandpa and they called the pizza place together to order dinner.
So what are you doing to get those potential customers today who are out there looking for the services you provide? Do you want them to call your competition?
50 comments
Danielle MacInnis • Chris Anderson has a great book called Free the future of a radical price. I think a great way to get customers is to give them a taste. Start the relationship. Be proactive. Do something useful, unexpected, boy why not be downright generous. I am happy to give away my content, tools and experience. I know I am building a long term relationship with my prospective clients, supporters and collaborators. I live with the mindset of abundance.
Eric Dean 951.972.8011 • Well thank you Danielle. I will be sure to look up and read what he has to say. I hope you will take the time to look over my website and blogs. If you would like to help your clients get their businesses found on the front pages of all the major search engines in each and every city they service then by all means I would be more then happy to speak to you. Please feel free to contact me directly.
John Lee • I send real greeting cards (not ecards) and gift to my clients to show them appreciation. They love it. Then they think of me when their friends are talking about something I can help them with. Appreciation is the key!
I don’t drive to the store to buy cards. I do it all on line and the company prints it and mails it for me. It’s great!
Judy Misbin • I also set up a user profile on http://www.zeringo.com It allows me to easily organize and send eletters, online invites, post advertisements, set up a public profile that is SEO friendly and provide me a great area for real-time communication and collaboration.
Eric Dean 951.972.8011 • Mila, free stuff is a good idea though many people see it as a gimmick and most of what is given away is some cheap item. I have found that good old fashion American value is the way to go. The key today is to make sure your business is found where clients look most. Lets face it the prime real estate is the front pages of Google and the other search engines. Soon enough businesses will be paying someone to put them on page two and you know and I know most customers don’t go past page 1. I have programs that work both ways, one a subscription based ranking program and a performance based pay per call program. It’s your choice. I hope this helps. Have a great day.
Jim Shanman • Eric, are you advocating that the ONLY way to get new customers is by improving your SEO ratings? You ask a question at the beginning of the article and then restate it at the end, without ever really answering it, so I’m a little confused.
I’ve participated in a number of conversations like this – both online and off – and it always seems to boil down to the same process: Develop a multi-level marketing strategy and stick with it. Yes, online marketing is a key component to any marketing mix, but interestingly, while I agree the phone book is a dead medium, direct mail is proving to be surprisingly effective. Why? 2 reasons: 1 – there is less of it, meaning you have a better chance of standing out and 2 – People are so overwhelmed by online marketing techniques, they are increasingly tuning it out and prefer to actual hold something in their hand. For example, when we look to order a pizza at home (and quality is secondary to price), we sort through our door hanger coupons looking for a good deal.
Further, while impressive search engine ranking is key to many businesses, it is hardly the best solution for many others. To single it out as the salvation of sales seems to be a bit naive to me.
Eric Dean 951.972.8011 • I am not saying that Internet Marketing is the only way by any means. In fact, diversity is the key. I think mailers, hangers, flyers, radio, tv and numerous other avenues are all still great ways to get your business name in front of the masses. I am just stating that today more then ever people use the internet on their phones, computers, GPS devices, and TV’s to find what their looking for. I use my phone three to four times a week to find stores, shops and for services that I need or require. I am open to all forms and believe they all have relevance in todays market. Have a great day.
Warren Boschin • I have found that Yellow Pgs., direct mail, hand outs, and local ads just don’t work.
Lately I have felt that I must do more on the internet and by email.
In the main I have done lots of networking at Chamber mixers, expos..and
business groups to make connections with other businesses that might need my
help. Also being a public speaker teaching other business folks how to network
to get business has helped. It’s that person to person contact that does it.
People need to get a sense of the real you to feel trust and understanding for
your company.
Warren
Jim Shanman • There is a lot of truth to that. People like to do business with people they know. But again, it’s having a good mix in your plan that works. Speaking in public, ads and handouts all help familiarize you with your audience, but may not lead directly to a sale. And then when they search for you – and easily find you – that’s a big plus (Eric’s key point). Finally when you do meet them in person at a networking event, they feel they already know you. It’s not so much a sales pitch as an affirmation as to who you are.
Dan: I really think the answer is in having a ongoing marketing and sales strategy. Together these elements form the basis of your lead generation machine. Some really interesting comments!
Too many small businesses put marketing in the too hard basket. Worse still they take a passive approach and believe if they just keep doing a good job the referrals will fuel their business growth! When times are good this might just work, but waiting for the phone to ring rarely works.
As a small business consultant I work with many small businesses that for so long have either had a random approach to their marketing effort, where they don’t know what actually worked, or they have gone for the silver bullet and put all their resources into Internet advertising. Neither approach works. The funny thing is a simple organised approach to marketing is the best and most effective and it doesn’t have to cost the earth or be too time consuming.
I have developed an online free system for small businesses to get a jump-start on their marketing for the next financial year. This system I am happy to give away for a limited time to help me gather feedback before I make it a paid online resource. As I see it, it is a win-win for both parties. The small business owner gets some tools, templates and resources to help create a simple marketing approach and I get feedback on how to make the system even more effective. Go to The Simple Marketing System to download your free tools today!
It seems to me common sense but unless you live and breathe marketing all day everyday maybe some basic marketing tools just aren’t on your radar.
Here are my list of top 5 must haves in your marketing tool kit.
1. A description of your ideal customer. Why? Because then you don’t waste time and money focusing on customers that aren’t going to buy off you and don’t really want your service or product. Profile your ideal customer in detail. Understand their needs and wants. Write down their problems, issues and challenges. Write down what solution they are seeking to this problem. This will help with the next tool.
2. Create a One page sheet on your product or service. Give prospects a taste of what to expect. It doesn’t have to say everything you provide, but it must give them enough information to want to learn more. What do they get when they work with you? What are the results? If you meet someone and they want to know more about your product or service what do you give them?
3. Be the expert. Create some education information that will be useful. Not only does this improve your credibility but provides the prospect with a chance to taste your service. It could be a article, some tips, a template or some advice. Be a resource and educate your potential buyers.
4. Provide the proof. It is not enough to say what you do, you need to prove it. Have some testimonials, success stories and customer quotes to back up your promise to potential clients that put them at ease.
5. Create a relationship. You need to capture potential customer names so you can start to build a relationship. You need to create a sign up form on your website (maybe to your top tips of the month). You need to collect business cards at a networking event. You need to refer people to be referred. Start networking and building relationships. Networking is all about looking to see how you can help first. Ask questions and build real relationships be it online or face to face.
These tools might seem very simple but I bet you can improve your marketing tool kit today.
Paul Castain from the customer collective has written a great blog. I have added my two cents but essentially thanks Paul, brilliant thinking!!
Lachie and me in the hug lock!
1) Surprise Them!: I order my shirts from Paul Frederick and they aren’t cheap. Every now and again, without warning, they will include a tie with my shirt order. I hate to admit this, but I’m like a little kid who just got the free prize from collecting cereal box tops! Gold star Paul Frederick! I’m a frequent guest at the Omni Hotel and they have the surprise thing down pretty well. One evening they sent fresh fruit up to my room, one morning it was some orange juice and bottled water. Here’s the point, it doesn’t have to be a million dollar, give away the store thing, just get in the habit of surprising your clients. It is the element of surprise that is so delightful here. It is beyond your expectations. Arrive to your clients with a box of donnuts for morning tea.
2) Find A Way to “Wow” Them When You Screw Up: Everything you ever heard about Disney is true! I should know, I stayed there for 10 days with my family back in 2006. We went to a dinner show one night and the waitress was visibly hustling from table to table. Somewhere in the mix, she forgot my son’s lemonade. When she returned to our table, my son very respectfully called it to her attention. She immediately apologized (doesn’t that have a way of immediately diffusing a situation?) and said “Wait until you see how we fix things when we make mistakes at Disney” What happened next blew my mind. She returned with an entire pitcher of lemonade (complete with a very cool straw and glow cubes). So let me see if I get this. What was once a mistake has now turned into a “Wow”? Here’s the best part, I figure that between telling that story to everyone I’ve trained since then and mentioning it in my blog (twice) this story has reached over 15,000 people. I can see the Mastercard commercial now . . . Price for the lemonade: $2.00, Way Cool Straw & Glow Cubes: $2.00 Wowing a disappointed customer and getting word of mouth advertising from his blogaholic Dad . . . Priceless Baby! Everyone makes mistakes. Take away 1. Admit it. Be genuine. Turn around a bad situation and you could win a client and fans for life.
3) Make Your Client Look Like A Rock Star To Their Boss: Think about it. Who doesn’t need some good press these days? One of the best ways for you to do this is to proactively go to your client with ideas and resources. By the way, ideas and resources shouldn’t always require payment. This is one of the many ways you and I provide this thing everyone keeps regurgitating called “value”. Now if you are amongst the clueless who think everyone is already doing this, then make it a habit of asking this question in your Needs Analysis: “When was the last time your sales rep came to you (proactively) with an idea?” Get ready for a head tilt as they try to remember. One way you stay fresh with ideas is to carve out weekly thinking time to, well, think about your client’s business. Talking to the brainstorming queen, love it when I can give my clients extra value in terms of ideas.
4) Be A Breath Of Fresh Air!: File this one under “I’m just sayin” but business folk can be wound way too tight these days. At times its just way too freakin serious. We’ve forgotten to put “laugh and lighten up” on our To Do lists! Assignment: Go down to the card store and pick out a few funny greeting cards that you are going to send your clients. If you can’t find one, then at least pick up a cool thank you card and simply thank them for being your client. How about putting together a rock star kit for them complete with cool shades, a cd, an all access pass to your business along with a card that reads “You’re always a rock star to us!”
Sales Managers: Have a sales meeting in the near future and brainstorm ways for everyone to be that “Breath of Fresh Air” to your clients. Oh, and if you can’t think of anything, your competitor probably will.
Love the idea of thanking clients!
5) Better Relationships Require Better Communication: Ridiculously obvious sales advice in 3,2,1 . . . The key to better communication is in asking better questions. Most sales reps make it through the Needs Analysis part of the process with barely a passing grade and then they stop asking thought provoking questions as if they are saying “But dude I already did that step” You have to continually ask the questions nobody else asks. Harvey Mackay has a cool questionnaire he calls “The Mackay 66”. It’s 66 questions that you should be able to answer about each one of your clients. Now, I admit that some of these questions might seem a bit much, but the point is to know your client better than anyone else. Love them. know them, surprise and delight them. Go the extra mile.
Paul Castain from the customer collective has written a great blog. I have added my two cents but essentially thanks Paul, brilliant thinking!!
Lachie and me in the hug lock!
1) Surprise Them!: I order my shirts from Paul Frederick and they aren’t cheap. Every now and again, without warning, they will include a tie with my shirt order. I hate to admit this, but I’m like a little kid who just got the free prize from collecting cereal box tops! Gold star Paul Frederick! I’m a frequent guest at the Omni Hotel and they have the surprise thing down pretty well. One evening they sent fresh fruit up to my room, one morning it was some orange juice and bottled water. Here’s the point, it doesn’t have to be a million dollar, give away the store thing, just get in the habit of surprising your clients. It is the element of surprise that is so delightful here. It is beyond your expectations. Arrive to your clients with a box of donnuts for morning tea.
2) Find A Way to “Wow” Them When You Screw Up: Everything you ever heard about Disney is true! I should know, I stayed there for 10 days with my family back in 2006. We went to a dinner show one night and the waitress was visibly hustling from table to table. Somewhere in the mix, she forgot my son’s lemonade. When she returned to our table, my son very respectfully called it to her attention. She immediately apologized (doesn’t that have a way of immediately diffusing a situation?) and said “Wait until you see how we fix things when we make mistakes at Disney” What happened next blew my mind. She returned with an entire pitcher of lemonade (complete with a very cool straw and glow cubes). So let me see if I get this. What was once a mistake has now turned into a “Wow”? Here’s the best part, I figure that between telling that story to everyone I’ve trained since then and mentioning it in my blog (twice) this story has reached over 15,000 people. I can see the Mastercard commercial now . . . Price for the lemonade: $2.00, Way Cool Straw & Glow Cubes: $2.00 Wowing a disappointed customer and getting word of mouth advertising from his blogaholic Dad . . . Priceless Baby! Everyone makes mistakes. Take away 1. Admit it. Be genuine. Turn around a bad situation and you could win a client and fans for life.
3) Make Your Client Look Like A Rock Star To Their Boss: Think about it. Who doesn’t need some good press these days? One of the best ways for you to do this is to proactively go to your client with ideas and resources. By the way, ideas and resources shouldn’t always require payment. This is one of the many ways you and I provide this thing everyone keeps regurgitating called “value”. Now if you are amongst the clueless who think everyone is already doing this, then make it a habit of asking this question in your Needs Analysis: “When was the last time your sales rep came to you (proactively) with an idea?” Get ready for a head tilt as they try to remember. One way you stay fresh with ideas is to carve out weekly thinking time to, well, think about your client’s business. Talking to the brainstorming queen, love it when I can give my clients extra value in terms of ideas.
4) Be A Breath Of Fresh Air!: File this one under “I’m just sayin” but business folk can be wound way too tight these days. At times its just way too freakin serious. We’ve forgotten to put “laugh and lighten up” on our To Do lists! Assignment: Go down to the card store and pick out a few funny greeting cards that you are going to send your clients. If you can’t find one, then at least pick up a cool thank you card and simply thank them for being your client. How about putting together a rock star kit for them complete with cool shades, a cd, an all access pass to your business along with a card that reads “You’re always a rock star to us!”
Sales Managers: Have a sales meeting in the near future and brainstorm ways for everyone to be that “Breath of Fresh Air” to your clients. Oh, and if you can’t think of anything, your competitor probably will.
Love the idea of thanking clients!
5) Better Relationships Require Better Communication: Ridiculously obvious sales advice in 3,2,1 . . . The key to better communication is in asking better questions. Most sales reps make it through the Needs Analysis part of the process with barely a passing grade and then they stop asking thought provoking questions as if they are saying “But dude I already did that step” You have to continually ask the questions nobody else asks. Harvey Mackay has a cool questionnaire he calls “The Mackay 66”. It’s 66 questions that you should be able to answer about each one of your clients. Now, I admit that some of these questions might seem a bit much, but the point is to know your client better than anyone else. Love them. know them, surprise and delight them. Go the extra mile.
According to Simon from Sandler training most businesses might a financial plan and maybe a marketing plan but many don’t have a prospect’s plan. This is an issue because activity creates the opportunity for sales. Activity moves the prospect to a potential customer.
Simon explains there are several activities that classify as sales activity inclusing ” Networking, social media, cold calling, asking for referrals, giving talks, seminars, trade shows, writing articles, posting press releases, email blasts”
Simon explains the different between compenent and possers as sales professionals.
“Professionals have a plan and they execute the plan. Imposters (aka “order-takers”) wait by the phone, hoping it will ring. Some will wait by the computer, hoping the next incoming email is their ticket to riches. When asked about prospecting, they make excuses about being too busy, “putting out fires” with existing accounts. Or they say they have too much paperwork and reporting to do, or blame poor marketing materials. Order-takers are great at rationalizing poor prospecting performance.”
Simon has some good questions you should ask as a small business owner.
1.If you are a business owner or partner, how well have you done making rain?
2.If you have a sales team reporting up to you, which team members are real hunters, and which are order-takers?
3.Do you know the difference?
4.Which ones are better compensated?
5.Are changes in order?
Having a list of activities that incorporates a sales and marketing approach can improve the chances of converting prospects to customers. This plan will also help work out what approach is more successful so you can do more activities that work. Be it cold calling, emailing, success stories or bundling offers, this planned approach is an under valued approach that can ensure that your prospects can followed up and given the information and incentive to buy.
As a small business owner how do you create activities that move potential prospects down your sales pipeline.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Do some follow up with anyone you have formed a relationship with. Send them an email with some valuable information. Phone then and ask them if they have a need for your product/ service.
2. Focus on some prospects that are likely to have a need and then offer them a taste of your product or service to move them to an interested prospect.
3. Send the interested prospect a proposal and follow up with a call.
4. Invite your prospect out for a coffee.
5. Start networking at a local event to find more prospects
Here are some other tacts from CJ Hayden from the Raintoday website.
Write articles. Putting your expertise in writing and sharing it with publications your target audience reads is a powerful—and very professional—way to let more people know about your unique talents. Submit your articles to magazines, newsletters, ezines, blogs, or websites that serve your niche and watch your visibility grow. If you aren’t a strong writer, hire professional help to edit or even ghost write your compositions.
Speak at conferences or events. Appearing as a speaker allows you to broadcast your expertise to three different audiences: the people who attend your talk, the people who are invited by the sponsoring organization but can’t attend, and the people you tell about it before and after. If standing in front of a room makes you too nervous, serve on a panel of experts instead. You’ll get to sit behind a table and speak from notes.
Do media interviews. Being interviewed for magazines, newspapers, blogs, radio stations, or television programs can spread the word quickly about your capabilities. Landing interviews is not that hard to do if you remember to start small. Begin by approaching easy targets like association newsletters, neighborhood newspapers, lesser-known bloggers, or local cable programs and talk radio.
Tell stories. One of the secrets to effective articles, talks, and interviews is to tell stories about your clients. When you describe your clients’ challenges and accomplishments, you reveal the value of your role in helping them without having to boast about it. You can use the same technique in sales presentations to prospective clients to boost your credibility without appearing arrogant.
Ask for and use testimonials. Whenever you do a good job for a client, ask them to write a simple thank you note describing what you did to make them happy. Then make their kudos available on your website, brochure, or other marketing materials. Let your clients tell others about your brilliance, and you won’t have to say it yourself.
Build a portfolio. Artists and writers aren’t the only ones who should capture their best work in a portfolio. You can collect photos, graphs, spreadsheets, reports, project schedules, program outlines, and other evidence of your accomplishments and display them on your website, in a marketing kit, or in a PowerPoint presentation. You don’t have to sell people on your abilities when they see for themselves what you can do.
Create products. Packaging your work into merchandise that prospective clients can take home and sample gives them a compelling way to discover your real value. Products like ebooks, audio recordings, and home study courses allow you to showcase your expertise and increase your credibility. They can often be advertised more widely than your services, giving you yet another avenue for getting your name known.
