Honored to have contributed to an article in Forbes about marketing tips for 2014. Tip #5 is courtesy of Yours Truly. Many thanks to David’s Bridal CMO Kim Whitler for including me. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2013/12/05/five-tips-for-marketers-in-2014/#!
The Fear of Loss
What is the most effective way of engaging target prospects? Do you find out what their needs are, and craft a compelling value proposition that fills their needs and shows them the benefits of your product of service? One would logically come to that conclusion, but what if it doesn’t work? What if your prospect is not motivated by growing their business, having more money, or feeling more secure? It turns out that most people aren’t. Most people aren’t compelled to act unless they are convinced that their worst fears will be realized if they don’t take action.
Over my ten year career in sales, it is a constant process of learning and re-learning. I’ve always known about the power of the fear of loss, but I am just now understanding how powerful of a selling tool that “Loss” is compared to “Gain”. Most executives in business have a fear of success, which makes “Gain” not very compelling. They have a fear of being exposed as a fraud, and not being able to perform at levels of higher responsibility. Because of this, your value propositions of “More sales, better morale, grow your business” are actually some of their biggest fears; however, the fear of success is usually not greater than the fear of losing everything.
Nobody will answer your e-mail about helping increase their bottom line. But I’m sure they would answer your e-mail about them losing their biggest client. Find creative ways to show them that they are making a big mistake by not working with you.
Niche Industries: People like to talk in small industries where all the competitors know each other. Prey on people’s vanity; nobody wants to be the Loser, or pariah of their profession. If they don’t work with you, it may effect their reputation in the industry, and thusly, their business.
Missing out on a deal: In a down economy, everyone is pinching pennies. If you are in the fortunate position of selling a product that businesses absolutely have to invest in, dangle a discount as a carrot. Show them the savings they are missing out on if they don’t work with you by a certain date.
Risk vs. Savings: Some executives could give a rat’s ass about saving money, but most all executives are risk-averse. If they are considering investing in a program that is going to cost them a lot of money and net them very little returns, don’t be shy about pointing it out. Point out the risk in what they are doing versus what you are proposing.
Persistence Matters
In our world of instant gratification, persistence has become a rare trait in professionals. When most people encounter extreme persistence, it is perceived as peskiness, desperation, or aggressiveness. I am a very persistent person. Understand that my persistence is not driven out of desperation. Connecting with people is what I do for a living. I will literally call, e-mail, text, tweet, or show up in person in order to fulfill my purpose. If you were in my shoes, and you knew that I held the secret to achieving all your business goals, I would only hope that you would do the same thing for me. Here a few thoughts on where persistence can really pay off.
“Public Shaming”: Nobody wants to look like they’re the one dropping the ball. If you are communicating via e-mail, CC their colleagues so more than one person is aware of your message, and the recipient feels a greater sense of urgency to reply. Twitter is also an effective medium for letting the entire Twitterverse know that you are awaiting a callback.
“I Will Not Stop When Men No”: Napoleon Hill never took No for an answer, and neither should you. If for some reason your prospect is not resonating with your proposal, you can either isolate their objections then overcome them, or you can try approaching their business partners independently and curry favor with them. Either way, a sale is being made. Either they have to be so convincing in their arguments as to why they cannot do something, or you eliminate all possible objections in order to get to a Yes.
“Passion Matters”: People respond to intense fervor and determination. If you are succinct and confident, you may even inspire people to help you out. People respond to emotions, not facts and figures. If you sound excited, they will likely get excited to work with you.
The Transparency Generation: You Can’t Afford To Hide Offline
I will be the first to admit that in this age where Social Media is the dominant form of communication, it can seem like privacy is under attack. It is easier than ever to access personal information from just about anyone that has a computer. However, we have also reached a threshold where in order to be successful in business, you cannot afford to hide beneath the digital grid. In order to generate opportunity, you need to be your own biggest advocate and self-promoter.
There seems to be a generation gap in terms of professionals harnessing social media for business use. On LinkedIn, you will be hard-pressed to find persons between the ages of 25 and 40 who do not have a complete LinkedIn profile with a profile picture and less than 200 contacts. Conversely, if you are over the age of 40, there is a great chance that you may have not even heard of LinkedIn, let alone moderate a LinkedIn group with thousands of members.
It no longer pays to settle for anonymity. The people that value privacy in the business world are scam artists living in Nigeria or India, or other unscrupulous businessmen that truly have something to hide. People like seeing the face of the person that they are doing business with. It makes them feel good. It greatly increases the amount of confidence and trust in the business relationship.
If you are a marketing professional, you need to get your name out there. You need to be connecting with new people, posting updates about your latest initiatives, and bragging about your successes to competitors in your respective field. Those who do not do this will eventually fade into obsolescence. I receive incoming inquiries on a daily basis from prospective clients interested in working with me based off of the content that I generate. The return on that investment cannot be understated; I have spent zero dollars and generated close to $100,000 in the last four months just by spending time on LinkedIn.
There is a sea change occurring, and young professionals are taking advantage. You can either be like George Costanza from Seinfeld hiding underneath your desk, or you can invest much-needed time in your online presence, and get your business collateral available for public consumption. If you don’t, I guarantee your competitors will.
First Impressions
First impressions are everything. Someone can decide whether or not they want to do business with you based on what your website looks like, or if they can even find you in a search engine at all. They may also decide based on how your receptionist answers their phone, or if you have a Receptionist to answer it at all.
I’m not going to name any names, but there are two Vehicle Service companies sponsoring the F&I Convention in Las Vegas happening this week that don’t even answer their phones when you try to call! If I didn’t know they were sponsors at a major industry tradeshow, I would have assumed they were out of business! It is absolutely and utterly ridiculous to not answer your phone when it rings… end of story!
Want to make More Money? Create great first impressions with people that want to do business with you. Here’s how…
1) Answer the phone like a successful organization. If you’re a smaller company that can’t quite afford the luxury of a Receptionist, then you better be prepared to answer the phone yourself when it rings. Otherwise, that missed call is likely going to a Competitor of yours.
2) When you do answer the phone, be professional. This might sound like a real “no-brainer”, but you would be surprised with how many people are severely lacking in their phone etiquette. Don’t answer the phone with your first words, “Hello??”, or “What?”. Instead, try thanking them for their call. Ask, “How may I provide you with excellent service today?”. You should only do this, however, if you are certain that you want to stay in business and succeed.
3) Simplify your phone prompts. We’re in a very fast-paced, instant gratification society. Especially during the work day. Please don’t make me sit through 8 different prompts, through 3 different scenarios, totaling at least 5 minutes before I can actually get through to a live person. It’s okay to have a phone prompt greet you, but it should then go straight to a live person whose sole purpose it is to make the incoming caller’s life easier.
The Importance of Building your Online Presence
It’s the 20th anniversary since the Internet has been available for public use. Surprisingly,
many industries are still lagging behind in their online presence. I’ve always
been alarmed when I’m looking for a company online, and cannot find them by entering some very simple industry keywords. Here are three observations I’ve made in why online visibility is a worthwhile investment:
Increases Trust:
A little transparency goes a long way in terms of building trust. People want
to know who they’re doing business with. This principle applies to interactions on multiple levels: clients, vendors, investors, and employers. In this day and age, if people can’t find anything about your company by doing a simple Google search, it’s deemed as a cause for concern. At the end of the day, increasing your digital footprint is in your own best interest; it leads to more consumer confidence, and shorter sales cycles.
Make It Easier for People to Find You:
If people can’t find your company, how can you expect them to do business with you? Even if you don’t invest a ton of money on Search Engine Marketing, you should at least invest some time in building social media presence so that you can actively engage potential prospects, and make it easy for people to communicate with you.
Increase Sales Activity:
Because of the web, business communication has changed in a dramatic way. People don’t answer their phones as much, they answer e-mail. They’re busy reading this blog as we speak. I’m even on text-message terms with many of my clients. Add your clients via LinkedIn or Google + (I consider this a more “business-friendly” alternative to Facebook) and converse with them online. Build a skype account. In short, use the web as a communications tool to reach prospects by any means necessary.
Subscribe to my new LinkedIn group, “Direct-to-Patient Medical Supply Marketing”
Dear Friends, Clients, and Colleagues,
As of today, I just created a Group on LinkedIn called “Direct-to-Patient Medical Supplies Marketing”.
I have always felt that marketers in this specific industry niche have only really scratched the surface
in terms of increasing their digital footprint, and thus, their ability to grow their organizations. My
intention is to assist my industry colleagues in growing their brand, increasing awareness, and maximizing
revenues.
If you like, please click on this link, and join the group at http://linkd.in/RCZVPa.
I anticipate this to be a very valuable group where members can share resources, advice, and opportunities.
Kind regards,
Ben Reiss | Account Executive
Allied Medical Supply Network
TRUSTED BRANDS, PROVEN PERFORMANCE
310.351.0015 office | 310.351.0215 cell
11400 Olympic Blvd Suite 260
Los Angeles, California 90064
http://www.alliedmedicalsupplynetwork.com
The Ultimate Voicemail for Calling People You Don’t Know
How you say it is more important than what you actually say. You need to sound very matter-of-fact, very nonchalant. If at all possible, try to lower the tone of your voice as to not come across as nasaly or squeaky. All you need to state is the following:
“Hi _________, this is __________. Please give me a call when you are free. My cell number is ___________, Again, that’s (repeat number). Thank you”.
Keep it short and sweet. Don’t tell them what you do or why you are calling; don’t give them a reason to not call you back. If possible, say your company name in a way that relates to their business (i.e. if they are in Financial Services, work in the keywords “Capital” or “Financial”. If they are in Entertainment, use the words “Agency”, “Productions”, or Entertainment”).
I have received more returned phone calls from this method than from anything else. Enjoy.
The Right Way to Generate New Business: Prospect from the Top!
One of my Sales Heroes, Jeffrey Gitomer, recommends asking to be transferred to a sales representative when cold-calling a company. While I agree with Mr. Gitomer on virtually everything regarding all things Business, I disagree with this one strategy.
Let’s say you engage a sales representative, and they’re impressed by your presentation. What do you think will happen next? They will most likely forward your proposal in an e-mail to their supervisor, where it won’t be taken seriously, and the sales process will die. I always recommend beginning contact with a CEO, Owner, or President of the organization. Even if your target Decision Maker is a Marketing Manager or CMO, it is almost always better for the head of the company to refer you to the appropriate Decision Maker.
This does two things: Firstly, business owners are usually more receptive than their gatekeeper subordinates. While Marketing Managers may raise objections over budgetary concerns, their bosses are often big-picture oriented, and more likely to conceptually agree with your ideas for increasing his or her bottom line.
Additionally, by engaging the owner of the company, you get their stamp of approval as an asset to their organization. Once the owner approves you, there are really no more gatekeepers or rogue employees left to gum up the works.
Stay Hungry, My Friends
I have an obsession with success. Other people seem to have a love affair with the status quo; they find solace in really just skating by. Perhaps what really separates others from me is that they seem to think that comfort equals happiness. I learned early in my twenties to not vote for comfort. Being comfortable is the root from which all problems eventually flourish. When you don’t vote for comfort, you stay hungry. You don’t settle for good enough, you want outstanding.
I like to remind others that we only have the opportunity to have one human experience (or so we think). There ought to be an obligation for you to get up every morning and do something exciting with the time you are being alive. Light a fire under someone’s ass. Have a brainstorming session with your colleagues at work, and invent something that will change your collective destinies. Call up a client, or a prospective client, and let them know you have been officially crowned King Rainmaker, and that your first royal proclamation is that there shall be torrential downpour of epic proportions! (Don’t actually do this. Do call your client, but call with important news that concerns them. Never call just to “follow up”.)
Time is limited. Sit down, take out a pen and paper, and write down what you want most. Then underneath that thing which you desire, create a list of the things that need to be happen in order for your goal to come to fruition. Then do it. Don’t discuss it with anybody, don’t put things off, don’t lie down and watch TV. Man the Fuck Up and start saying YES. Stay Hungry, My Friends.
Ben Reiss 