No one likes to be pushed. It’s a given. So why is it, I ask myself, that so many business owners have the idea that they have to push to get new clients?
Why not consider being a magnet? Changing your marketing approach and sales conversation to center around the pull instead of the push.
How do you do that? By asking great questions that dig below the surface. By finding what your customers biggest challenges are. By creating messages that land directly in their area of need.
This takes some practice but it’s worth it.
by admin on June 17, 2010
Finding new clients doesn’t have to be a torturous process. There are some who have found a way to make it interesting and fun. In fact, this in itself is a differentiator since the ideas used achieved several goals:
1. They exposed their business to a large number of potential clients
2. They interrupted their thought patterns for just a short time
3. They may have changed their idea of their service
4. They gave people some real enjoyment in the process
5. They didn’t do the same thing as their competitors which automatically made them stand out.
What was this?
The Philadelphia Opera Company made an appearance at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Their strategy: to expose a new potential audience to live opera. So, at the busiest hour when people were shopping and eating the wonderful delights of this amazing Farmer’s Market the loudspeaker started playing the libretto from La Traviata. Suddenly, a man in a sports shirt erupts into an aria , his tenor consuming the market in the magic of this famous melody. Everyone stops and listens. As he sings others start walking towards him, people make way for the singers, A chorus supports them and musical joy fills the space. People are at first slightly uncomfortable, then rapt, then overtly appreciative. Phila Opera
What happened? They exposed many people who thought that they wouldn’t like opera and would therefore never go to a short, energetic taste of it. They gave them the experience of the fun of telling a wild story though wonderful, trained voices. They did something that no other opera company in Philadelphia has done and the bottom line to that is- they stood out. Look how viral it became- 695,200 views. You would have to pay alot of money for that kind of exposure. They did it creatively and not like everybody else which of course is the point. Marketing yourself is about being visible and standing out in the best way possible that fits you.
I have a good acquaintance who mildly complains to me about the same thing every time we start talking about our businesses. The conversation goes something like this: “I can’t seem to get my referral group to give me any referrals.” (Now the trick to this is that I know he doesn’t give many himself.) He also limits himself by thinking that referrals are limited to his referral group and one other business networking group even though I’ve tried to teach him the famous Three Foot Rule (everyone within three feet is a prospect or possible referral source once they know you)
I’m trying to think of a good comeback to his statement the next time we get together because he isn’t connecting the dots. Which dots, I hear you say? The connection dots. These are the a + b + c + d =e dots. In human terms it works like this:
You know someone whose work you like and admire.
1. You ask them what kind of clients they want to work with.
2. You go through your list of contacts and send them some ideas of the kinds of people you have picked out. Together you refine your list.
3. You either email both for a face to face introduction over coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner (most powerful).
4. You can also email both parties introducing them to each other and asking them to meet each other.
5. You can find an event they are both going to attend then make sure that when you personally introduce them you tell each person what is great about the others (also very powerful).
Practice connecting your own dots with 25 people and see how fast your business can grow. Let me know how it goes!
If you think it’s only people that buy from you, think again.
Recently, I had a conversation with someone who had been a vendor to a man in a leadership position who made a difference to many people. The job was appointed only for two years because it involved so many responsibilities that it would have depleted anyone for more than that amount of time. This man dealt kindly with everyone he came into contact with. He left everyone he met feeling better for having known him – a remarkable attribute of its own. And, he did something else that had even more people talking about him. He arranged a beautiful dinner and invited everyone who had helped him achieve his mission over that time period. He invited not only people on his staff but all of his vendors. At the dinner, he mentioned something special about each one of them. People beamed and felt appreciated. Afterward, there was time to mingle and new relationships were formed.
Your vendors are often overlooked as contributors to your success. But if what they do does help you achieve your mission then they deserve to be acknowledged. Raise the bar and recognize their contribution and your appreciation of it to others through an event or by referring them to others and you might see an amazing amount of magic happen. Expanding your referral capital beyond the obvious is just like compound interest. It can grow exponentially over a rather short amount of time.
I’ve been doing an experiment for the last year. I make a mental note of someone’s reaction when I mention the word “marketing”. I would say the most common reaction is a slow glaze that I intrepret for better or worse as a “mental mist”.
I say this because I think there is a problem. No one seems to really be able to put their finger on what marketing is. Some think it’s advertising. A great many don’t understand it and consequently don’t make time for it. So I’m going to spend a couple of posts discussing the different elements that make up good marketing and how those dots connect with each other.
Look at the picture above. Growing up, I had friends that were identical twins. (Emphasis on identical). It was almost impossible to tell them apart until they started talking. Then their individual idiosyncrasies emerged making it easy.
When your customers look at you, how do they tell you apart from your competitors? Or, do you all look alike? One thing that makes up good marketing is the ability to create something or someone that can be recognized and become well-known. Customers can see it instantly – not having to wait for the idiosyncrasies that they don’t have time for.
Next: What creates recognition?
by admin on February 11, 2010
I subscribed to a well-known publication several months ago. It’s delivered six days a week and is a real pleasure to read….when I get it.
I called customer service (which is outsourced to a separate continent where English is a secondary language). Around the tenth time I called I decided enough was enough. I emailed the General Manager with my complaint.
I received a stock email back that afternoon saying that the problem was being attended to and I would be called that day. No call.
I did get a call the following day. But in my email to the General Manager I said – maybe you need a system that sorts someone into a more customer oriented path once they have called three times.
I think some people would have cancelled their subscription, some would have blustered at a person with no power, and maybe some would have even kept on calling customer service.
But, here’s the question – do they really think that what they call customer service is that ….or is it just lip service? Having a strong brand means that you do what you say you will do.
by admin on January 27, 2010
I get asked that a lot. So, instead of keeping you in the dark, I’ll explain.
Although it was the best decision I ever made, going out on my own was a bit terrifying at the time. I knew I had to scare myself to death – well, maybe just hovering on the edge of death…I tried to think of something that would be a mental and physical challenge that could teach me to face down those growling fears. It is somewhat ironic that the idea I came up with was something I had always wanted my boys to do – Outward Bound (www.outwardbound.org) Naturally, having their mother suggest such a thing was the absolute kiss of death but the idea of the challenge drew me in me and I signed up.
I did take myself to the outside edge of my fear and realized that it was all in my curly head. And it was a life changing experience mainly because it taught me that whenever I get rattled, I can go back to that one moment at treetop level in the pouring rain, climbing a pole and finishing the high ropes course. I faced down my worst fear of the moment – heights and came through fine.
Big Shoes is a metaphor for stepping into a bigger place. I am a marketing consultant who teaches entrepreneurs in professional services how to become highly visible and attractive to their target clients. Most entrepreneurs and business owners tend to do the same thing as everyone else – we’re all still in 7th grade ! When they are ready to wear their Big Shoes – they start to enjoy standing out for what they do best- and get noticed for it.
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