Successful Marketing Tools Blog

Marketing Not Selling!

Is This Your Biggest Mistake?

Is your business making this mistake? You believe your small business is all about selling products--a fatal mistake! Put your time, energy and money into this belief and you will not make any real profits! If you want your small business to succeed, your fundamental activity must be marketing. Putting time, energy and money into marketing activities will make you real profits.

The change from selling to marketing reflects the change in today’s world of business. Let me explain. Selling Selling is about you! When you concentrate on selling, you concentrate on your selling skills. How to get sales leads. How to build customer rapport. How to makes sales presentations. How to handle objections. How to close the sale.

When your selling activities don’t produce results, you put time, energy and money into improving yourself. You improve your motivations. You listen to sales tapes. You attend expensive sales seminars. This model of selling—persuading the customer to buy your product was the way selling was done 100 years ago.

The world has changed. Customers have changed. The rules have changed. Marketing Marketing is all about the customer! It means uncovering what the customer wants and how they want it. It means creating solutions that solve the customer’s problem. When you do these things, customers are drawn to you. It is your job to show the customer how your solution solves their problem.

Look at a different business model. You have a family doctor. Did he find you or did you find him? He is perceived to be an expert in his field. You sought him out because of his expertise. He did not use any sales techniques to get you as a client! What would your business be like if you drew customers to you rather than chasing them? What would it do to your sales, to your psyche, to your profits? I am not talking about rocket science.

Try this simple five step approach to begin market based thinking.

Step One--What does your market want?

I am not asking you to explain what you think the market needs. (That’s your judgment of what you think is good for the customer!) What is the pain in your market place? What bothers potential customers most in your market? What do they worry about? What motivates them to action? Find what’s hot in the market and go there!

Step Two--Understand your customer.

Who are they? What do they think? Where do they buy? Why do they buy? The key to Step Two is to uncover the conversation that is going on in your customer’s mind. If you can reflect this conversation in your marketing efforts, they will recognize you as a source for helping solve their problem.

Step Three--Carve out your own niche.

The market is a crowded place. Your potential customer will have many options to solve their problem. You must be different; you must stand out; you must have a unique selling proposition. If you are not unique, you will be lost in the crowd. If you do not have a unique way of packaging your solution, you will be left behind.

Step four--Fashion your message.

What do you want to tell people about your solution? How is your solution different? What will it do? What are the benefits your customer will receive from your product or service? How will it make their life better? Give them testimonials from others who have used your solution. What guarantees do you offer? Do you deliver what you promise day in and day out? These are the elements in your marketing message.

Step Five--Find a marketing medium.

You have a market; you have a message; now you need to identify a medium for matching the message to the market. Do your customers use TV, radio, internet, magazines, direct mailing, postcards, flyers, newsletter or other mediums? What is the best way to contact them? There are a variety of techniques for grabbing people’s attention. The point is to match the medium to your market.

Conclusion

These are not difficult steps. They do produce a different way of doing business. Do these five steps, write them down, put time lines to your activities and create a budget to match. You now have a plan that will help you eliminate the biggest problem of small business owners. You have a plan to change your small business thinking to market based thinking.

Your comments are welcomed…

Create a USP in 30 Minutes

Create a Powerful USP in less than 30 Minutes!

In this blog entry, I am going to show you an easy to use exercise that will help you create your own business brand, your USP in less than 30 minutes.

A few months ago, when I began the transition from my day job to selling on the internet, I was feeling smug. I had written my first e-book, How to Find Security in Tough Economic Times. Things were looking good. At a party, a friend asked me about my new business. "Exactly what are you selling?" I found myself mumbling some pious platitudes about the merits of small businesses.

I realized that while I was excited about my new business, the heart of that business was still deep inside my head. I was embarrassed. My explanation was boring and did little to satisfy my friend’s curiosity. I needed something more. I needed to express what was special and unique about the products I was offering to my clients. I needed a brand for my business. I needed words that would excite my clients about their own small business.

As the article will demonstrate, you do not have to be an expert to create your own brand, your own USP. In30 minutes, you will produce a written form of your core business beliefs and values that will shape other decisions in your small business. You can build a powerful USP 30 Minutes! Do you need a unique selling proposition for your small business? Absolutely! You may accidentally get some business, but without a USP, you will be just another "me too business."

A unique selling advantage is the soul of your business. It is what distinguishes you from your competitors. It is the answer you give when a potential client asks "Why should I buy from you?" Dominos Pizza distinguished themselves from their competitors by promising "Fresh, hot pizza in 30 minutes or the pizza is free!" They made a promise (USP) and they kept it. They built a very successful business around their USP.

Let’s get started. Get some paper and write your answers to the following 10 questions. It will take less than 30 minutes and can help you develop an USP or refocus your existing USP. (To help you answer the following questions, keep in mind the areas where differences can be found: selection, price, client assistance, convenience, location, access, product quality, speed, installation, services beyond the basics, warranties or guarantees.)

1. What client problem do you solve? Describe in one sentence, the problem you are solving with your product or service. Write it in terms a 10 year old child could understand!

2. What voids, gaps in service or typical complaints do clients have about businesses in your industry or service area? List ten. (Numbers 8,9,10 will probably be your best insights!)

3. What would be a client’s perfect product or service in your industry?

4. List five benefits your client receives from your business solutions. These are not the features of your product or service but the benefits the client receives from your product or service.

5. Write a draft paragraph describing your USP—the client’s problem you are addressing, your unique solution and the benefit the client will receive. For example, my first draft read like this: I want to help small businesses find tools that will provide more profits for their business.

6. Look at two or three of your competitors. Write a sentence that describes their USP, i.e. their unique offering. How does it differ from your own?

7. What does your favorite client like most about your business solutions? What are the words they use when they praise your efforts?

8. Look at other industries. Are there innovations or processes in these industries that you could apply to your business? For example, I looked at McDonald’s and saw how they use systems to make things more efficient and effective. How could I develop systems in my business to be used by other small businesses?

9. Now rewrite your business brand. Write it in clear language your clients can understand. (Try using the words they used to compliment you!) Make a simple message. Make it specific. Make a bold promise (adding little value gets little money; adding great value, gets you big money) Make it stand for one distinctive thing. Write this in paragraph form and also in a shorter one sentence version that can be easily repeated.

10. Start using this business brand in draft form.30 days later repeat the above exercise. Revise your brand based on your experiences. Complete the same process in 6 months and you will have a winner. Being brutally honest about your business brand will be your greatest challenge.

You think everyone should want and love your products or services. Is your idea different or better than what others are offering in the market place? What value does it add to your client’s life? Why should a client buy from you? Answer these questions honestly. If your business brand does not meet the above criteria, then find aspects of your industry, client dreams and expectations, or gaps in your industry where you can meet a customer need that is unique and different from your competitors.

Go there and create your product or service.

Clarity is power!

Now, here’s the real power I found with this simple exercise. Every Sunday morning for one month, I completed the 30 minute exercise. Over that period of time I watched my USP change and grow in clarity. Clarity is power! My goals became clearer. My customer focus became sharper. The commitment to my new business became stronger and more exciting. Clarity is power! Now, I love going to parties and telling others about my new business!

You can achieve the same benefits!

Your comments are welcomed...

Networking and 60 Second Commercials--Non-verbal Communications

Step Five

We’ve been talking about the components to make better 60 second commercials. This week I want to talk about the final component—the non-verbal skills used in your commercial.

Did you know that only 7% of communications is accomplished by words? The way you use words is 38% and the remaining 55% is done by visual and non-verbal communications. Let’s look at this non-verbal ways of communicating with others.

Smile

It starts with a smile. Everyone responds to a smile. A smile encourages other to open up to you--makes you more likeable. A non-smile encourages others to move away from you. Smile with your eyes. Research has shown that people find smiles to be most genuine when your eyes scrunch up a bit.

Eye Contact

Making good eye contact with another person shows respect and good manners. The eyes have been called the window of the soul. Make frequent eye contact with a variety of people in the group. Never talk to a group, always individuals in the group. If you need practice do it with stuff animals around your kitchen table!

Dress

The rule of thumb is to dress one or two steps about your prospects. You want people to feel you would be the type of professional they would like to do business with. Some people adopt a signature look by getting noticed and being memorable with a fashion flare. A signature look can be a color, an accessory, a style (for example, 1950s glam), or a special haircut.

Shaking Hands and Posture

How you shake someone’s had tells a lot about you. The hand cannot conceal messages like people’s words. Good posture, standing tall reflects confidence.

Your Voice

Your voice is a powerful tool in getting attention and recognition. Speak loudly, clearly, and at a natural speed (not too slow or you'll be dull and not too fast or people will think you're nervous).

Vary the speed of your commercial - meaning you have parts of your presentation that are faster and other parts slower. Why? Because this is how you stress importance. A varied tone of voice and volume are very important if you want to keep your prospect’s attention and have them understand what you say. It’s what gives your prospect a clue about what is important and what is very important.

Creating Emphasis

Use set-up words that prepare people for what you’re about to emphasize. Like “If you learn nothing else out of tonight’s presentation…” or the “the only reason…” “Because …”. These are great set up words to strength parts of your commercial.

Take a side. Rather than worrying about offending people and choosing a middle of the road position, take a stance. People will respect you for it and it will show your conviction and courage.

Conclusion

Why are these items important? Commercials are communications. We communicate to others most directly with our non-verbal communications. We buy from people we know and like. Improving your non-verbal communication skills can add to your bottom line and it will not cost you one dine to make the changes.

Your comments are welcomed...

Networking and 60 Second Commercials--Non-verbal Communications

How to Give a Dynamic Presentation

Would you like to experience the benefits of being a good speaker? Speaking before groups offers a tremendous opportunity for personal and professional development. Never before have excellent communication skills been more important than they are today. This article contains fifteen elements for making a successful presentation. Use these ideas, and you will speak with greater self confidence and ease before a group of any size.

1. BUILD RAPPORT AND TRUST.

Talk with-not at --your audience. Establish some common ground. Communicate with sincerity and warmth, and make eye contact. In speaking to a large group of secretaries, I established rapport quickly by telling them about my mother's success as a secretary and how much I admired her. I gave them examples of why competent secretaries are the backbone of my successful organization.

2. DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE OPENING.

Grab your audience's attention from the start. Use a dramatic or startling statement, a human interest or personal story, a question, an anecdote or illustration, a relevant quote-or a humorous opening, if appropriate. I recently heard a speaker open with, "I wrote that great introduction you just heard. It gives me something to shoot for when I speak."

3. DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE ENDING

Close with a bang. Use a relevant quote, a poem, or an appeal for action. Give your audience a sincere compliment, a powerful story, or a summary of your main points. Make sure your closing---whatever it is---is relevant to your topic. Also, your entire speech and the ending should be tailored to your audience.

4. REDUCE NERVOUSNESS.

According to the book of lists, public speaking is the number one fear, greater even than the fear of death. Before presenting: Thoroughly prepare and rehearse before your speaking engagement. When you are about to begin, take several deep breaths. Visualize yourself giving a relaxed presentation. During the presentation: Focus on your message and your audience, not on yourself. Give yourself opportunities for physical movement. Don't try to be perfect. Make nervousness work for you. Channel your nervousness into enthusiasm; let your adrenalin take over. Butterflies in your stomach? Let them soar, taking you with them.

5. MAKE YOUR PRESENTATION COME ALIVE.

Talk to the audience in terms of their interests, problems, and concerns. Communicate with vitality and conviction. Talk to, and make eye contact with individual members of the audience. Change the pace with vocal variety and humor, using pauses to emphasize points. Use inspiring human interest stories, making only a few points and supporting them with examples, illustrations, anecdotes, and analogies. Use natural gestures; physically move from time to time instead of remaining behind a podium.

6. USE VOCAL VARIETY.

Variety speed, volume, and pitch. To emphasize points, speed up or slow down, speak more softly or loudly, and allow your voice to rise and fall. Speak conversationally to an audience, but with greater force and energy. Appropriate vocal variety and gestures will naturally occur.

7. VISUAL AIDS, HANDOUTS, OTHER AIDS:

Use visual aids only when needed to clarify a point or idea. Don't show a visual aid to the audience until you are ready to use it. Use visual media as an aid, not as crutch or a substitute. Visual aids should be large, clear, legible, and brief. Avoid talking toward your visual aid or turning your back to the audience. You might provide a brief outline of your objectives, the topics to be covered, and information about yourself. Then supply handouts that reinforce your points. Distribute most handouts at the end of your presentation so that participants maintain eye contact and keep their attention on you during the presentation.

8. TRY USING HUMOR.

You don't have to be funny. But humor can be effective in changing the pace, relaxing the audience, building rapport, and supporting your points. If you are uncomfortable using humor, avoid it-or practice it on your friends and family until you become more comfortable with it. If you use humor, keep it brief, relevant to the topic, and appropriate for the occasion. Do not tell off-color jokes or racial, ethnic, or religious jokes. Don't say, "I'm going to tell you a joke"-just do it. Allow your audience to laugh before you continue speaking. Have a comeback if your attempt at humor fails. Never use humor at the expense of another. However, poking fun at yourself can let your audience know you don't feel superior or have an egotistical attitude. I often tell my audience the following story: A woman and her little boy came up to me after what I thought was one of my most inspiring speeches. The woman gushed, "That was a wonderful talk, and I am so full with your message!" Smiling with delight, I asked her little boy, "And how did you like it, son?" He replied, "Yeah, I got a bellyful of it, too!"

9. INVOLVE YOUR AUDIENCE.

Use stories and examples that relate to audience concerns. Keep your presentation lively, allowing time for questions. Ask if there are questions, and hold the silence a few moments. If no one responds, say, "If there are no questions, let me mention a question I am often asked"-and then answer it. You might also ask questions and request a show of hands.

10. APPEAL TO DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES AND PERSONALITY TYPES.

People think and learn in different ways. Some are more logical; some, more intuitive. Broaden audience response by varying your techniques. Use some human interest stories, appeal to logic, present general themes ("the big picture") and appeal to the senses, providing concrete examples. The success of an engineer often depends upon his or her objective analysis of a problem. If you're speaking to a group of engineers, appeal to their logical thought processes. Present a problem and a logical solution for it, perhaps using a graph based on statistical data. This is not to say that human interest stories or appeals to the emotions are lost on engineers. But they are most likely to be persuaded by logic.

11. MANAGE THE SEATING ARRANGEMENTS.

Being physically close to your audience increases your ability to build rapport. If the audience is scattered, it is more difficult to lead them as one unit. Bring them together, removing large numbers of empty seats. They will be less self-conscious if they are sitting close together. Arrange seats so the audience can easily see you.

12. DEAL WITH DISRUPTIONS.

If you encounter disruptive persons, keep control of your emotions. Do not show irritation. Wait until they finish talking; then use active/reflective listening. Lower your voice; don't try to shout them down. Sometimes humor can reduce the tension. If they continue to be disruptive and it is appropriate, ask them to leave or to meet with you later to discuss their concerns.

13. BE A LEADER.

Your audience expects you to create the atmosphere, set the tone, assume a leadership role, and be in control. They want to be treated with respect. Arrive early to make sure everything is properly set up and ready. Be yourself, allowing your unique personality to shine. Remember, you are there to make something happen, to move your audience in some way. It is up to you to inspire them.

14. KNOW YOUR GOAL.

Every speech has at least one of four goals: to inform or explain, to persuade, to inspire action, or to entertain. Know the goal of your presentation, and keep it in mind as you thoroughly prepare. Lack of preparation reflects indifference and insults your audience. Careful preparation is the only way to achieve the results you want. Use simple and clear language that communicates your ideas in a manner suited to your goal.

15. EXHIBIT VITALITY.

When Dr. Kenneth McFarlin, an outstanding professional speaker, was asked what is the most important quality of a speaker, he responded: "vitality." Vitality includes enthusiasm, energy, forcefulness, and aliveness. It comes from a depth of conviction-a deep belief in yourself and in what you are saying.

CONCLUSION

You will be amazed at the positive influence you will have on others by becoming a good speaker. Public speaking will enrich both your life and the lives of others. Take advantage of opportunities to speak to audiences no matter how small. Remember the words of Demosthenes, one of the world's greatest orators, who said, "Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises."

Copyright 2007. Raymond Gerson About the Author: Raymond Gerson has over 40 years experience teaching career and personal development. He is a former Toastmasters International speech contest winner and teaches college success strategy courses. Raymond is the author of five books including, How to Create the Job You Want. This ebook and an audio recording of Raymond speaking to a live audience are available as free gifts. Go to: http://www.raymondgerson.com/freeGifts_landingPage.html

Networking and 60 Second Commercials--Non-verbal Communications

Here’s a list of things you need to be aware of that will cause your prospect to pay attention to you and truly learn from you.

Vary the speed of your speech

Your speed of delivery must vary - meaning you have parts of your presentation that are faster and other parts slower. Why? Because this is how you stress importance. I’ll go into details about this on the conference call. Vary your voice tone and volume A varied tone of voice and volume are very important if you want to keep your prospect’s attention and have them understand what you say. It’s what gives your prospect a clue about what is important and what is very important.

Create strategic pauses

Extremely effective so the audience feels that you are speaking right to them. Use set-up words and sentences Set-up words are words you say that prepare your prospect for what you’re about to emphasize. Like if I were to say, “If you learn nothing else out of tonight’s presentation…” that would be a set-up sentence to emphasize what I’m about to say.

Build bridges

Another topic is the use of what I call bridges. Bridges are words and or sentences you use to transition from one topic to another. When you’re shifting topics - you need to use a bridge - otherwise your prospect doesn’t follow you and there’s a gap. Many prospects get lost in this G A P between topic 1 and topic 2. It’s not that they don’t understand topic 1 or 2, it’s that they didn’t hear you move from topic 1 to topic 2 and they don’t see how the two topics relate.

Be easily heard

You need to communicate with a volume that each person you’re talking to can hear easily but not so loud that it causes the prospect to feel you’re shouting at them.

Make frequent eye contact

Make frequent eye contact with individual people. I used to practice this at my kitchen table with stuffed animals. I would talk to one animal sitting at the table and then to another one. If you’re talking to a husband and wife, you should talk directly to the wife for 5-10 seconds and then directly to the husband for 5-10 seconds. When speaking to 10,000 people, you look at ONE person and talk to them for 5-10 seconds then pick out another person. Never talk to a crowd.

Tim Sales Support @ FirstClassMLMTools.com
First Class MLM Tools
742 North 1890
West Provo, UT 84601

Your comments are welcomed...

Networking and 60 Second Commercials--Your Credibility

Believability is a Process

Believability is a process. It is not accomplished by one shot credibility techniques. Every prospect has beliefs about himself and his world. Those beliefs help him make decisions. Being consistent with one’s owns beliefs is a powerful motive for every human being. For a customer to buy your product, they must give up their present belief (which prevents him from buying) and accept a new belief which will allow them to buy. Creating believability means removing the gap that exists between the current state of the prospect’s beliefs and the set of beliefs he must have in order for him to buy your product. You do this by getting a sequence of smaller agreements or acceptances from the prospect as you move him along the path to the new belief.

For example: Let’s say you are selling a home study course on your website that can be used to make website changes. You promise this home study course will help the business owner make 20% more sales from his website. You start with the assumption that most business owners do not believe they have the capacity to change their website. Website changes can only be done by a professional website person. Your job is to change the prospect’s belief.

You might start with a statement such as “Are you an owner of a website that has been built within the last five years?” Most prospects would fit this description. Just as importantly, you have started with a first step of agreement, “Yes, my website was built within the last five years.” Then you might then follow up with statements from experts:

Experts tell us…
• 80% of current websites owners are dissatisfied with their website
• Only 25% of website designers remain in business beyond three years
• Average webmasters charges $200.00 per hour to make website changes.

The prospect would probably nod in agreement with these expert statements based on their experiences. This makes sense to him. You might move the prospect forward with additional expert opinions:

The experts also tell us…
• Children in grade school are now building websites,
• New web software makes web changes as easy as word processing
• Websites updated monthly, experience a 20% increase in sales

If the prospect accepts these “expert facts”, he has now begun to move away from his old belief that only a professional can make website changes.

You may go on to restate your original promise. “The experts show that if you want to increase your sales you need to make monthly changes to your website. Software is now available that makes this as easily as operating Microsoft Word. You choose: pay $200 for each change or make the changes yourself.”

Do you see how you have moved the prospect to a point where if he wants more sales he needs to make monthly changes to his website. He can do this himself or spend $200 doing it. You have opened the door to the possibility of making the changes himself.

At his point you might add a testimonial “I have no formal computer training and yet I was able to use your XYZ home study program to create new changes to my website. I created a special monthly sales page on my website that takes me less than one hour each month. I increased my sales by 10% each month. I will continue to create these new monthly sales pages. I love your home study program.” Bob Smith, Atlanta Georgia.

This is a simple example on how your original promise of 20% increase in sales wouldn’t move the prospect because he did not believe this was possible for him to do. By taking the prospect on a journey with a sequence of smaller agreements, you changed his beliefs so he could see himself actually making the changes to his website. He now has embraced a new belief about himself and would be ready to buy. He believes you.

More on credibility in next blog entry. Your comments are welcomed...

Networking and 60 Second Commercials--Your Credibility

The Cost of Distrust Will Cost You Sales

Before we dig deeper into techniques you can use to improve your credibility, there is another issue called the “Cost of Distrust.”’ Steven Covey has written on this subject. Bottom line, mistrust slows everything down and increases costs. For example, When two people have trust with each other, a transaction can go very quickly. Mistrust slows down this process.

It takes more time, more energy to complete the transaction when the two sides don’t trust each other. Each sides wants to be sure. They don’t want to make a mistake. When they feel the conditions are not right, they slow it down. This increases the cost in time and energy to complete the transaction. Whenever you have distrust, expect the transaction to go slower and consequently cost more. Perhaps this explains why businesses today say it takes 8-10 contacts to make a sale. This is up from the 3-4 contacts five years ago.

Credibility Scale

In my pricing materials, I described a pricing scale that everyone carries around in their head. On the left side of the scale is the cost of the product. On the right side of the scale is the perceived value of the product. If the perceived value of the product clearly outweighs the cost, the customer buys. The scale image also applies to believability.

Everyone carries a credibility scale in their head. It’s part of the conversation going on in our heads. It comes into play with every purchase. On the left side of the scale you have doubts, questions, suspicions, and the baggage of our climate of uncertainty. These qualities weigh down the scale and become obstacles to overcome in a purchasing process.

On the right side of the scale is your credibility and believability. With a stranger, you probably start with the scale totally weighed on the left side. With someone you know your scale may be more balanced. Your challenge as a seller of products or services is to move the right side of the scale so it becomes weighed in favor of your creditability. You do this two ways: reduce the lack of credibility and enhance your believability.

More on credibility in the next blog entry.  Your comments are welcomed...

Tips and Suggestions for Stage Four Awareness

Tips and Suggestions for Stage Four Awareness

Today’s customers are more sophisticated. They have seen plenty of offers and selling scams. When they see something too good to be true, they don’t move forward. Let me share with you an example I recently experienced.

I ordered a day planner online. When it arrived, in the box was a special offer for a $49.99 coffee maker and two pound of premium coffee for only $14.99. This included shipping costs and no strings attached for future purchases. The deal sounded too good to be true.

I read the offer several times to find the “hook” in it. Then I asked my wife is she had ever heard of this coffer maker? She said, “Yes. I see a lot of them being sold at garage sales for $5.00.” That was enough for me to stop any further thought about the purchase. But, they almost had me!

The Negative Side of Not Purchasing
Another technique to move the prospect in Stage Four over the purchasing line is to stress the negative consequences of not purchasing your product. You can do this about the future negative consequences. It can also be effective to stress the current pain of not owning your product. I call this intensifying their pain.

Success Stories
A final tip to help your prospect move to a purchase is the use of success stories, case studies and testimonials. In this strategy, you show the prospect how others, just like the prospect, have used your product successfully. If you can get the prospect to identify with the stories and testimonials, you will help them move across the purchasing line.

The key to success with prospects in the Fourth Stage of awareness is know reasons for their procrastination and identifying the hot buttons that push the prospect over the purchasing line. If you are unsure about these, ask some of your favorite customers, “What made you finally purchase my product?” This is a wonderful source of valuable information.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Clients Have Different Awarenesses

Clients Have Four Stages of Awareness

Successful marketing combines the right target market with the right time and the right message. When you get all three ingredients correct at the same time, it usually results in a sale from your prospect. Miss one or more of these ingredients and like a cake missing key ingredients, your marketing flops.

Knowing how to bring together the three ingredients is the art form of successful marketing. How aware is your prospect of their problem and the solutions that exist? Do they want to solve their problem? Can they even articulate their needs about the problem?

From my experience and the experience of others like Eugene Schwwartz in Breakthrough Advertising, I find there are four basic types of prospect awareness that can be addressed with your marketing efforts.

With the first type, the prospect is not aware of their problem or solutions. They know things are not the way they want them to be. They cannot articulate their problem so they cannot focus on solutions.

With the second type, the prospect is aware of their problem. They are not aware of what solutions exist to solve the problem, including your solution.

With the third type, the prospect may be fully aware of their problem. They may know about solutions that resolve the problem. They have not sorted out which solution is the best for them. They are evaluating their options.

With the fourth type, the prospect knows their problem. They know there are solutions. They know your solutions. They are looking for a reason to buy now.

Your marketing will succeed when you structure your message to meet the different prospect situations. Let me give you an example.

Let’s say your prospect is at stage one, trying to focus and articulate their problem. You deliver a marketing message giving reasons why the prospect should buy now. Your message wouldn’t resonate with the prospect. It's like a foreign language to them and would be ignored by them. Your message could be perfect but it fails to communicate to the prospect.

In the next blog entries, we will go more in depth on each of the prospect awareness stages and how to tailor your marketing messages and sales presentation to meet them where they are at.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…

Marketing Awareness--All Prospects Are Not Equal

Marketing Awareness—All Prospects are not Equal

Have you ever experienced the situation where you did everything right with your marketing and sales process and still did not get the sale? The prospect bought from your competitor or simply put off the purchase?

This may have little to do with your materials. More than likely your communications did not match your prospect’s situation.

Good marketing and selling communicate with prospects. All prospects are not equal. Each prospect will be at a different stage in the overall buying process. Knowing these stages allows you to tailor your materials and selling style to match the prospect’s stage. When you match the prospect’s stage, you reap the benefits of more sales and more customers.

In these next series of blog entries, I will explore with you the various stages of the buying process. This applies to all industries. The more you understand these stages, the better you can tailor your efforts to match the prospect’s buying process.

I learned this valuable lesson during my days working the show room floor of my retail flooring business. When I first started, I developed a standard selling process. It usually involved two or three contacts with a prospect. It was a well know fact in our industry that shoppers would go to three or four stores as part of their buying process. I created my marketing and selling process to match this industry standard.

After some years of selling, I realized that some prospects were ready to buy now and were ready to buy from our store. They didn’t want or need the standard selling process. They wanted me to give them a good reason for buying now.

I learned to identify the different prospect buying stages. Once I learned these differences, I tailored my approach to match the prospect’s situations. This resulted in more sales with less time and effort.

Once you learn the framework of the buying process, you can do the same. Understanding this framework becomes an important tool in your marketing efforts to produce more sales with less time and effort.

As always, I welcome your comments and ideas and questions by making comments on these blog entries.

To be continued, your comments are welcomed…