What a Marketer Must Continually Ask

The first activity I generally do when giving a marketing workshop—particularly if the emphasis is on sales—is to review the Buyer Decision-Making Model.

It’s crucial that business owners and salespeople clearly grasp the consumer thought process during purchase decisions. Getting into the brain of the consumer is the key to successful selling.

In order to do that, a marketer or a salesperson must understand the six steps every consumer takes when deciding to buy. Here is a brief summary of the Buyer Decision-Making Model and the six steps:

1) Awareness: the consumer must have some awareness of your product or service. Without awareness, nothing more will happen.
2) Interest: awareness is the first step, but the real push towards a purchase comes when there is interest.
3) Understanding: the consumer must clearly comprehend how the product or service can fulfill needs.
4) Attitude: after understanding the product or service, the consumer will develop a positive or a negative attitude towards the offering.
5) Purchase: purchasing is predicated on the previous four steps. Note that the first four steps may take seconds to complete, but a purchase decision may take more time.
6) Repeat Purchase: create so much satisfaction that the consumer returns to buy again, or they recommend your product or service to others (which in turn creates awareness, interest, etc.)

In which step does a marketer most influence the buyer?

Each and every step.

Thus, the most important question a marketer should continually ask is if their marketing message, copy and collateral drive the target audience towards purchase and repeat purchase.

Strategically, this means that a marketer must understand in which step their target currently resides. Without awareness, a marketer must get the word out. If there is interest, the marketer must create understanding and shape attitudes. Each message must target the audience appropriately to move buyers to the next level.

Understand how to move buyers through their decision-making process and you will understand how to best market your product or service. This understanding alone will move your business to the next level.

4 No Cost Marketing Initiatives

Looking for ways to market your business on a limited budget?

You're not alone. An informal poll of my clients confirmed that most are looking for ways to market their businesses on the cheap.

I support this strategy. In fact, I recommend slashing your marketing budget and filling your sales funnel without spending on advertising.

There are many marketing initiatives that do not require a major financial committment. A lot can be accomplished with both time and energy.

Here are four ways to market your business at no, or little, financial cost:

1) Teach: to borrow a phrase from Brian Clark of Copyblogger, "teaching sells." Showcase your product or service. Host a presentation, seminar, conference call or a webinar. And do it for free. Show people what you can do. Magical things happen when you showcase your skills. Your sales funnel will fill up for you as you generate brand awareness and develop credibility.

2) Network: nowadays, there are many ways to network. There are leads groups, business associations, social networks and more. Some groups may cost money but there are many groups that you can join for free, particularly on-line. The key to successful networking is to give more than you receive. Dedicate quality time and energy to the network and the referrals you receive will grow exponentially.

3) Blog: a good blog takes commitment, but it is an excellent way to add value to your marketing. Even if you do not have many followers, the act of posting weekly entries about your product or service will force you to better communicate your key marketing messages. It's also an outstanding way to advance your target market through the sale funnel. Leads and prospects learn more about your product or service through a blog and thus take a step closer to becoming a customer.

4) Partner: this doesn't mean take on a business partner. Rather, partner with a resource that could potentially refer you consistent business. For example, a real estate agent might partner with an executive recruiter. Or a loan officer could partner with a bankruptcy lawyer. Maybe a restaurant partners with an event planner. The list is endless but requires some creative thinking on the part of the business owner.

There are other initiatives that produce an excellent return for little investment. Search-engine optimization, affiliate programs and other ways to leverage the power of the internet are areas to explore if they make sense for your business model.

That said, the four suggestions above are an excellent way to move your business to the next level without a lot of money.

In all--as long as you dedicate time and energy--there are many effective ways to market your business for no cost.

Speak < Sell

In plain English, speak less than you sell. Or conversely, sell more than you speak.

It's a magic formula that will actually force you to speak less and directly sell more.

How does it work? Simply put, say only a few things and ask only the really pertinent questions. This lets your prospect do the talking and--more often than not--the prospect sells your product or service to themselves!

One caveat: this strategy is best used when advancing a prospect through the sales funnel. To move a lead through the sales funnel, its a matter of prospecting, presenting and following up. Prospects generally need more information, so it may be okay to speak more.

However, the best way to convert a prospect into a lead and eventually a customer is to let them do all the talking. They will tell you what they need. You can then decide of your solution meets their needs.

Amazing things happen when salespeople ask the right questions and then keep their mouths shut. The customer really opens up and tells exactly the information that the salesperson needs to close the deal, namely their biggest needs.

Call it the Socratic method of selling, but it really works.

Try it next time you are trying to close a sale. Ask good questions, let the customer do the talking and watch them close the sale for you.

It takes a bit of discipline. We all want to show how good our product or service is and tell how much we can help the prospect.

But I guarantee, speak less and sell more and you will move your business to the next level.

Dr. Seuss = Sales Coach

When was the last time you read "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss? For me, it was last night.

Dr. Seuss gets frequent play at storytime in my house. The rhyming and rhythm is great fun with the little ones and they love the drawings. "Horton Hears a Who" and "Cat in the Hat" are probably the favorite selections at the moment, but last night we tackled "Green Eggs and Ham."

As I was reading it, I couldn't help but think how persistent Sam-I-Am is. Sam-I-Am consistently offers his green eggs and ham to his counterpart only to be rejected and refused time after time. However, Sam-I-Am never loses his cool and continues to suggest endless ways and places to try green eggs and ham.

Ultimately Sam-I-Am wins out when he suggests that his friend try a taste: "You do not like them./So you say./Try them! Try them!/And you may./Try them and you may, I say." Despite the resistance, Sam-I-Am convinces his friend to taste the green eggs and ham. The result: the sale is closed and Sam-I-Am converts his friend's "NO" to a resounding "YES." Even better, his friend now becomes completely sold on green eggs and ham so much so that he wants to share it with others.

Dr. Seuss shows how persistence, suggestive selling and sticking with it can lead to "YES." Sam-I-Am might be too pushy for some tastes, but he certainly demonstrates that sales is a long term committment that requires finding just right combination to move from "NO" to "YES." And once you find that right combination, you create more and more customers that love your product or service.

You may have to suggest many options, you may have to ask more than once and you ultimately may need to give a little bit for free. But like Sam-I-Am, if you stick with it and don't take "NO" for an answer, you too can convert those naysayers into brand advocates.

Never Tell Anyone What You Do

You know you've been there: you're surrounded by a handful of strangers, everyone has a drink or a small plate of hors d'oeuvres in their hands and the conversation goes stale. Someone meekly offers a comment about the weather or the local sports team, but there is not much else to talk about. Except: work.

“What do you do?” is generally the third or fourth question out of a person’s mouth upon a first encounter. It’s hard to avoid. Work occupies so much of our time, we are well-versed in the subject and we generally enjoy talking about things we know. It’s at this point that successful business owners turn new friends into customers.
How do they do it? There is no one simple answer. Generating new business person-to-person takes a balance of confidence and humility. That said, here are three steps to turn your cocktail party conversation into sales:

1) Never Tell Anyone What You Do: Wait a second, isn’t that counter to all marketing? Keep your work a secret? I work with a lot of self-employed business owners with no employees (aka “solopreneurs”). These people represent their business in its entirety. If they don’t tell people what they do, how will people find out? Good question, but the answer and the sales strategy encompasses more humility than self-importance. How many times have you been turned off by someone blabbing about what they do? It might be the easiest way to kill a sale.

Consider a situation in which you are introduced to someone new. In the right circumstances, the introducer might refer to your profession. They might even mention how great you are. Easy sale. This direct word-of-mouth is very powerful.

Or consider a situation in which you meet someone without an introduction. If you are able to focus the conversation on something other than your profession, the new friend will walk away thinking how insightful, deep and conversational you are. Next time you come across that person, the relationship is established. We all know people buy relationships, so once again, easy sale.

Now, when people ask you what you do, be prepared to deliver your pitch (see #3). Despite the catchy word “never”, don’t avoid telling people what you do. Just make sure the opportunity presents itself without you forcing it and you need to be prepared to answer.

2) Always Ask What Others Do: Instead of focusing on what you do, focus on what the other person does. Given the chance to talk about oneself, the other person will feel energized and confident. They will enjoy talking with you. Once the conversation turns and they ask you what you do, you will have an open ear and a willing listener. You’ve already created a new friend simply by listening and this person will genuinely listen to you. And when you have an active listener, they will remember you and your brand. Your business card will go in the rolodex, and not the trash.

Another bonus to listening to others speak about what they do is that it gives you the opportunity to see if your business can help them. If you do find someone that could use your product/service, ask pointed questions to identify their needs on the job. This is an extremely easy sale.

3) Refine Your Elevator Pitch: You will get asked “what do you do?” After all, even if you never tell anyone what you do, you cannot avoid the question. So if you don’t have a polished pitch, then get polishing. You must be able to concisely and succinctly communicate what you do or else your product/service will never resonate. Play around with some different pitches. Practice them often. Your pitch may evolve, but keep it as consistent as possible. Marketing is mostly repetition, so the more often you can say your message the more it will impact your audience. Focus your pitch on benefits. You should be able to communicate what you do and the benefit you provide in one or two sentences. This will take some time, but it really is the key to more sales.

Ultimately, if you have established a relationship with someone by following Steps 1 and 2, and you can easily communicate the benefit you provide outlined in Step 3, the sales will build. Your cocktail parties will turn into marketing events, networking will become fruitful and you will turn new friends into customers very easily.