Your sales and marketing arsenal is to a successful business as good bait is to an accomplished fisherman. You just have to have it!
Without an effective sales and marketing machine your business will likely flounder in the wake of your competition. Like your primary competitors you must have certain tools at your disposal that enable you to stake claim in the marketplace, substantiate your declarations and entice prospects to buy from you.
These sales and marketing tools must be primed, up-to-date and differentiating at all times or you risk missing out on sales opportunities by simply not being effectively prepared.
From my experience with businesses of all sizes covering virtually every major industry, I can tell you that every business – large or small – should have all or at least most of the following weapons in its sales and marketing arsenal: (in no particular order)
1. Web presence – crisp, clear, succinct and differentiating copy that focuses on the business value of your products and services and not just their many features
2. Brochure – a visually appealing takeaway piece that concisely and clearly discusses the value of your products and services in terms every possible prospect can understand
3. Elevator pitch – a punchy, differentiating 25-50 word statement that describes what you provide, for whom, its value and why you are better than your competition
4. Backgrounder – a one-page document that describes the history, structure and philosophy of your business to serve as additional information to anyone considering doing business with you
5. Success stories or testimonial statements – prospects are a tough bunch and often want to hear how you successfully helped others in the past. Ideally you’ll have full stories detailing the business challenge your client faced followed by the solution you provided and the success realized. If this isn’t possible (even if customer-name anonymous), then you must at least have some rich quotes from past, satisfied clients that detail the value you provided to them.
6. Topical articles – when prospects come to your site they are often looking for education and additional information on the topic your business focused on. You ought to have some informational, non-promotional articles on your site or published on the Web that are authored by subject matter experts within your organization. There are few more effective, inexpensive ways of demonstrating your knowledge.
7. Blog or newsletter – dovetailing number 6 above, you simply must have a mechanism to share information with your clients and prospects on a recurring basis to keep them current on your ongoings, to espouse your knowledge and to keep them within your sphere of influence.
8. Key messages/differentiation statements – successful sales rhetoric is imperative to business success; you must therefore arm yourself and/or your sales people with key messages that hit the prospect between the eyes with value they can’t afford to go without.
These are certainly not the only critical sales and marketing mechanisms a successful business should consider, but these are most definitely some of the absolute most important. I did leave out other notable items such as sales presentations, press releases, books, and others.
Thanks for listening.
By, Kevin B. Levi
www.winningmessage.com
www.muckrakeronline.com
very interesting read… I like how number 1 is web presence.. you can’t believe how many times I want to purchase something, or visit a store and when i go to check out there online site – there’s nothing there..
its disappointing!
great read!
Nice Article Kevin,
I am also wondering how effective a business card can be in the right hands. I know that you mentioned “brochure” as one piece of the system but i find it easier to carry a business card.
Luc
i’m sure they assumed you’d have a business card Luc. that’s pretty much bare minimum. the key is leaving something with them that impresses them and also reminds them who you are AND what you’re about. it’s one thing to have a fancy business card with a killer design, but if it doesn’t say much about your company it’s kinda useless
Luc,
Yes a business card is probably something I should have included. For obvious reasons that you know a business card is quite effective. However, it can also become a truer marketing piece if it contains a key message, positioning statement or differentiator on it – perhaps on the back if more room is needed.
Great point!
B.e. you are absolutely right that a business card should not simply be a graphical masterpiece. It definitely can and should feature impactful branding/messaging that differentiates your business.
Cottage: thank you for the kind words. Yes I hear you loud and clear in terms of the web presence and how many companies either have a really poor one or none at all.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
William,
Well I most certainly concur with your number 10 and 11. A well-run and always open call center can make the difference between a sale and a lost opportunity. I hate those companies that operate on one coast and only have the call center open during their business hours. What about people across the country or across the world?
And I like the way you phrased your suggestions around corporate correspondence. Well stated.
Some more items for the arsenal:
9. Hot girls/boys team. This is not a joke. In order to boost your sales you need a small army of good looking, charming, sexy girls/boys to charm the potential customers.
10. Perfect call center. Your customers should be met warmly and politely by smart people with nice voices. 🙂
11. Communication branding. The entire corporate correspondence should be designed and formatted professionally, without grammatical and other errors, good writing style and harmonious structure.
… I can write ten more items, but enough for now…
When it is time for marketing, do not forget about the human element. 🙂
Regards,
William
SmallbusinessSEM thanks for including an excerpt to my article on your site!!
Pingback: What’s in Your Marketing Bag? » Small Business SEM
Pingback: DreamCatcher Online Marketing Buzz - 07/20/07 « DreamCatcher, Inc.