Monthly Archives: July 2015

Act Your Age!

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Kate, our sales doyen, sniffed, “Sometimes I think clients are like unruly kids!”

Gail asked, “How so?” How old is our company?

Kate responded, “Jonathan, a client who has been in business forever and over the years volunteered to advise start-ups is going through a life change. He’s retiring from his old business and about to start a new one. He’s so fired up he is overlooking all the basics that need to be done before a launch.”

Rick, Mr. Direct Marketing, asked, “What kind of business is he starting?”

“Consulting,” Kate said. She went on, “He just doesn’t want to do the work he needs to do to increase his chances of success.”

“Could it be an age thing?” I asked. “I don’t mean his age although that is important for consultants but rather a company’s age. Is he thinking like an ‘old-timer” when he is actually a newbie in the new business?”

You’ve updated your Company Phase research again, haven’t you brer’ fox?” said Rob, the Georgia born branding expert.

Chris looked puzzled so Rob continued, “He’s been surveying successful B to B businesses for more years than you’ve been alive. As I recall there are three phases:

  • Start up
  • Growth
  • Established

He’s figured out what marketing works in each phase and because he’s done so much work with consultants he can streamline recommendations and jus’ plain put a jack under your ROI.”

Kate jumped back in asking, “What should I tell Jonathan other than to come talk to you, Fletch?”

“He’s pretty definitely a start up from what you said, so maybe the thing to do is take him for a trip down memory lane. Every business starts the same way whether we want to remember it or not. The differences over time can be put into a 3D matrix. All that changes is Time, Money and Staff. In part, those variables control what you can do to market a firm. But they don’t really change what is effective.”

Chris asked, “So different things are more effective in each phase?”

“You got it. When anyone starts out, especially consultants, they have to get to Trust. There are three ways to get enough trust to get a contract:

  • Sell a previous employer
  • Sell someone referred by a previous employer
  • Network to a previous contact familiar with your work and sell ‘em

Over time, every successful consulting organization, comes to rely on referrals.

Every successful organization.

The Takeaway:

Here are the key ways consultants get business in each phase in order of importance:

Start Up                                     Growth                            Established      

Direct Sales                                Referrals                           Referrals

Networking                                 Direct sales                       Prior experience

Referral                                      Networking                       Direct Sales

Prior experience                          Prior experience                Direct Marketing

Direct Marketing                          Direct Marketing                Everything Else

Everything else                           Everything else                 Networking

 

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and the unruly mob of business development professionals he consorts with. They discuss marketing that works from solopreneur to enterprise level. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 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

 

 

 

 

Coffee, Catchup & Marketing

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“All I did was take her idea and run with it,” I protested.

Coffee, Catchup & Marketing“Not according to her,” said Gail, our resident writer. “She tells me that your comments are changing her life.”

I said, “I just met her for coffee and to find out what has been going on. She told me she was thinking about talking to people who stage houses for sale to see if she could get them to display some of her paintings.”

Boy, drawled Bubba, “You’re jus’ like a chicken, you don’t praise your own soup. What did you tell that sweet thing?”

“She’s an artist,” I said. “She’s started painting full time and has been successful at some local art fairs. She’s starting to get interest…not enough to get into a regular gallery yet, but interest. She suggested the staging thing and my marketing brain kicked in.”

“Thas’ all well and good,” said Bubba, “but will you tell us what you told her?”

“This is a perfect example of how I define marketing:

  1. Go where the money is
  2. Sell what they want to buy
  3. Do it again

“I told her to think about the kind of houses that get staged. They are what I call McMansions. They start north of $400,000. Around here most of them have fireplaces.

The one place in a house like that which a painting of size will get noticed is above the fireplace. The painting must be big enough to hang there and command the space. It has to be an original. That’s the only way to get a good price. Big. Original. Commanding. Expensive.

Selling what they want to buy is where the conversation got interesting. She had been making very expensive photo copies of her work and selling those next to the originals.”

“And the originals sold better,” Kate said, finishing for me.”

“Yes, madam sales master,” I replied. “More importantly she had pretty good sales records of the three major styles she was working in. One approach was selling three times better than the others. Visually it was less complex than either of the others but still gave her a great deal of latitude in which to work. She will build an inventory in that series before moving on to the more complex canvases because she will be able to sell them more quickly.

 

Of course, I suggested she find some way to acquire the names and e-mails of anyone who saw one of her paintings and wanted to see more. For an artist, as foreign as the idea may be, a good CRM system can be crucial. People who buy original art tend to buy again. Staying in touch with them can be the difference between a hobby and career.”

The Takeaway

  1. Go where the money is
  2. Sell what they want to buy
  3. Do it again

 

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and the unruly mob of business development professionals he consorts with. They discuss marketing that works from solopreneur to enterprise level. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 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

 

 

 

What Not To Say For Openers!

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My answer is always the same: “I’m sweet, kind, generous and a regular boy scout. What do you want to sell me?”

“Don’t tell me,” said Bubba, “I’m plumb certain the question was the inevitable ‘how are you today’ asked by a person cold-calling on the phone. And I bet it really messed up the caller when you gave that answer.”

“You got it Bubba. How are you today? is the single dumbest thing I believe you can say in a sales script regardless of if it is on the phone or in person.

Kate, you’re the sales expert, why do people do that?”

Kate said, “Okay, wise guy, what do you say to someone to start the conversation when you’ve never talked to them before? In my view you have to do two things:

  • Put the person you’re talking to in a positive state of mind
  • Get them to let you ask questions

Chris our digital expert asked, “But what do you actually say to get that done?”

Kate said, “Start with their name and then thank them for taking your call and show some concern for their time by telling them you will be brief. Here’s a script I’ve taught successful sales people for years:

Mr. or Ms. Jones thank you for taking my call. I know you’re busy so I will be brief. Introduce yourself followed by their name

It uses their name. That is the strongest set of words for just about anyone. Said properly they hear the respect. Saying thank you drops their reluctance a notch or two more. Acknowledging that he or she is busy and stating that you will be brief gets you just that little bit more attention. Introducing yourself and then saying their name again starts to build a relationship.”

Bubba asked, “So you’re saying there’s an opening and then an introduction, is that right?”

“You bet,” said Kate, “At that point the best approach I’ve seen comes right out of Fletch’s 30-Second Marketing. You have to do three things in this introduction:

  • State the problem that most people that buy your product or service are trying to solve
  • Tell them what you do to solve the problem.
  • Get them to agree to answer a few questions.

Make sense?”

Chris scratched his head and asked, “Can you give me an example?”

Kate responded, “That training company you worked with is a good example. Here’s what I would say in that case:

You know how companies like yours need to have training that meets state and federal requirements and that you can prove your people have taken?

What we do is provide a fully approved on-line program that keeps track of time spent by every one of your people including all their test scores.

Would that be of interest to you?

Understand?”

The Takeaway:

  1. Start with their name
  2. Thank them
  3. Show concern
  4. Promise to be quick
  5. State the common problem
  6. Tell them how you solve it
  7. Get agreement to ask some questions.

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and the unruly mob of business development professionals he consorts with. They discuss marketing that works from solopreneur to enterprise level. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and “Watson” of the dialogue.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 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