Generating new clients and revenues . . . as a business owner or professional . . . who is rendering an intangible service . . . is built upon three fundamental strategies and six key elements: STRATEGIES Collecting . . . a database of prospects along with their 1) permission, 2) preferences, and 3) e-mail address Differentiating . . . yourself in the Hearts and Minds of your target market (prospects) Re-Minding . . . your market members that you exist regularly and repeatedly over time In time, these three strategies will overlap, thus leveraging your marketing efforts synergistically. In addition to the above, you must also become clear about several other things: ELEMENTS Mission This is WHY you exist -- as your clients (not you!) perceive and describe it Market This is the group/s of people WHO can best value and embrace your Mission Message This is WHAT you use to communicate your Mission to your Market members Media This is HOW you get your Message, reflecting your Mission, to your Market Method This is your PLAN for orchestrating all the myriad tasks of your marketing Management This is operating your business in a way that ALIGNS your Mission for your Market When you have developed insights and information in each of the above areas of your business, you will experience a mindfulness in your marketing that few business owners ever enjoy. In effect, while anyone in your profession can practice their skills, as a mindful marketeer you will also be able to increase the quantity and improve the quality of opportunities where your selling skills can be used. Ultimately, that means you’ll be practicing more than most of your colleagues and ‘going to the bank’ a little more often with a lot more money! In the following pages, we’ll be working to get you better acquainted with these three critical strategies and six key elements of your marketing. Welcome aboard . . . let’s get started! The Marketing Blueprint by Bill Doerr, CCO • SellMore Marketing, LLC Bill Doerr, Advisor Southway Executive Park 35 Cold Spring Road Building 400, FL 2 Rocky Hill, CT 06067 TEL: 860-798-6964 860-563-0480 FAX: 860-563-0524 WEB: www.sellmoremarketing.com
Transcript
Generating new clients and revenues . . . as a business owner or professional . . . who is rendering an intangible service . . . is built upon three fundamental strategies and six key elements:
STRATEGIES
Collecting . . . a database of prospects along with their 1) permission, 2) preferences, and 3) e-mail address
Differentiating . . . yourself in the Hearts and Minds of your target market (prospects)
Re-Minding . . . your market members that you exist regularly and repeatedly over time
In time, these three strategies will overlap, thus leveraging your marketing efforts synergistically.
In addition to the above, you must also become clear about several other things:
ELEMENTS
Mission This is WHY you exist -- as your clients (not you!) perceive and describe it
Market This is the group/s of people WHO can best value and embrace your Mission
Message This is WHAT you use to communicate your Mission to your Market members
Media This is HOW you get your Message, reflecting your Mission, to your Market
Method This is your PLAN for orchestrating all the myriad tasks of your marketing
Management This is operating your business in a way that ALIGNS your Mission for your Market
When you have developed insights and information in each of the above areas of your business,you will experience a mindfulness in your marketing that few business owners ever enjoy.
In effect, while anyone in your profession can practice their skills, as a mindful marketeer you will also be able to increase the quantity and improve the quality of opportunities where your selling skills can be used.
Ultimately, that means you’ll be practicing more than most of your colleagues and ‘going to the bank’a little more often with a lot more money!
In the following pages, we’ll be working to get you better acquainted with these three critical strategiesand six key elements of your marketing.
Your first marketing strategy requires that you accumulate contact information on individuals who are potential buyers of the products and services that you offer.
In addition, you also want to obtain three things from each individual you’re entering into your prospect database:
1. PERMISSION . . . to communicate (i.e. ‘market’) with them over time
2. PREFERENCES . . . to communicate what is relevant to them . . . as they define it
3. E-MAIL ADDRESS . . . to communicate in a timely, repeatable and cost-effective manner
Why?
Because marketing is about connecting repeatedly . . . with prospects for your business or practice. And, unless all these elements are present, you’ll find marketing is a lot harder than you’ll like.
PERMISSIONWithout ‘permission’ to contact a prospect, you’re just part of the ‘mental clutter’ that is growing on your prospects at an increasingly alarming rate. But, by having permission to ‘reach out’ to people you’re seeking to do business with, you’re getting something that comes with that very same permission -- the ATTENTION of your prospects.
Because of this mental ‘clutter’ in your prospect’s world, it’s quite difficult (and, therefore expensive!) to break through that mental clutter and get the attention of your prospects.
This is why it takes ‘Deep Pockets’ to use advertising that generates results. You have to wage a ‘campaign’ of repeated exposures, through relentless advertising, to effectively reach the Mind of your prospects.
Because of the ‘clutter’, the cost of promotional advertising has gone up while it effectiveness has gone down. Taken to the ultimate extreme, ‘clutter’ creates a ‘fatal flaw’ for smaller firms and professionals –– most won’t be able to invest enough money to get it back! As a result, the traditional ‘mass media’ is steadily growing out of the reach of most businesses to use it successfully (i.e. profitably!).
PREFERENCESDo you know the difference between a ‘bore’ and a ‘stunning conversationalist’? One of them actually listens to you . . . the other just tells you what they want to talk about!
In conversational marketing –– where you establish and maintain an on-going dialogue with your prospectsand clients –– there’s a point I want you to keep in mind as you do your marketing:
“If you’re not talking about what your prospect wants to know ...you’ll be talking to yourself before too long”
THAT . . . is why you must learn what interests and concerns your prospects! And that necessarily includes things that have nothing to do with what you’re hoping to sell to them.
I visited Disney World not long ago. In EPCOT I picked up a few picturesque postcards in ‘France’ for a Francophile client. My action had nothing to do with what I do for him as a client. But, it had everything to do with being –– and remaining –– a relevant person in his life.
You too must learn what matters to your prospects and then become a source of information on those things that your prospects care about. Once you demonstrate that you care about what matters to your prospects, they’ll respond and prefer to buy from you . . . all things being equal.
Remember –– prospects vote with their wallets. So, even if you seem to offer what everyone else offers . . . but . . . you’ve captured the hearts and Mind of your prospects . . . YOU win!
Strategy:Collecting a Database of ProspectsStrategies
E-MAIL ADDRESSESWithout e-mail addresses, you’ll find that connecting with your prospects over time is prohibitively expensiveand labor-intensive. Hence, a big ‘knock-out’ factor for many who would like to ‘keep in touch’ with their prospects who have invited them to do so.
Enter E-Mail. Currently, it’s the only communication medium that is affordable enough for a smaller business or professional to use on a frequent and repeated basis with their clients and prospects.
E-Mail eliminates the bulk of the cost of preparing a communication or maintaining an on-going campaign ofrepeated contacts. Thus, by becoming affordable, it is sustainable –– a key to owning your market’s Mind!
Unfortunately, e-mail has been abused by people who use the medium to SPAM their recipients with their ‘B.S.’ marketing messages. This is what contributes to the ‘clutter’ problem I mentioned earlier.
And that is precisely why you must only market to people who have given you both their permission to contact them and their preferences or interests. When you do that, you’ll always be relevant to your prospects.
Having permission to contact people means you’ll be reaching more people, more of the time and gaining more access to a precious commodity in marketing . . . your prospect’s ATTENTION!
When you have the ‘attention’ of most of the people you want to sell in the future, you’re going to get the bulk of their business. That’s a bet you can take to the bank –– your bank!
How do you collect this kind of information on your prospects? There are a variety of ways.
As we work together, the best options for you to use will become increasingly clear.
For now, let’s just explore a few of the many ways you might go about accumulating information for yourprospect database. Not all may apply to you and your business or practice. But, as you’re learning about thekind of creative approaches you’re about to read . . . keep thinking about how you might adapt the same kindof ‘creativity’ to the marketing of your business.
The Great Pumpkin Decorating ContestLet’s say you’re seeking to work with people who are parents of young children. You make arrangementswith a local pumpkin grower to buy a few hundred pumpkins in the fall. (if you’re not sure how to find thesegrowers -- ask me!) You’ll be able to buy a small truckload for a few hundred dollars. Now you hold a pumpkindecorating contest. Your business offers to give away (yep, FREE!) pumpkins to any child in grades K-8 so they can decorate, enter and win. Of course, in order to qualify for the pumpkin and enter the contest, a parent or legal guardian first has to register their child. Guess what? The registration requires that the parent’s information -- and e-mail -- be provided. If you also add a box offering a Special Report on “Ten (10) Ways To Generate Maximum Results for College Using Your State’s 529 Plan” you’ll also have permission to send that report via e-mail. Then, when it arrives, you can invite the recipient parent or guardian to give you permission to ‘keep in touch’ on financial matters of interest to parents of school-age children. This specific approach has been used repeatedly and successfully by financial planners in all parts of the country.
The “Brilliant Strategies and Fatal Blunders” Small Business Owner EventIn this case, you’re seeking to attract (and, collect) information on prospects who are local business owners. This idea involves offering an ‘Event’ for local business owners that reveals ‘insider success secrets’ on what other firms are doing to compete in ‘highly competitive and over-crowded marketplaces’.
Of course, it helps if you can find a sponsoring organization to ‘host’ this program –– a Chamber of Commerce is ideal and usually receptive to this kind of idea. Or, you could offer the program for free and team up with a charity (like a ‘Food Bank’) with a ‘donation’ to the charity being the admission fee to attend your program.
Bottom Line: You’ll soon be collecting the names –– permission and preferences –– of LOTS of ‘ideal prospects’!
Kid’s ID Day Again, let’s say you want to do business with people who have ‘family responsibilities’. That means they areprobably homeowners with a mortgage and children who are counting on their parents to support them through their college years. Ideal prospects for a financial planner.
So you hold an event . . . maybe twice a year . . . where you’ll ‘team up’ with the local Police Department to createa ‘Kids ID Day’ for children in your area. Now guess who’s going to care? Yep, the parents of young children. They are the people you’re really targeting to ‘come out of the woods’ and identify themselves to you. Right?
It’s easy to get community-minded organizations to help co-sponsor this kind of event. A PTA/PTO Chapter, the Children’s Books department of national bookstores like a Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. have found this kind of civic-minded event to be ideal venues to reach out, touch their community and . . . target prospects.
Next, you offer . . . to give parents a FREE kit (your actual cost is nominal, believe me!) that will: • create a Police-friendly photograph of a child –– if the child is ever reported lost or missing, • provide guidelines on how to work with Police –– to quickly recover a missing child, and • record the child’s fingerprints –– that’s a big help to the Police in their efforts
To enjoy all this, the parents are going to have to ‘sign up’ with you and that’s how you’ll get their contact information such as e-mail address and permission to ‘keep in touch’.
Golf TournamentsDo your ‘Ideal Prospects’ include small business owners, corporate executives and/or mid-level managers? If so, you may like this approach for collecting the e-mail address and other information you’ll want from people fitting these characteristics.
First, don’t play golf in the tournament. Why? Because if you do, you will get to know three other guys that you’ll play with . . . out of the 100 plus players who may be golfing that day in the tournament.
Instead, sponsor a hole. Preferably a par 3. Position yourself at the hole and wait for the foursomes to come along. Have a box of cigars (real and bubble-gum) to offer your golfers and cold beverages -- beers and sodas will do nicely.
When the golfers arrive and take a refreshment break, offer to take their picture! Crowd them in tight fora nice shot and offer to send them the photo via e-mail. Of course, you’ll need to collect their e-mail address to do this, right? Exactly!
Some variations on this have revealed some incredible creativity. One fellow put up a sign on a par 3 offering “Free Car To WORST Shot” on the hole. After letting each foursome tee off . . . the ‘worst shot’ winner was awarded on-the-spot! How? By ceremoniously giving the ‘worst shot’ a car. But the car was a ‘matchbox’ series scale replica! After letting the foursome tee off, the sponsor asked the hapless ‘winner’ to accept his car and pose with it on bended knee while his buddies crowded around and mugged with him for the camera. You can bet those ‘trophies’ were the talk of the tournament and the photos were shared over and over again! This gained the sponsor more notariety and goodwill than you would have been gained by actually playing in the tour-nament as ‘just another player’. Look, if you want to play golf . . . play golf. But, if you want to prospect effectively . . . you must get creative!
Summary: CollectingAs you’ve just seen with these four (of many more!) simple approaches, with a little creativity, you can find ways to attract the attention –– and goodwill –– of people who fit a profile that suggests they’re the kind of people who will, sooner or later, need to buy what you’re selling. Keep in touch and they’ll buy it from you!
As the fabled recipe for Welsh Rarebit (often mispronounced as Welsh Rabbit) is reputed to start, “First . . . ye has t’catch the rabbit”. My point? If you want to eat, you have to ‘catch’ something to eat as a first step!
You want to collect the name, e-mail address, permission and preferences from the kind of person who represents (to you) a ‘better-than-average’ opportunity to do business with you in the future.
If you collect them . . . and cultivate them . . . you’ll reap the harvest of their future business. Some call this your prospects LTV –– Lifetime Value. Stew Leonard, the famous grocer used to tell hisstaff, “I want you to picture a sign on each customer’s forehead with $58,000 on it. THAT . . . is what our AVERAGE shopper is going to spend with us before they move away or pass away . . . so take good care of them!”
Over time, a good prospect for your business will spend a small fortune on what you’re selling.
By cultivating them . . . ‘keeping-in-touch’ . . . odds are good they’ll be spending it with YOU!
Your second key marketing strategy requires that you create what my friend Bob Krumroy, in Greensboro, NC.refers to as ‘market intrigue’. Bob should know. He authored the book: Distinct or Extinct. Good book, too.
Standing out to your marketplace involves things you do to manage an experience that creates impressions that support a perception that creates a reality which invites your prospects to behave in a certain way –– i.e. to be attracted to work with you MORE than they are with other firms or providers in your line of work or profession.
Let’s be blunt. It doesn’t matter if you’re ‘outstanding’ in your field. Even the ‘best’ in your business. Why?Because if you’re not ‘standing out’ to prospects seeking your problem-solving expertise, it just doesn’t matter.
So this strategy requires that we work on creating an experience . . . a perceived reality . . . between you and your market members that will both ATTRACT qualified prospects to you and create AFFECTION for you.
At this point, I just want you to know that these are THE outcomes you’ll use to guide you in becoming THEPreferred Provider’ of your problem-solving expertise in the Minds of the group/s of people (i.e. your market!)who can best appreciate your Mission. Once you do, your marketplace will demonstrate that appreciation, ultimately, through their behavior –– by actually buying what you’re selling with you more than anyone else.
Differentiating yourself to your marketplace involves doing three (3) key things:
1. SPECIALIZING . . . to become a ‘Preferred Provider’ of your services in the Mind of your market
2. MANAGING YOUR PROSPECT’S EXPERIENCE . . . to generate attraction to and affection for you and your company
3. USING YOUR CREATIVITY . . . to capture the attention and receptivity of the people you want as customers
Let’s explore each of these in some more detail:
SPECIALIZINGIn their book The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing authors Al Ries and Jack Trout discuss the laws involvingLeadership and Focus.
On Leadership, they have this to say:
Many people believe that the basic issue in marketing is convincing prospects that you have a better product or service. Not True. The basic issue is creating a category you can be first in . . . in the Mind of your marketplace . . . and it IS better to be first than better
To demonstrate this point, they pose two questions:
1. Who was the FIRST person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?
2. Who was the SECOND person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?
If you said, “Charles Lindbergh” to the first question, you’d be right. But who did you identify for the secondquestion? What? You don’t know? Most don’t. And that . . . is the point! Actually, the person who flew soloacross the Atlantic AFTER Lindbergh did it faster and used less fuel. His name was Bert Hinkler. Unfortunately, Bert is not as familiar to most people as Lindbergh. Technically, Hinkler was the better aviator.But, ‘Lucky Lindy’ owns the category of ‘famous aviators’ in the Mind of most people. Lindbergh is FIRST . . . he’s THE leader in that category. After him . . . all the others are just forgotten and get lost in the pack.
So, if you have a choice to be thought of FIRST or thought of as BETTER . . . choose FIRST! Lead the pack!
OK, keep all this in mind as we proceed to the second law . . .
A company can become incredibly successful if it can find a way to ‘own’ a word in the Mind of its prospects. Not a complicated word . . . but a word that represents the category. For example if the words: PC software, copier, chocolate bar, cola and tissue are offered . . . most people will identify the following: Microsoft, Xerox, Hershey, Coke and Kleenex.
Then, they went on . . .
The ESSENCE of good marketing is NARROWING your focus. You are STRONGER when your reduce the scope of your offering. You cannot stand out for some-thing if you chase after every-thing. And, you can’t narrow your focus without proponents for an opposite position or point-of-view
For example, how can you position yourself as an ‘honest’ politician if there are no ‘dishonest’ ones? Or, a‘caring physician’ if there are no insoucient SOB’s at the HMO denying you treatments? See my point?
Now, you may not ever ‘own’ a single word that people associate exclusively with your business. But you canbe seen (perception, remember?) in a special light by your prospects. How? SPECIALIZE!!
So let’s go back to specializing as a KEY to building your brand . . . your identity . . . in the local marketplace.
IF you are perceived as THE preferred provider of your service or product . . . THEN you’ll enjoy sales at the expense of possibly ‘better’ but certainly ‘secondary’ competitors who are operating in your marketplace.
Let’s say you’re at a business function –– a Chamber meeting –– and you’re introducing yourself to a prospective client. You say, “I’m _________________, and I specialize in working with ____________s”.
What effect will that have on someone who is a member of the market you’re seeking to serve? They’re going to feel that, all things being equal, you’re a PREFERRED PROVIDER . . . if they need what you do, aren’t they?
A few years ago, our cat Susie became suddenly and seriously ill. I was distraught! I drove Susie through afreezing rainstorm to a 24 hour Emergency Veterinary Hospital. When I got there I was told, “Dr. Conner will be right with you and, lucky for you . . . she’s a SPECIALIST in feline medicine”. I felt better at once! See? And that . . . is why a specialist has an unfair competitive advantage . . . ‘all things being equal’. (‘cause they never are, are they?)
So NEVER . . . underestimate the power of being someone who specializes in the needs of a special group ofprospects for your business!
By saying, “I specialize in working with . . .” you’re beginning to create a potent form of Market Intrigue. You’re not just another pretty face in your field. No. You’re a specialist . . . a preferred provider of the benefits your prospects want to enjoy in their lives.
THAT is your competitive advantage in the marketplace you want to attract, sell and retain for their LTV.
Remember, if your marketplace perceives you as someone who, all things being equal . . . is also a specialistwho works exclusively (Focus, remember?) with people like themselves, you’re not equal . . . you’re better!
Now, couple ‘better’ with ‘first’ and you ARE going to own the market you’re seeking to attract.
Good marketers understand that all reality is subjective. If a prospect believes something is true, it is. But great marketers (and you want to be in that group, right?) understand that reality is what you make it.Here’s how this applies to you:
First, understand that marketing begins and ends with BEHAVIOR. First, yours. Ultimately, your prospect’s.
Your behavior creates an ‘experience’ for your prospects and clients. Your experience becomes their reality!
From the experience they have with you –– and each contact with you is an experience –– they develop some im-pressions. As their impressions grow in number, they begin to form a perception about you. THAT is now their reality. Real or not. (It’s real to them, remember?)
Hopefully, their perception of you and your firm makes you attractive to them and feel good about you -- there’s the affection! That’s why a ‘birthday’ lunch or a ‘just-because’ card does so much for you.
Now, if your prospects begin to develop an awareness of what you can do for them (benefits that reduce / elimi-nate their PAINS) and they want the benefits you offer . . . who will they prefer to use to get those benefits . . . hmm? Well, if they perceive (reality!) that you’re THE ‘Preferred Provider’ of the benefits they want and they’re ready to buy . . . odds are seriously in your favor that you’ll be the one they buy from. Make sense?
So their behavior . . . which all started with your behavior . . . will result in revenue for you. Nice, huh?
Over time, if you continue to manage their experiences with your firm, they’ll continue to buy from you. That’s where repeat sales, customer loyalty and profit-able business comes from!
Remember . . . if your behaviors create experiences that make impressions that cause prospects to form a percep-tion about you that makes you attractive to buy from . . . and they ever want the benefits you offer . . . they’ll be buying from you! But never, ever forget:
MANAGING YOUR PROSPECTS EXPERIENCE
“All reality is subjective reality”
You know it’s true. We only know what what ‘we’ know, right? Reality is always a personal reality. As the famous saying goes, “Beauty . . . is in the eye of the beholder”. Reality is ALWAYS personal.
In marketing, this means that your prospects believe they know what’s real. For them. Even if it’s not.
To see how this works out in the ‘real’ world, look at this ‘reality’ pyramid:
You want a classic example of how this really works? OK . . . let’s go back a few years.
A famous example in social psychology occurred back in the 1964 presidential election.
Barry Goldwater, the Republican Senator from Arizona was running against the incumbent Democrat -- Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson became the President when JFK was assassinated in 1963. So he was not elected in his own right. That might explain why the Democrats did what they did to win the election. They did good, too. Here’s what happened:
One Sunday evening the Democrats ran a single ad on national television in prime time.
In it, a little girl is walking across a field of flowers. She’s plucking petals off a daisy. As she’s plucking, theannouncer is saying, “Ten, nine, eight, seven . . .” As the countdown reaches ‘zero’, the TV screen goes black.
Two seconds later, the infamous mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb fills the screen. Again, the screen goesblack. Two seconds later, in white letters on an otherwise black TV screen, this message appears:
Long story short. The Republicans were furious. They called the Democrats in protest. They agreed not to run the ad again. But, the damage was already done. Goldwater would never win the election.
The common (subjective!) reality of the country in 1964 was that Goldwater was a well-known ‘Hawk’ who advocated escalating US military forces to resolve the conflict the United States was involved in Viet Nam.
The common reality was also a fear that if Goldwater was elected to the White House, he’d commit more US military forces –– maybe even the atom bomb! –– to resolve the Viet Nam conflict. Voters were scared!
True or not, the BEHAVIOR of the American people (i.e. the way they voted in the 1964 presidential election)reflected that they did NOT want Goldwater to run the country. They did not want a ‘hawk’. They did not want further military escalation in southeast asia. And guess what? Goldwater lost the 1964 election. Actu-ally, he really lost it the night that commercial ran on national television.
Would Goldwater have really used the A-Bomb? We’ll never know. But remember this: people behaved byvoting . . . based on what they believed was real about Goldwater. Reality is subjective . . . remember?
And your prospects will behave appropriately toward you . . . based on what they believe is ‘real’ about you.Whether it’s truly real. Or, not. Their reality IS real. For them. And really, that’s ALL that matters!
You’ll learn more about how this idea applies in your business as we work together. But for now, just understand that the reality your prospects have about you and your business determines how they’ll behave toward you. And, how they’ll behave toward your competitors!
If (and boy this is a BIG if!) you can manage the experience your prospects have with you . . . you’ll be able to control, to a significant degree, their impressions about you. Ultimately, that will affect how they’re going to behave toward you, too.
Now here’s the ‘Good’ news . . . as the pyramid on page 7 illustrates, it is your behavior that initially and thenultimately determines what your prospects reality -- and buying behavior -- is going to be.
As the saying goes, ‘You are the captain of your destiny’. In marketing your products and services that’s true.
What you must learn to do is to manage the EXPERIENCE your prospects and customers have with you so they believe that you are THE ‘Preferred Provider’ in your field and marketing area.
Once you manage to pull that one off . . . you’ll own your marketplace. Count on it!
USING YOUR CREATIVITYEarlier I said the three keys -- specializing, differentiating and being creative in your marketing would overlap.
Rather than talk about ‘creativity’ in the abstract, let me share just two concrete examples of what some otherbusinesses are doing to wage an ‘AA’ (Attraction and Affection) campaign. There are many, many more.
As you read about these firms, note how they create an experience for their marketplace that gives these firms an UNfair competitive edge. You should be able to see how, using your creativity, you might apply some of these same tactics to help you ‘stand out’ to your marketplace as well.
The ‘No Name’ Soup KitchenIf you’ve seen the ‘Seinfeld’ episode involving the famous ‘Soup Nazi’, you’ve got the basic idea here. Actually,the No Name Soup Kitchen was the basis (loosely!) for that episode. The restaurant is located in Chicago, IL and a second one is in Roanoke, VA. The staff is pleasantly brusque with the patrons and it’s not very big –– just a few tables and chairs. Most of their business is ‘take out’. Also, they only serve soup and fresh bread.
But their business is booming! They’re attracting customers from far and wide because of how they operate.Hey –– how they operate => the experience they create => the behavior the customer gives back! Remember?
Now to start with, they don’t have ordinary soups. Nope. Instead of Chili, they have a concoction they call“Take Your Last Breath Chili”. Or perhaps you’d prefer their “Chicken Little Barnyard Noodle Fantasy”. Immediately you know you’re not in any ‘Me-too, copy-cat’ restaurant.
If you’re a new customer –– and the staff always seems to spot you if you are –– they’ll shove a card in front of you and say, “Here –– give us your name and e-mail address . . . and be quick about it! You’re holding up the line and the other customers will probably want to kill you if you take too long . . . and Momma won’t be too happy about your delaying, either. So come on now . . . Finish your card and we take your order!” Everyone in the place laughs. And you’re laughing, too –– as you fill out the registration card . . . just as they asked!
As a reward, you get an extra-large yeast roll (a micro-experience!) that’s yours FREE . . . compliments of the No Name staff . . . and, of course, that mysterious ‘Momma’ you never seem to meet. So now you’ve got this huge roll and truly delicious soup. And the No Name Soup Kitchen has your name and e-mail address. Now what? Well, now they’re going to leverage your initial experience with them, that’s what!
From that fateful day forward, you’ll receive an e-mail from the No Name Soup Kitchen about twice a week. You’ll learn what zany-named soups they’re planning to offer and when, the weather forecast for Chicago, how their beloved Cubs or Bears are doing at that point in the season, that their kids made honor roll, and maybe a cute story from ‘Momma’ on her vacation to Vegas. All these are nice ‘touches’ –– mostly for your heart –– that make you feel like these people ARE people. People like you. People you like. People you’ll go back to visit again.
This is where that ‘intrigue’ factor Bob Krumroy talks about comes in. It’s also where the Attraction and Af-fection factors become realities for their patrons. Sure, there were other restaurants before this one came along. But, there are none just like it. And very, very few . . . that you’ll ever like to eat in as much. The No Name Soup Kitchen is a marketing winner!
Kobey Financial CorporationIvan kobey is an investment advisor in Arizona. Truly an overcrowded and highly competitive field, right?Understandably, Ivan wanted to stand out from other advisors in his local marketplace. So he came up with anidea to produce a daily financial report. By design. It has just enough information to fit on a card about the size of a typical postcard. He calls it the “Kobey Financial Update”. Simple. Catchy, too.
Anyway, Ivan brings his little report to the attention of some up-scale restaurant owners in the Phoenix, AZ area. They agree to let him place it on their tables (as a ‘tent card’) as a benefit (experience!) for their diners. Well, it turns out to be a BIG HIT! More importantly, it positions Ivan as a bona-fide expert in his field.
Soon, Ivan is being asked if he’d send his ‘Kobey Financial Update’ to folks directly via e-mail. He agreed. Now they also go out by e-mail. Remember . . . permission and preferences? He has BOTH! Plus, he’s using a creative and very inexpensive form of delivery, too. Nice! Speed ahead a little . . . Ivan’s now pretty darned popular. He gives speeches on investing about 10 times a week. Also, other firms asked if he would collaborate with them to send his daily e-mails to their clients. That positions both Ivan and the other firms as unique and valuable (i.e. attractive) people to know. Ivan’s ‘market intrigue’ factor? It’s Off-The-Chart!
Summary: DifferentiatingBy being just slightly creative, you can save yourself a lot of money that might otherwise be spent on promotional media that won’t do anywhere near as much as a little creativity will do . . . for you.
With permission to contact your prospects and their preferences (i.e. what they want-to-know) you’ll need: 1. a PLAN to do that, and
2. the MEANS to implement / maintain it
We’re talking about Cultivating . . . relationships with people who are important to your success: • Prospects • Clients • Centers-of-Influence Basically, anyone who’s going to help you to be successful in your business must be cultivated. Why? Fair question. To start with, here are ten good reasons:
Your prospects, clients and centers-of-influence:
1 .......have a very short-term memory –– and when you’re out-of-touch = you’re out-of-mind 2 ......may not be ready to buy . . . when you initially contact them . . . but they will be eventually 3 ......prefer to buy from people they know . . . over people they don’t 4 ......prefer to buy from people they like . . . over people they don’t 5 ......prefer to buy from people they trust . . . over people they don’t 6 ......have a lifetime value of purchases they’ll make -- but you’ll miss out on them if you’re not there! 7 ......may need and want your benefits . . . but haven’t hit ‘critical mass’ . . . not just yet 8 ......may be unaware of everything you can do for them . . . initially 9 ......may already be working with a competitor . . . when you first contact them 10 .....want to be courted (not with flowers and candy) but with affectionate ‘experiences’ over time
Your Cultivation PLANIn order to build an attraction to and affection for you, it’s imperative that you KEEP-IN-TOUCH . . . with anyone who, in your opinion, is going to be important to your success.
To do this, you’ll need to build and use two kinds of cultivation plans. One is tactical. The other is strategic.
1. Tactical Cultivation Plan This helps you INITIATE a differentiating ‘experience’ with anyone you’d like to cultivate over time.
2. Strategic Cultivation Plan This helps you SUSTAIN a differentiating ‘experience’ –– over a longer period of time.
On page 11, you’ll see a graphic illustration showing what each kind of plan might look like. Remember, these plans are basic. But they represent the essence of what successful cultivation plans look like. Study them and then pattern your own plans after them. When you do, you’ll be enjoying considerable success. Tactical Cultivation PlanAs soon as you determine that you have a QUALIFIED SUSPECT for your services, you’ll want to immediately communicate with them to begin their cultivation process. This is an ‘Experience’ . . . remember?
Initially, you do this by simply sending the person some kind of ‘follow-up’ communication. As suggested on the next page, this can be done nicely with a (brief!) follow-up letter, e-mail or notecard.
The issue is not so much what you say as that you do something to recognize that you and your prospect have agreed to embark on a longer term relationship involving repeated and invited contacts from you!
IMMEDIATELY . . . Send Follow Up Letter, e-mail, notecard *, etc. • “Thank you” -- for your time & attention • Acknowledge -- your agreement to K. I. T • Preview -- future contacts: type and timing
5-7 Days Later . . . Make a Follow Up Phone Call • Answer any questions / concerns • Review future contacts: type and timing • Reconfirm commitment to K. I. T. (Keep In Touch)
On-Going Contacts (see Strategic Plan below!) • Monthly: postcards, letters, e-mails, e-zines, etc.
• Ad Hoc Communications: “specialized content reflecting your prospects’ interests”
• Quarterly: K.I.T. phone calls -- to REqualify their validity / potential
Tactical Cultivation Plan
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Once you send the follow-up communication, you’ll want to contact the person by phone in about 5 - 7 days just to “Check in . . . and answer any questions you might have about what I’d sent to you . . . ”.
This is a powerful experience for most people -- especially if it’s after they said they weren’t quite ready to talk seriously with you. How often has someone done that with you? See . . . it doesn’t happen! And, it’s just one way (of many!) that you can begin to ‘Stand Out’ . . . in the Mind . . . of your prospects.
Finally, you’ll want to be sure you put them into your CULTIVATION DATABASE. Why? To be sure: 1. they receive the communications you want them to receive over time, 2. they receive them in a timely manner (i.e. per the schedule called for in your strategic plan), 3. they are returned to your attention for periodic re-qualification ‘KIT’ telephone calls
* NOTE: unless you have a really classy e-mail (not plain old text e-mail!) you’re better off using a tangible mailing of some sort –– a letter or notecard / tentcard is ideal.
Your MEANS . . . For KEEPING-IN-TOUCHYou need a way to keep-in-touch . . . to communicate . . . with the various people you’re cultivating.
Earlier, I suggested that you obtain the e-mail addresses of these people. Here’s why:
Without e-mail addresses, connecting with prospects, clients and Centers-of-Influence is prohibitively expensive and labor-intensive. Hence, a knock-out factor for keeping-in-touch with your permissioned prospects and clients.
In all my years of working with salespeople I’ve learned a big truth . . . about connecting with prospects:
If keeping-in-touch isn’t ‘Brain-less’ and ‘PAIN-less’, it’s ‘Worthless’!”
The reason is simple. You’re just too busy to worry about managing your marketing cultivation system!
Enter E-MAIL. Enter a SYSTEM. Enter a ‘Brainless and Painless’ system. (Puts a smile on your face!)
Currently, e-mail is the only communication medium that is affordable enough for any small business to use on a frequent and repeated basis to ‘keep-in-touch’ / ‘keep-in-mind’ with their clients and prospects.
E-Mail eliminates most of the cost involved in preparing a communication and maintaining an on-going campaignof repeated contacts. Thus, by becoming affordable, it becomes sustainable. Therefore, it’s effective!
Unfortunately, e-mail has been abused by businesses that use the medium to ‘SPAM’ their recipients with their ‘B.S.’ marketing messages. I say ‘B.S.’ because most of e-mails are more relevant to the senders than to the recipients. And that only adds to the ‘mental clutter’ that makes using e-mail problematic.
That is precisely why you must only market to people who have invited you to market to them. This meansyou only cultivate people who have given you both their permission to keep-in-touch and their preferences.
Being a welcomed guest in their world (because you have their permission to contact them) . . . and bringing them only ‘nice’ things (using their own preferences to bring them only relevant information) . . . you’ll be reach-ing more people, more of the time and enjoying quality access to that increasingly limited commodity –– your prospects’ UN-divided, UN-distracted ATTENTION!!
In today’s marketing world, having your prospects’ attention is not just gold. It’s PLATINUM!
If you capture the ‘attention’ of the people you want to sell to in the future . . . you’re going to get the bulk of their business.
That’s a bet you can take to the bank.
KEYS TO CONSIDERAs you’re building your Client Cultivation Plans, here are some important things to keep in mind:
WHO You’re cultivating people who have somehow become qualified to hear from you, right?
So you’ll want to be sure you include your: • existing clients • centers-of-influence, and • prospects who are qualified to hear from you (i.e. have given you their permission to cultivate a relationship with them)
WHY Remember that people prefer to buy, all things being equal, from someone they know, like and trust?
Well, a frequent re-connection / cultivation strategy will make all three factors a reality for you! Despite the old saying . . . familiarity does NOT breed contempt. Quite the opposite.
Psychologically, people find that if something is a familiar part of their world, they’re less wary of it.
For example, I once went scuba diving with sharks. At the start of the dive, I was pretty anxious. But I soon became fascinated with them despite being surrounded by all those ‘killers’. The more time I spent in their world, the more comfortable I became with the sharks. Go figure. So the more you’re part of a prospect’s world –– i.e. the more ‘touches’ you make directly and/or indirectly –– the more you’ll become a known, liked and trusted provider to the people you cultivate.
Here are 10 more good reasons to CULTIVATE, CULTIVATE, CULTIVATE your key people:
1. to create and maintain AWARENESS of your business, products and services 2. to POSITION your company in your prospects Mind (favorably, of course!) 3. to RE-POSITION your competitors in your prospects Minds (unfavorably, of course!) 4. to STIMULATE and MAINTAIN SALES 5. to generate STEADIER SALES (i.e. a less cylical or ‘roller-coaster’ sales cycle) 6. to RE-SELL, UP-SELL, CROSS-SELL your existing clients 7. to create and leverage LOYALTY to you in your existing clients 8. to generate RESPONSE from suspects (i.e. to turn them into qualified prospects) 9 to improve RECEPTIVITY to your calls in the future 10. to UPSET and IRRITATE your competitors . . . who aren’t doing ‘marketing’ like you are!
If . . . even only ONE of these things happens, it’s certainly worth cultivating your people . . . isn’t it?
WHAT The media you choose to use doesn’t have to be tricky, expensive, labor-intensive or anything else except . . . used consistently, repeatedly and frequently.
The key is to KEEP IT SIMPLE! Difficult-to-use media will cause you to stop cultivating. Don’t!!
A simple postcard sent twice a month will generate incredible goodwill and awareness for you. If you’re using e-mail –– with permission, of course –– that’s even better because you’re saving the costs of printing, postage and best of all, you’re saving your TIME (for better things!), right?
WHEN A patient asked his doctor, “OK, you want me to take prunes to go . . . (Not sure where? Call me!) but tell me . . . will TWO be enough . . . will THREE be too many?
Same issue here. When do you ‘cross-the-line’ and send a prospect ‘too much’ or ‘too often’? OK. Rule of Thumb: Send two (2) general communications / month for anyone you’re cultivating. Send extra items only to specific individuals who give you a good reason to send it to them. 95% standard stuff . . . 5% unique. OK?
HOW Don’t leave something this important to chance! Always . . . use a PLAN (see prior page) and get yourself a SYSTEM for making sure that you execute your planned activities on a regular basis.
The best way I’ve found to implement a Client Cultivation Plan is by using your PC and e-mail. If you’re not sure what software to use or how to use it, talk to me. You’ll be operational in no time.
And then . . . you’ll be reaping the HARVEST of the LIFETIME VALUE you’re cultivating in your prospect database . . . month after month after . . . (well, you get the idea –– as long as you want!)
As I mentioned on page 1, in addition to the three ‘biggie’ strategies that are keys to marketing your business, you also need to be aware of several equally important ELEMENTS that affect your marketing:
MISSION: WHY . . . would someone care to know more about or, do business with . . . YOU?Much has been said about this. What it boils down to is this: What BENEFICIAL DIFFERENCE do you create for a client?
Unless and until you can articulate –– succinctly and effectively –– what it is you really do FOR a client . . . your marketing efforts will suffer from a serious lack of focus.
Most people in business can NOT tell a qualified prospect what they do . . . so the prospect can recognize what’s in it for them. And you know what that is? Right. It’s the Beneficial Difference you offer.
MARKET: WHO . . . do you want to attract . . . to do business with you?Once you know what you’re truly offering –– your Beneficial Difference, NOT your products or services –– you’ll find it becomes so much easier to get a feeling for who can best appreciate your Mission.
Let’s call this group of people a market segment. Or, if you prefer, your “Target Market”.
Bottom Line: you must know who you want to attract because you’re attractive to them and vice versa.
MESSAGE: WHAT . . . can you say to attract the attention and interest of a qualified prospect for your business?Actually, there’s more than just one message you’ll be using. But, you have to start somewhere. Your message must attract the interest of a qualified prospect for your business. It must also cause you to stand out from the crowd of your competitors . . . as your prospect sees things.
This is all about how you communicate your Mission to your Market (see how things tie together?). For example, when someone asks, “What do you do?” . . . you need a Message . . . ready-to-go . . . that will cause your listener to either engage you in further conversation on how you do that (presumably for them) or, change the subject. And if they do that, it’s OK. What you don’t want is to say something that causes an other-wise qualified prospect to say, “Oh . . . that’s nice . . . hey, are there any more shrimp left in the buffet?”.
If you’re really clear about your Mission, and your Message gets it across effectively, a qualified prospect will identify him or herself to you . . . on the spot! An un-qualified prospect will reveal himself to you, too!
MEDIA: WHERE . . . will you be able to get your messages to your prospects?Motivating messages that never reach your prospects eyes, ears or Mind are worthless . . . to you!
You must get to the people you want to attract to your business. You must consider ALL the possible means of carrying your Messages to your Market and, within your resources, choose those that offer you the very best delivery at the very best possible price.
METHOD: WHEN and HOW . . . will you do whatever you must to promote, attract and cultivate people?The greatest goals are jeopardized when the details for achieving them are not understood.
Consequently, here’s where you must ‘blueprint’ the details involved in getting your Messages, reflecting your Mission, into the Media you can afford to use repeatedly and consistently and thereby attract members of your Market to you and your firm. (amazing how that all came together, isn’t it?)
You’ll want to use a timetable to ensure that each activity you’ve chosen to use to implement and maintain your promotional efforts are carried out in a timely and conscientious manner. Otherwise, you’ll have chaos!
Doing all this will greatly improve the odds that you’ll be enjoying the results of your marketing: • Awareness, • Response, • Mindshare and • Revenues Because . . . isn’t that why you’re doing all this ‘marketing’ in the first place?
Finally, there’s one more marketing element you’ll want to consider . . .
MANAGEMENT: HOW . . . are you running your business?I know. This doesn’t seem like a marketing issue. At first. But, it is. Afterall, if you promote a business that can’t deliver what people are looking for, then all you’ll succeed in doing is accelerating your inevitable demise. As one of our clients put it:
“Marketing a ‘dog’ only puts you in the ‘Fast Lane’ on the Superhighway to Marketing Hell!”
Good observation.
Summary: Six (6) Key ElementsThe brevity of coverage for these six critical elements should not be taken as an indication of their importance to your marketing success. Far from it. Summary: Your Marketing BlueprintI (really) do appreciate that you’ve stayed with me this far.
If you have, I know it wasn’t because of my wordsmithing. It was because of your desire to intentionally and effectively market your background, skills, talents and ability to ‘solve problems’ for your clients better in the future than you ever have in the past.
So what did we cover here? One answer would be “The surface . . . barely”. Yes, there is a lot to know. But this wasn’t supposed to be an encyclopedia of knowledge on marketing for you. I wanted to give you what some call, “The Big Picture”. It’s a map . . . a ‘blueprint’. Something to orient you in what some consider “strange surroundings”.
If we did that, you’ve gained a good start toward knowing what’s involved in marketing effectively.
To keep it simple . . . to have something to keep your eye on . . . just keep these things in mind for now:
Strategies: 1. COLLECT . . . Permission and Preferences of people you’d like to work with sooner or later 2. DIFFERENTIATE . . . yourself from the competition . . . in the Mind of your Market 3. RE-MIND . . . yourself to the people who are your Market . . . to build attraction and affection
Elements: 1. MISSION . . . the beneficial difference you offer that attracts and qualifies your prospects 2. MARKET . . . the groups of people who are your prospects 3. MESSAGE . . . the way you communicate your Mission to your Market 4. MEDIA . . . the means you’ll use to get your Message to your Market 5. METHOD . . . the orchestration of all the details in implementing your marketing 6. MANAGEMENT . . . the operation of your business so it’s attractive to your Market
It’s not that hard. The challenge is in going from where you LEARN about this to where you EARN with it.
All the best!
William J. Doerr, AdvisorTEM Associates, Inc.William J. Doerr and Associates, LLC
Bill helps people who are: • Businessowners • Self-Employed • Intangible Service Providers who are at a point in their business where they want to do a BETTER job of:
1) PROMOTING . . . their problem-solving expertise and services
How? Through three key ʻSales-and-Business-Buildingʼ Resources: • The Ultimate Client Development System™ - Cultivating Minds to Harvest Clients . . . by Design, not Accident
• The Expert Directory™ - Leveraging Relationships with Others . . . to Increase Your Own
• TEM Associates, Inc. - Helping You To Sell . . . More Easily and More Quickly
Together, these help Bill to provide his clients with all the above beneficial outcomes.
Billʼs Brief History / Little-known Facts:• UCONN graduate -- honors / Psychology Major (his student job in the UCONN bio-behavior lab involved taking real wolves for walks)• CLU and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) in a ʻformerʼ life• Married to Joyce (“The Love of my Life!”)• ʻDadʼ to Tiffany and Boots • Advisor / Trainer -- on marketing and selling for small businessowners• Has worked with sales managers in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia• Holds a Private Pilotʼs license and earned his Instrument Rating from the FAA• (Almost!) crash landed his brotherʼs airplane at Brainard airport in Hartford, CT• An avid networker . . . working on making it “2 Degrees of Separation” ;-)• E-Book Author: “Get New Clients . . . NOW!” “Love, Marriage and . . . Marketing?!”
