How To Win Big Business

February 19th, 2010

You can compete with the big name players in your market. You can attract corporate clients to buy your services, whether they involve negotiation skills, presentation skills, sales skills, or dealing with difficult clients and colleagues.

Sometimes, the idea that you’re at a disadvantage to the big companies is more in your own head than it is in your potential buyer’s eyes.

Here’s a simple formula to follow when competing for big business:

Be confident in your ability to deliver your product or service  +
Distinguish yourself from the competition =
Clients will jump on your offering rather than you having to compete for their business.

Don’t be intimidated by the larger businesses who offer services similar to yours. Don’t let the heavy hitters in your area give you an inferiority complex.

Your business actually has a massive advantage over these bigger players…

•    Many of these larger structures tend to offer fixed programs and fixed courses. There’s usually not a lot a room for customized, pick-and-choose type training. You’re not restricted in a way that a larger company would be. That actually means you can have a lot more flexibility for your client. You’re much more able to be responsive to their needs.

•    Big companies tend to send in a very charming and persuasive sales person to close the sale. They go in with all the glitz, pretty brochures, maybe they even take the client out to lunch. Then they outsource to the most inexpensive person they can find to deliver the service, still charging the client a premium rate. Clients soon discover that the person who is actually put in front of them to deliver the training, do the consulting, or whatever the service is, doesn’t have that experience, that credibility or that authority.

Make it obvious, in your marketing material and also in your sales meetings, that the person the client meets going in, is going to be the same person that their end users meet. Without actually saying anything negative about the bigger company vying for their business, you’re planting a seed of doubt. You’re not badmouthing the competition, but you are giving the client something to think about that they may not have before. Where possible, you always want to sell yourself on your strengths as opposed to just going in and knocking the competition.

•    When your business card is basically your name, you can sometimes feel, “I haven’t got the weight. I haven’t got this huge impressive organization behind me.” But, you have to start seeing that as a real advantage. Don’t underestimate a client’s ability to appreciate the fact that your business success hinges on your delivering the very best. You’re not just following some automated process. You’re really engaging with them and really getting to understand their business, so you can make recommendations based on your expertise and what you’ve uncovered as their real need. You’re literally staking your reputation on your service.

So, just because you’re not as big or as famous as some of the others, doesn’t mean you’re at a disadvantage. You’ve got to start to think about, “What do I have that these guys don’t have?”

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

How To Win Big Business

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Posted in Advertising, Business & Money, Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Presenting, Sales Leads, Sales Motivation | No Comments »

Take Credit for Your Past – Add Value to Your Future

January 31st, 2010

You have a lot more skills and experience than you give yourself credit for. I’ll lay odds that you don’t even realize the full extent of your assets and resources. There’s a good chance that you are discounting or undervaluing them. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all your other talents and other events from your past are irrelevant to what you are doing now.

I recently did an exercise where I had to reflect on all of my past work experience. I realized that one of the jobs I had completely forgotten about was actually very relevant to what I am doing now.

During the gap year before I went to university, I worked on a car sales lot on an American military base in Germany.  I was 18 and was uncomfortable about selling, so I teamed up with one of the sales guys there. We worked together, but I was more like his assistant.

He collected the names of everyone who came in and expressed an interest in a car. These were our leads. I loaded their information into the computer, which was unusual back in the late 80’s -  a lot of companies weren’t even using computers much in business.

We used that information to do direct mailings to those people, letting them know about special offers and things that were happening on the car lot. I basically assisted him in getting more people to come to the dealership.

The net result was that we won a competition that year for the highest number of cars sold at the American bases in Germany.  We won an all expenses paid holiday to the Caribbean.

I had completely blanked that experience as being relevant. But when you think about it, I’ve really been using direct mail to promote business and promote sales for a long, long time.  And those skills and experiences I gained back then, are very much relevant today.

My point is, it doesn’t matter whether you’re 25, 45, or 65. You have had many different life experiences and you possess a multitude of assets that could be useful and relevant in helping you to build your online business.

You’ve likely put together some type of resume in your past to submit to an employer with a job application. On it, you surely included your education background and previous work experience, any recognitions or awards and maybe a couple of references.

There is a lot more to you than that, though.

Have you ever done a resume of your life experiences? Have you ever taken inventory of your existing assets and resources?

I am certain that if you sit down and list out all the things you’ve ever done, there are jobs that you’ve performed in the past that somehow contribute to what you’re doing now.

And, I’m pretty sure that there are skills you’ve learned along the way that you apply in some way to the growth of your business. It could be something that you were just doing as a past hobby.

But I’m positive that you have a lot more relevant experience than you are giving yourself credit for right now.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Take Credit for Your Past – Add Value to Your Future

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Posted in Advertising, Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Personal Productivity, Sales Leads, Sales Motivation, Success Secrets | No Comments »

URGENT, URGENT!!!!

December 26th, 2009

Does that have your attention?  It should, it’s the most obvious way to create a sense of urgency.  Creating urgency for your products and services is a major key to selling success.  Obviously you can’t be as blatant as using a misleading title, but you can take steps to create a sense of urgency that will lead to more sales.  How?

Deadlines
No one likes to miss a deadline, even if it’s a deadline that has no consequence to them.  Putting deadlines in your marketing material will create that sense of urgency and makes a client more likely to pick up the phone to ask for that free report that you’re offering, and they’ll do it sooner rather than later.  It can be just the nudge they needed to take action.

Open Events
If you’re holding an open course or seminar, by its very nature you have set a deadline.  When you tell a potential client “This workshop is on March 2nd” you’ve created a sense that they’re going to miss out if they don’t attend.  Being able to mention in all honesty that there are only two seats left and offering them up to your client is going to create even more of a sense of the ‘act now’ urgency.

Creating too Much Demand
Becoming a Client Magnet is all about being in a situation where there is more demand for your services than you can supply.  It’s about having a full dance card and everyone knows it.  It transforms the game completely when you get to that point.  To keep with the dance analogy, suddenly instead of you dancing to everyone else’s tune, they are dancing to yours.  Being a Client Magnet in and of itself will convey a sense of urgency to the client.

Becoming an Expert
If you’ve established yourself as the expert in your field, you’re going to be sought out.  As the expert, clients are going to assume that your services are so much in demand that your reputation alone will create a sense of urgency.  Again, it’s all part of maneuvering yourself to a certain position within your field.

How do you become the expert?  No one is going to show up on your doorstep with a certificate in hand declaring you the expert in your field.  Since that’s not going to happen, once again, you have to take matters into your own hands.  You need to declare yourself as the expert in your field.

Once you’ve positioned yourself as the ‘go-to’ person within your field, you’re setting off a chain of events to follow this course.  I’m certainly not advocating that you market yourself under false pretences, but by focusing your business on a specific area and making yourself visible, that along with your self-declaration will lead you to the top of your field.

The sense of urgency is not going to be an overnight transformation for your business.  It’s a result of transforming your approaches and techniques as part of an overall mindset to start attracting business.  It’s all part of the big picture of putting yourself in the position where you have more demand than you can possibly meet.

URGENT, URGENT!!!!

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, Marketing, Personal Productivity, Sales Leads, Sales Motivation, Success Secrets | 2 Comments »

Build A Strong Client List

November 20th, 2009

Building a strong list of clients and prospects is an absolutely critical step in developing your business. It takes time and effort to refine your list, but every entrepreneur starts somewhere. Let’s discuss the three types of client lists used in direct marketing, where they originate and the value they have for your business.

Compiled Client Lists

When you rent or buy a compiled list from a list broker, they’ve pulled the names together by key attributes. For example, all the people on the list might be IT professionals. Another common way to compile lists might be firms in a geographic location with a certain number of employees.

Whatever the attributes the people on your compiled list share, the point of these lists is to narrow down the reach of your marketing to people more likely to buy your products. So that means you’ll need to focus in on what common characteristics someone who needs your product would have. Once you know that, you can order your list more accurately.

But having said that, it must also be said that compiled lists normally provide the worst response. Unless you find a particularly adept list broker, and a group of people who will absolutely be helped by your product, the return may be disappointing. You’ll have to decide if you’re willing to invest money in such a list, knowing the possible outcome.

Response List

There’s another kind of list you can invest some money renting in order to boost your marketing. That’s the response list, and that simply means it’s a group of people who have responded favorably to your type of product in the past.

They might be managers who have attended certain seminars or workshops that fill a need similar to what your product meets. Or, they could be a group that has bought a product related to yours. Another way response lists are focused is by the types of trade magazines they subscribe to.

No matter why they end up on the response list you lease, they’re more likely to respond to your marketing because they’ve shown an interest in similar products. In the past, they’ve taken action in response to someone’s marketing in a field similar to yours.

That kind of qualification can make all the difference in how successful your marketing is. Rather than simply sharing a characteristic, they’ve actually reacted favorably to products related to yours. They understand the value of what you have to offer, and it’s filled a need they have. That’s a stronger foundation for your marketing efforts.

House List

While both the compiled list and the response list can result in sales, one list you should be building from day one in your business is the house list. These are the people who have raised their hands and said “I’m interested in your product.”

They may have responded to one of your marketing campaigns. They could also be previous clients. No matter how your house list is built, it’s going to yield a much higher rate of conversion than purchased lists.

This is true because the people on your house list are already somewhat invested. They’ve already moved toward you by responding to your marketing. This is the group of people on which a successful business is built.

How many do you need on your house list to become a success? That depends on how focused you are in learning what they need. If you have a small list of people who request information every time you announce a product, your conversion rate will be increasingly higher as you fine tune your products and marketing. For a house list, it’s not the size, it’s the quality that builds business.

Once you’ve spent the time and effort to build a decent house list, you’ll learn how it feels to sell out a seminar. You’ll know what it’s like to have tremendous response from little marketing effort. That’s when the tide turns to real success for your business.

Sometimes getting started in business requires renting or purchasing client lists. If you know up front that the conversion rate won’t be as high as from your house list, you can decide how much to invest in them. As your business begins to grow as a result, definitely compile your own house list. Focus specific marketing to them in ways that have worked before. In this way, you’ll build a group of loyal clients who can put your firm’s success on autopilot.

Build A Strong Client List

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Customer Loyalty, Customer Retention, Marketing, Sales Leads, Strategies To Keep Good Customers, Success Secrets | 1 Comment »

Six Steps for Finding Clients

October 13th, 2009

… if there are  no clients, there is  no business

That’s one of the very first things I learnt when I starting out in my own business back in 1996.

Back then, just like you, I needed a steady stream of clients if I was going to succeed in business.  I was only 26 at the time, I had no marketing budget, I had no network, I had no track record, I had no proof, no credibility, and I had no satisfied customers to fall back on.  I started off by investing my time, energy and resources, into learning everything I could about communication techniques, selling and closing sales.  The result …   I very quickly attracted high-paying consulting contracts for £50,000 and upwards. For those of you in the US, that’s about $83,000.  Not only that, I was getting them from well known clients. People like Sony, Aviva, AIG, and British Telecom.  My income was on the rise!

What was the secret?  Simply – I changed the way I was prospecting clients.  I developed a way that clients started calling me instead of me calling them.  Follow the 6 steps I took and make it happen for you…

1.  Realize that most prospecting methods are too time-consuming. Cold calls can be effective, but they take time away from your workday. The problem is, even if you spend a day on the phone setting up appointments, you then have to go on those appointments  because YOU are the service that you’re selling.   This doesn’t leave much time for actually delivering  services to your clients.

2. Develop prospecting methods that don’t rely on you physically doing it all the time. Essentially, find ways to promote your business that don’t require you to become a full time marketing and sales person. Learn how to market yourself without spending all of your time doing it. Focus on building up a prospect list.

3.  Get a show of hands. I remember reading a book at the time and it talked about getting people to raise their hands first. Who is it that is already calling out for your services?  Who has expressed an interest in your products and services?  Let the clients express interest in working with you, instead of spending all of your time trying to sell them on your services

4. Focus on following up with those clients that have “raised their hands”. These clients are much better prospects for what you’re offering because they’ve already expressed an interest.

5.  Know that your price ceiling is as high as you want it to be. The ceiling on your income is the highest priced offering in your range. If you want to break through that ceiling, create a bigger ticket product or programme and offer it to your prospect list.

6. Find the right clients. Maybe there’s a certain type of client who is exactly the right type of client for you, the client that you feel passionate about working with. The one where you feel you would work even if you weren’t getting paid. Those are your ideal clients. You still get paid and it doesn’t feel like a chore to deliver your services.

As you focus on implementing these prospecting methods in your own business, you will see that clients will start to call YOU.  You’ll not only have a steady steam of clients, but they will be your IDEAL clients.

Six Steps for Finding Clients

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Personal Productivity, Sales Leads, Sales Motivation, Strategies To Keep Good Customers | 1 Comment »

Stop Waiting for the Sales Fairy

August 15th, 2009

Here’s a fairy tale worth reading if you own your own business.

It seems a talented entrepreneur created valuable products many people could use. He sat in his castle watching expectantly for the arrival of the “sales fairy.” Unfortunately, this fairy was only a legend and his wonderful products never reached their intended audience. The foolish business owner watched as the weeds of inactivity overtook his castle and choked off his chances for success.

Just a fairy tale? Hardly! Many small business owners do a great job of creating products and business systems for sales that will never come. If you’re still waiting around for the sales fairy to appear, it’s time to step outside your office and learn to sell.

“But I’m Not Sales Person”

This excuse is used all the time by people who have never learned to sell. They naively believe that the products they create are so fabulous they’ll sell themselves. They set up shop, run a few ads and cross their fingers the money will soon roll in.

The truth is, with the amazing array of products being offered in most markets, ads alone won’t deliver the kind of income that equals success. At some point, you’ll have to approach other people about buying your product or service. This could be as simple as setting up a table at a trade show or reciting your three-sentence offer (you do have one, don’t you?) at a business mixer.

You may still be concerned that you’re not a “sales personality.” Here are the facts:

• A “sales personality” is simply the skill you gain as you make your offer to more people.
• Sales can be fun and exciting, and put you in control of your success.
• You’ll bring your own personality to each sales situation; there’s no need to become a “sales zombie” who recites canned lines.

The bottom line for your bottom line is that no one who succeeds in business does so without some type of regular sales encounters.

“I’ll Outsource Sales for My Business!”

A fortunate few entrepreneurs can afford to hire someone else to do their selling. The rest of us must learn how to offer our products or services for sale. Even if you could afford to hire sales staff from the start, who’s going to develop your offer?

Do you really want a hired salesperson deciding how your products will be offered? There are marketing geniuses for hire, to be sure, but even they require input and approval from business owners to do their jobs successfully. Learning basic sales techniques will help you better manage your sales force.

“How Can I Learn to Sell?”

Now that you’re convinced it’s essential to sell, it’s time to seek help. There are hundreds of topnotch sales training organizations ready to show you the basics. The investment you make in learning to sell will pay off in income down the road.

If you’re not sure which sales training course works best, ask someone whose sales technique you admire how they learned. Many top sales people took advantage of quality sales training early in their careers and then developed their personal selling style along the way.

Learning to sell your products to others is the foundation of a successful enterprise. The “sales fairy” isn’t coming to the rescue, no matter how hard you wish for her. If your business is overgrown with weeds, it’s time to step outside the castle and learn what it takes to sell.

Stop Waiting for the Sales Fairy

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Posted in Advertising, Business Success, Marketing, Niche Marketing, Personal Productivity, Sales Leads, Sales Motivation, Success Secrets | 2 Comments »

Lead Generation Secrets

August 3rd, 2009

You know that saying, if you keep on doing things the way you’ve always done them, you’re going to keep on getting the same results?

Well, as obvious as that may sound, I am stunned by the number of people who continue to rely on just one or two places for leads.

Let me share this story with you. Someone asked marketing expert Jay Abraham, “Where is the best place to get leads?” And he said, “I can’t tell you one place that’s going to bring in hundreds of leads. But I can tell you hundreds of places that are going to bring in one or two leads.”
Meaning that you simply have to expand your lead sources. Generating more leads is the key to doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling your income. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your business is not having enough lead sources.

Where are you getting your leads right now? What are you doing to get new prospects for your business?

If you’re hanging out in the same old places, advertising in the usual spaces, and you still aren’t bringing in the volume of leads you need to grow, the solution is right in front of you.

Seek out new sources of leads for your business.,

Start going to new places. Test and utilize new media

The solutions are closer than you think. Often right at your fingertips.

Something that’s really hot right now, and could make a massive difference in your business, is social media like Twitter and Facebook, Ecademy, LinkedIn. Start exploring video to attract traffic to your web site. That’s absolutely huge right now. So is blogging.

Test doing things online and offline. A new magazine or publication might be a good place for you to run an ad to reach your target audience. Or think about doing something more with articles.

These are just a couple of examples, things you might start to think about. Decide which ones are right for you. But the bottom line is, always keep a look out for new sources of leads for your business.

Lead Generation Secrets

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Posted in Advertising, Business Networking, Email Marketing, Internet Business, Sales Leads, Sales Motivation | No Comments »

The Power of Trust

July 28th, 2009

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Think of two boys in a garden. One of them is frantically chasing after birds; the other just stands still holding out birdseed in his hand and waits. Instinctively, most of us recognise that the latter will be more successful. Yet most sales techniques involve some form of ‘chasing’ with the net result that prospective clients are scared away.
You can be ‘chasing’ without necessarily being pushy with prospective clients. You are chasing any time you are driven by fear, and in truth that’s the energy behind most marketing today.
So why are so many people still chasing?
As I’ve been reflecting on this, it occurred to me that the reason we chase is because we don’t really trust.
We don’t trust that there is a ready-made market of people who need our unique gifts and talents. (If only we could pause long enough to notice them!)
We don’t trust that we HAVE unique gifts and talents. We are afraid that we are nothing special so we have to work really, really hard competing and chasing and fighting for our ‘share’.
We don’t trust our clients. We don’t trust that they will recognise the unique talents that we have to offer and be drawn to us naturally.
We don’t trust that there is a niche that is perfect for us. We think we have to carve one out, or wait for a moment of revelation that reveals ‘our true purpose’ and shows us a clear path forward.
We don’t trust that the business will just come if we stop working so hard. We are afraid that people would forget about us, and that no one would really want us if we stopped ‘hustling’.
We don’t trust that the world is fair. We don’t trust that things would or could come to us that easily. So we work hard to redress the balance.
But most of all, we don’t trust ourselves. We don’t trust that we could be that magnetic and attractive.

What if you could be?

What if you already ARE that magnetic and attractive?

What, if you had, as your birthright, a ‘natural monopoly’?

A space in the world that could ONLY be filled by you?

And what if your clients intuitively knew that too, and the people you were truly meant to be working with, would find their way to you no matter what you did?

Would you chase then?

(Probably, because you wouldn’t trust that there were enough of these clients to keep you in the style to which you’d like to become accustomed!)

But what if there WERE? Would you still chase?

Or would you pause, take a deep breath, and marvel at just how wonderful things are.

The Power of Trust

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Posted in Business Success, Marketing, Sales Leads, Sales Motivation | 3 Comments »