“Martin called me Tuesday to let me know two things:
1. Prototypes of his new product will be available next week.
2. They changed the name of the company based on the suggestion I made for a URL in a planning meeting. Needless to say, I never had that in mind but…”

Rick, our Direct marketing guru, interjected,” Back up. Who is Martin and what is the product and why the name change?”

Kate, Madame sales, said, “And what does all this have to do with a successful sales pitch?”

“I was meeting with Martin and his partner, I replied. “They were updating me on the product development and timing for final prototypes. I asked what they were going to call the product.

When they told me I jumped on it and asked if they had purchased the URL.”

“Good idea,” said Chris our resident digital marketing director. “It can kill you if you can’t use a URL for a product that is the same as the name. If you can, it gives you real advantages. The biggest one is that owning the URL is, in terms of marketing, sometimes more valuable than having a registered trademark.”

“Right,” I agreed. “What happened was that Martin pulled out his smart phone, checked on availability of the URL and bought it in less time than it takes to talk about it. Because the name can easily be put into a catch phrase I suggested how to use it in presentations they have coming up for acquiring more capital for the business. I never thought they would change the name of the company.”

“Could y’all slow down a tinch,” said Rob our branding Guru. I’m gettin’ all tangled up in product names and URLs and Company names and I still don’t have a clue how we gonna get a sales pitch outa this briar patch.”

“Well, Bubba,” I said, I can’t tell you the names because I’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement but I can give you an illustration of how it works. Let’s say your product name is the Real Thing. It’s easy to tell somebody to ‘get the Real Thing.’ I’ve found that anytime you’re doing a presentation where you are trying to sell something it is a good idea to give people a simple summation of what you are asking them to do throughout the presentation. By incorporating the same catch phrase from beginning to end you give the audience a way to remember you and to agree on the action to take.”

Kate said, “You have a point, cowboy, it isn’t subtle but incorporating a repetitive phrase in a presentation particularly to a boardroom full of people can work wonders. But I’ve found it is even more powerful when you combine it with what makes the product unique. I think you call that Positioning, don’t you?”

Gail jumped in saying, “As the writer I have to say that positioning can make my job easier. If I can tell the people that get the greatest good from a product how it uniquely fits into their need or use or occasion it is a lot easier to make the sale in print or video.”

I said, “You’re absolutely right. Sometimes there is a real difference. Other times it is a perceived difference. For instance, do you want your car repaired with replacement or genuine parts? Would you prefer a clone or the real thing? Do you want the one that can sort of do what you want or the one that is optimized? Positioning can give you that advantage in the marketplace.

Bubba said, “And that all stacks up to build a better brand.”

The Takeaway Build a repetitive phrase that incorporates your name and positioning into sales presentations to achieve greater success.

Get a FREE copy of the ABCs of Marketing Without Money TM. Go to www.jerryfletcher.com/Profit.html and we will send you a link to get your copy.

This blog recaps the luncheon conversations of a group of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly but mostly what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and the one that writes up their comments.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 20 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com