KEEP IT CASUAL AND SEE CLIENTS FLOCK TO YOU
Listed below is in article I received in my AdAgeDaily newsletter. This article is written by Troy Dunn, President and Creative Director of a major ad agency based in Tampa, Florida. I thought you’d enjoy it.
Traditional networking is a bit out of my comfort zone. As a business owner, I know that networking is critical to business development. I appreciate the value of professional-association meetings, but I don’t believe attending such formal settings is the only successful approach to prospecting and obtaining new clients. Personally, I prefer to be less formal. Because I love what I do, this seems to be the purest way of delivering my message, and, as we advise our clients, we have to play to our strengths. READ FULL ARTICLE
THE BEST SALES & MARKETING PHRASE EVER
The best sales and marketing phrase of the 20th and 21st century is without a doubt… “Would you like fries with that?”
Your best prospects are your existing clients. These are the people that already trust and appreciate you, and what you have to offer.
Create opportunities to sell additional services and products that will add value to your existing network, and you’re considerably farther down the road of closing your sale and earning additional revenue than if you were to send out a thousand brochures or emails to total strangers.
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM LOUD! CREATIVE
Tags: Branding, Brian Tracy, Business, Dale Carnegie, Harry Beckwith, Jerry Porras, Jim Collins, Keith Ferrazzi, LOUD! Creative, Malcom Gladwell, Marketing, Matthew Kelly, Michael Gerber, Patrick Lencioni, sales, Seth Godin, Zig Ziglar
First, I want to wish each and every client and reader a Happy New Year. I sincerely hope that 2008 proves to be the best and most prosperous year ever for you, your families and your businesses. I am grateful for your friendships.
For me, 2007 has been a journey filled with growing and learning. As you may already know… my intention for this blog is for it to be a
no-cost, value-add resource for you, and your business or organization. It’s here that I share from my experiences, my client’s experiences, and the various resources from which I study and read.
As you endeavor to grow and develop in 2008, I thought it seemed a thoughtful gesture to share with you some of the books I’ve discovered and studied personally… and from which I post to this blog quite frequently. I hope this is helpful. I recommend all of them.
Please feel free to leave your comments. Don’t be inhibited to call me at my office should there be anything I can do for you. Again, Happy New Year !!! Congratulations on all your successes, and may you have so many more.
Brian
BRIAN WEBB’S RECOMMENDED READING LIST
(not necessarily in this order)
ALL MARKETERS ARE LIARS Author: Seth Godin
SELLING THE INVISIBLE – A FIELD GUIDE TO MODERN MARKETING Author: Harry Beckwith
THE FOUR OBSESSIONS OF AN EXTRAORDINARY EXECUTIVE
Author: Patrick Lencioni
THE DREAM MANAGER Author: Matthew Kelly
THE DIP Author: Seth Godin
THE TIPPING POINT Author: Malcom Gladwell
E-MYTH REVISITED Author: Michael E. Gerber
E-MYTH MASTERY Author: Michael E. Gerber
DEATH BY MEETING Author: Patrick Lencioni
SECRETS OF CLOSING THE SALE Author: Zig Ziglar
THE INVISIBLE TOUCH, THE FOUR KEYS TO MODERN MARKETING Author: Harry Beckwith
WHAT CLIENTS LOVE, A FIELD GUIDE TO GROWING YOUR BUSINESS Author: Harry Beckwith
GETTING REAL Author: 37 Signals
HOW TO WIN FRIENDS & INFLUENCE PEOPLE Author: Dale Carnegie
ADVANCED SELLING STRATEGIES Author: Brian Tracy
THE FIVE TEMPTATIONS OF A CEO Author: Patrick Lencioni
NEVER EAT ALONE Author: Keith Ferrazzi
GOOD TO GREAT Author: Jim Collins
BUILT TO LAST Author: Jim Collins & Jerry Porras
DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU’RE SELLING?
Tags: Business, sales, Sam Walton, Starbuck's, Wal Mart
What are you really selling? People in the fast food business used to think they were selling food… then they realized they were really selling an “experience.” Does Starbuck’s sell “coffee” or “community?”
Most companies think their clients are buying expertise. Here’s a tip: Your expertise is assumed… but your client (customer, prospect, guest, patron, patient, student, church member, etc.) will evaluate your service by the quality of relationship they have with you, your team and your business. This is where so many businesses and organizations fail… right here!
Sam Walton once said… “Hit’em where they ain’t!” Service businesses are first and foremost about relationships. Winning is a matter of feelings… and feelings are about personalities. Be professional, but more importantly… be PERSONABLE.
What are you really selling? Relationships.
THE BLACK HOLE PHENOMENOM
For years… physicists have discussed an important phenomon… the “gravitationally completely collapsed object.” Then, a creative physicist, devised a better name for it… he called it… a “Black Hole.” Suddenly the world was interested.
Your words matter. One word or metaphor can quickly define your concept and uniqueness, and make your concept compelling.
If you are selling something complex, simplify it with a metaphor.
MAKE YOUR SERVICES EASY TO BUY
Think how often you’ve been virtually sold on something, but chose not to purchase because it was too difficult to buy. The sales person offered all kinds of options, or made you worry about the value of an extended warranty, or offered complicated financing packages that you could not intelligently choose among.
Now think of your opposite experiences. Something appealed to you… a little… not necessarily a lot… and it was simple, so you made the purchase. Good marketing must focus on the buy. How clear is your offer? Can the prospect sample the service thereby reducing their risk? How clear is the price? How easy is it to buy?
In his book The Paradox Of Choice, author Barry Schwartz says that contrary to conventional wisdom, giving people many choices is often bad for them.
When presented with many choices, many people experience “choice paralysis” and do nothing, even when doing nothing is the worst possible choice. For example, give people 20 choices of mutual funds in their 401k, and many more will just let their money sit in a low-yield money market fund than if they only had a few choices.
Additionally, when people “do” select from a large field of alternatives, they usually experience greater “buyer’s remorse” than those who had selected from a small number of alternatives.
Make your service easy to buy.
By the way, If you don’t have time to read the Schwartz’s book, you can watch the 1-hour presentation Schwartz delivered at Google.
FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES ARE TYPICALLY NOT AS LARGE AS THEY APPEAR
I can cite more than one instance in which one of my business development staff had celebrated their big meeting with that large “trophycase-worthy” prospective corporate client. “Finally!” they gasped. Their mouths watered at the sheer prospect of landing this huge new client with buldging budgets and liberal spending policies. Their years of feeding on business chum had finally paid off… or so they thought.
After landing their so called “big fish” client, they rapidly discovered a different reality than they’d previously expected. They learned that Joanne; Marketing Director for a large medical system conglomerate, had less money in her budget than several of our existing “maw & paw shop” and new business startup clients. And that ubiquitous billion-dollar oil and gas company they’d been stalking for months, was run by a CFO that survived the Great Depression… and who’d rather personally vacuum the offices each night, than pay for the opulent luxury of a janitorial service. Who woulda’ thunk it?
Don’t underestimate or under-appreciate your prospects and existing clients that have yet to appear on the cover of Forbes. According to the International Information Program, 99% of all independent enterprises in the country employ fewer than 500 people. Furthermore, some 19.6 million Americans work for companies employing fewer than 20 workers, 18.4 million work for firms employing between 20 and 99 workers, and 14.6 million work for firms with 100 to 499 workers. Agressively seek out smaller fish in bigger ponds. You’ll live longer.
Secondly, when you “are” going fishing for that large corporate prospect, manage your expectations. Understand that large corporations are extremely compartmentalized, and budgets are reluctantly passed down to department heads. Recognize that your proverbial foot-in-the-door might be a great step, but it’s likely to be the first of many on a long and strenuous journey.
Please feel free to share your comments. I’m always thrilled to know if I’ve helped you, your business or organization in any way. – Brian
SELL BETTER BY SELLING FASTER
When selling your company’s products or services to your prospects, tell them quickly in a way that stops them, engages them with the necessary information, and nothing more. Skip the fluff, filler and balderdash, and tell them succinctly what they need to hear.
Learn from crime novelist, Elmore Leonard, author of Get Shorty. Asked why his novels are so popular and easy to read… his answer was… “Simple, I just leave out the parts that readers skip anyway.”
Business’s often wonder how long their key sales brochures and marketing collateral should be. The best answer is… use as many words as you need to say exactly what the readers want to know, and not one word more.
Communicate like Elmore Leonard, catch my eye, catch my attention and quickly tell me what I want to know. Tell me quickly and clearly.