Day 9 – Marketing Arsenal

Making One-to-one marketing a Hot Marketing Resource

All of the marketing tools have been about one thing – presenting you and your services to potential clients.   Presenting the features and benefits of your service in a One-To-One setting with an new prospect is no different.   In fact, One-to-one marketing is a misnamed venue that is actually where you prepare and enter into a situation where you are not certain of the outcome but want to make the effort regardless.

In prior marketing circles, it was assumed the one-to-one marketing would be synonymous with rejection and doors slamming in your face.   With your Marketing Arsenal, you determine how effective one-to-one marketing is going to be for you by what you know and what you do with what you know.

When you know how to use one-to-one marketing techniques effectively you make it possible for you to get your foot in the door in a wide range of companies that can use your financial services and products.

Why Use One-to-one marketing

In addition to developing your sphere of influence, one-to-one marketing allows you to:

1.    Find out more about your target audience.   If those in your potential market believe you are not selling anything, they are more likely to listen to you and especially to talk, allowing you to listen to their needs and formulate a marketing plan that will meet those needs. One-to-one marketing allows you to do instant market research.

2.    Generate new business.   By researching a potential company, you can find out who you need to talk to in order to get in front of them for an interview and establish that you are the best and only person for the job.

3.    Establish and Develop Business Partnerships.  By conversing with others both inside and outside of the financial industries, you can add exponentially to you pool of knowledgeable persons for you to network with.   By developing partnerships, you can build and offer the best possible services to your clients.  This establishes you as an authority in your field and expands the reach of your company without costing you any money.

What One-To-One Marketing Is Not

Historically, one-to-one marketing has been presented by sleazy salespersons that had slick deals and high-pressure sales tactics to swindle and unsuspecting prospect into a deal they would later wish they had not made.

Proper cold-calling techniques are not unethical, illegal, or disrespectful of others.   Effective one-to-one marketing is not about taking advantage of someone else but ensuring that a potential client has the advantages they need to make THEIR business a success – not just be another catalyst for your personal and professional success.

What Makes One-to-one marketing Successful

Anyone, no matter who they are, can be successful at one-to-one marketing.  Five essential facts of one-to-one marketing are that you must

1.     Be Positive.    Positivism is contagious.   Life is so full of negatives that those who are positive are an essential influence on the lives of others.   If you are not positive about who you are, what you sale and what you provide – people are going to know.

2.     Be Prepared!   One-to-one marketing is not about going into a situation uninformed or unprepared.   You must know who you are calling, what they do, how they do it and how they are different from others and most importantly – how what you offer will fit their needs.

3.     Be Yourself.   If you plan on having a long term relationship with a client you must begin working with them by being yourself and continue working with them in a way that they expect.

4.      Not Take Rejection Personally.   A common saying, “It’s not personal, it’s business” applies to the area of cold-calling.   It is certain that you will get rejected.   Take the rejection in stride and learn what you can from that experience.   Your dedication in this area will pay off in the long run and if it doesn’t – change your strategy and figure out what does work or will work.

5.      Ask the Right Questions.    While rambling may seem a logical step to make in conversing with someone, the point of one-to-one marketing is to effectively reach out to others and find out what you need to know about their situation.   Learn what they do and what they need help with.    Ask them about their business and what they do.   As people talk about themselves you are going acquire more information than just a “yes” or a “no” response and in those details you are going to establish the connection you need with your potential client.

How to Make One-to-one marketing a Business Priority

You will never get to a point where you do not need any new business.  In fact, as the saying goes “No new business leads to slow business” and we all know that the a slow business has little to show for it when it comes time to assess profits versus loss.

In order to make one-to-one marketing a priority you could hire someone to work part time or full time to introduce you, your business and your services to potential clients.   While this sounds very telemarketing-like if done correctly, it can be a catalyst to the professional boost you need daily.

If your budget is limited right try setting aside one day or part of a day if making cold calls in person or one hour of each day to work on one-to-one marketing over the phone.   If you do this there are some common things you may want to consider in order to make your call times as effective and productive as they can be.

1.     Do not call right at opening, during lunch hours or right before closing.   Well, that limits the time of day significantly and eliminates based upon a typical 8 am to 6 pm work schedule 7:30 am to 8:30 am, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm and any time after 4 pm.    If you are looking for a key time to make a cold call – 9:00 am to 10:30 am or between 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm are your best times to call.

2.      Consider the day of the week.   Mondays and Fridays are typically not your best days to cold call.  Most businesses on Monday always face some sort of hectic schedule and are dealing with multiple crises that developed over the weekend.  They don’t call Monday “mad” or “manic” without a reason. Come Friday, most everyone is gearing down for the weekend on Fridays and desire to save important details until next week.  Tuesday and Wednesday are your top days to cold call and Thursday can be your “backup” cold call day.

The Script

If you associate one-to-one marketing with your favorite movie or your favorite theater presentation, you are going to discover that one-to-one marketing is as easy as remembering lines of dialogue between your favorite actors.   The beauty about great movies is they mirror life so like actors can practice their lines, you can practice what you will say during a cold call and the timing of what you will say.

The anatomy of a script consists of an introduction and request to speak to owner, offer drop-off piece and if talking to prospect, work to set up a future appointment for a presentation.

Step One:  You will simply walk into the business and then ask the first person you see who looks as if they work there if they are the owner.

If they say no, ask politely to speak to the owner.

If they say yes, introduce yourself, recite your quick pitch you developed in Stage 1 and explain that you are out giving business owners an opportunity to look at the products/services you offer.

Step Two:  Show and give your drop-off interest piece (such as a brochure, flyer or interest-generating flyer) with your business card attached.

Step Three:  After your prospect has some time to look your interest piece and make a comment or potentially show interest, work from what your prospect says and ask if it would be okay to plan to get together so the two of you can go over the details of the service or product that you believe would be beneficial for your prospect.   A great way of doing this is giving your prospect a choice between two days and times.    This encourages a commitment instead of a rejection for a face-to-face appointment.

If after viewing your interest piece your prospective client expresses that they do not have a need in that area or are just not interested, try to get more information and insight into their objection.   Ask a question that requires a detailed answer such as “Is that right? ” and inquire about how the services/products they have are working for them or how long have they been using that particular product or service.

A great lead in to a potential appointment is to ask if they did a lot of research before purchasing the product or making a change to the service they are using.   Follow up with a question like “Are you receiving more benefits now as a result of your transition?   If they say yes,  encourage them to give themselves a chance to receive more benefits by at least – as a minimum – setting up an appointment to discuss your services.

Then, offer the alternate choice of day and time.   This way of presenting an appointment option does not leave a prospect with an easy way out and allows you to have an easier time getting to meet with him/her face-to-face.   Remember, your sole purpose of a cold call is to get an appointment to make a presentation pitch to your potential client.  You do not pitch a product or service in full to your client – you pitch a possibility and try to secure the promise of an appointment with your prospect.

How to Handle the Money Question without Making a Cold-Call Seem Cold

Invariably, a prospect with ask questions that may be “off of your script”.   It is essential that you anticipate these, and plan to respond naturally and relaxed as much as possible.

For example, if your prospective client ask you how much your services or products costs for the most part if you are pitching a services – this will vary according to the needs of the client and the work involved.   Express that to the client and work to establish one of two alternative dates and times to meet to discuss in detail the particulars of your services with your prospect.

If you have a product with a fixed price – resist the urge to pitch and present the project at that time.   Establish with your prospect that it would be better to meet at a later time to discuss the particulars of how beneficial the product will be to them and the particular product you are offering with add value compared to cost involved.

After The Prospect Says “Yes”

Once your prospect agrees to an appointment, give them a business card with the appointment time written on the back and request one of their business cards.    Exchanging business cards will allow the both of you to feel more committed to keeping the appointment.

Thank your prospect for meeting with you and tell them you will look forward to the opportunity of presenting your services/products to them at a later date.

If the Prospect Says “No”

If a prospect says no, there are several options you can try that respect both you and the prospect.

1.     Ask them to look over the drop-off interest materials and mention that you will call them in a few days to get their reaction.  Ask for a business card.

-     If they give you the card, ask what would be the best time for you to call and then write that on the card.  Say “thank you” and that you look forward to talking with them soon.

-    If they do not want you to call, thank the prospect for their time and ask who they know who could potentially use a product/service like what you are offering.

No matter what – Do not take rejection personally.   A prospect saying “no” should be considered as a “not right now”.    In 3, 6…9 months or a year, your prospects situations could change and they could need or know of someone else who needs your services.   Be civil, courteous and confident – even when dealing with a “no”.

2.      Revisit in about six months.   This time around mention clients you service in the area (if possible and there are no privacy laws you would be violating).   On occasion, a prospect will show you the materials you left.  That is very positive.   If that happens mention that obviously they were interested enough to keep your brochure and offer an alternate day/time to get together to discuss the details.

From Cold Calls to Warm Presentations

The point of the cold call is to get an appointment to complete the presentation.   During the presentation it is your job to discover your prospect’s needs in detail and discuss the benefits of your products or services which will fill those needs.

As you work on the steps of your presentation, the more comfortable you feel and you will communicate better the positive connections between your products and services and your prospect’s needs.

During your presentation appointment it is essential that you realize that people make decisions based upon emotions rather than logic.   If  a person likes you, feels comfortable with you, and trusts you – they are more likely to respond favorably to what you say and what you are offering to them.   Because of this – you need feel professional, personal and passionate about the details of your products and services and how you can help your prospective client.

After the introduction, start warming up the presentation by asking your prospect about their business, how they got started, if they could show you around, and ask them to discuss their goals for their business for the near future.

1.     Explain to them what your meeting is going to entail.    Allowing your prospect to know that you are going to ask questions about their business, take notes and discuss how your products/services can help them as well as discuss your fee structure – all of those details sets your prospective client at ease.

2.      Work through the questions  that you have put together PRIOR to your appointment.

3.     Convey the benefits of your products and/or services and work towards the close.

4.      Ask if what you have presented sounds good to your prospect, if it is what they need.  On an affirmative response, establish a mutually-convenient appointment to start implementing the services and/or products you have discussed.

In Summary

One-to-one marketing does not have to be scary or intimidating for you or for a prospective client.   By a little bit of a practice and planning, you can sincerely approach a potential client and offer them your product or your service and know that it is something they need and that could benefit them.   This attention to detail ensures that you tune in to the details of your client and establish the foundational knowledge you need to create the professional relationship you want and the marketing arsenal to guarantee your business success.

Tomorrow – Word of Mouth Marketing

Building the best products and services is not a luxury … it is a necessity in establishing your business as valuable.   Tomorrow I’ll discuss how to build quality within and without of your business with special incentive offerings that take you to the next level and give your clients and potential customers something positive to talk about.