Sales and Marketing

Seth Godin wrote about the need for emergency room staff in hospitals – but not in business settings. Taking it one step further – definitely NOT in the marketing department. Seth says, “If all we do is reward fast first aid in what people do at...

When Leger Marketing released their Customer Experience Index, the list revealed that we should study cosmetics retailers more closely so we can learn from them. Survey respondents rated stores on 17 “customer experience dimensions” including...

One of the most common mistakes I see business owners make is refusing to narrow down their target market, or decide on their market. When I make the suggestion, some people get very uncomfortable. The main fear sounds something like this: “I’m not going to turn people away—EVERYONE can buy my product/use my services!” You’re right to believe in the value of your product or service as something that will benefit many and all people. BUT, think of it this way. Marketing is a lot like fishing. When you “go fishing” (ie, when you are investing your time, money, and energy into your marketing), it’s better to pick one type of fish to go after. If you cast a wide net, sure you’ll catch a few good fish, but you’re also going to bring in some junk, like a boot, glass bottles, an old tire, etc. It’s more efficient if you use the right bait, and you do this by figuring out what type of fish you’re after, placing yourself in the most likely spot to find them, then attracting them by giving them what they want.

Does this sound familiar? You've met someone who needs your services. In fact they need your services right now and they're clearly interested in hiring you! And then they ask the question: "How are you different from everyone else offering what you offer?"

True Story This afternoon I came a few minutes early for a weekly leads group I attend. While we were waiting to begin someone mentioned they needed to make an appointment with their dentist. “Talk about paying to be tortured,” one person groaned. “Not my dentist,” Marianna spoke up, “She’s awesome!” This got everyone’s attention because it’s not often you hear the words “awesome” and “dentist” used in the same sentence. “No really,” Marianna insisted, “She’s very gentle and calming. Believe me the dentist I used before I started seeing her was not like that at all.” The six people sitting in the room all took out pens and paper and said, “Do you have her contact information?”