To Make The Sale Know Your Audience

To Make The Sale Know Your Audience  

Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

When I left the corporate corner office and hung out the Business Advisor shingle I joined a networking group.

Northern Virginia Business Referrals meets in Arlington every Tuesday for breakfast. A cross section of skills and professions are represented in the group.

After three months frustration was building. Not only did I not have any referrals (being new to the game I had few to give), I wasn’t sure they knew my mane or what my service entailed.

A group member who exhibits a lot of marketing smarts is Linda Zenker, Associate Real Estate Broker in northern Virginia.  I asked her to spend a few minutes over coffee helping me out.

“Linda, what’s going on? I’m not making any headway with the group. Have not had one referral – not even a bite.”

“Jim, I know your experienced is in the corporate world and you have a fine concept about the value you bring to a client. Yet there’s one thing getting in your way.”

Aha I thought, Linda is going to share the inside scoop on marketing for success. Sitting on the edge of the chair ready to absorb the pearls of wisdom. Things are going to be OK from now on. 

“Jim, you’re at every breakfast. I know you are making a tremendous effort … BUT you show up at each meeting in your corporate togs – suit, shirt, and tie.

When people look and listen to you all they see is big dollar signs.

First, I suggest you dress down to a more casual style, second, why not come up with a special offering with a non-Wall-Street price tag the members can relate to.”

So the whole marketing secret is I hadn’t gauged the audience. I was in my world, not theirs.

Following Linda’s advice, I shed the suit & tie and announced a 60-day special offering. It worked. Had two takers in the next two weeks.

The Bottom Line:

Pay close attention to the audience. Focus on their concerns not yours and the value you bring to their table.

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.   

"How to Build a Unique Selling Proposition"

"How to Build a Unique Selling Proposition" Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

WHAT IS A UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

Unique Selling Proposition’s (USP) purpose is to help your marketing efforts generate better results. It positions you as standing out from your competition because you offer something (or some way) that your competition does not – you’re unique.

Your USP is a selling tool that draws prospects to your offering and persuades them to purchase your product or service. Your USP is a proposition that offers benefits by buying from you.

Since your USP is a sales proposition, you are making an offer. The classic example is Domino’s Pizza, “Pizza in 30 minutes or it’s free”. Dominos positioned itself as unique since none of its competitors made that claim, and (as we know) made the sale to millions.

 HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR USP

Put yourself in the customer’s chair. What are the pains in your industry that you guaranty to solve?  It’s not what you do; it’s what benefits your customer receives from your efforts.

Craig Herberg is owner of Info-Safety, an IT services company providing on-site and remote computer services for residential and micro-business clients in Northern Virginia.  

Craig identified his customers’ pain as the frustration they experience dealing with their computer technology. Craig offers Technology Frustration Remediation®

That is his trademarked process by which he offers assurance while explaining the method by which he will solve the problem along with tips on avoiding or reducing the impact of similar problems.

What is the “pain” (irritation, frustration, disappointment) your customer experiences when working with your industry - the endless wait for pizza. 

The key is to be unique. Since you are promising to alleviate the “pain” something no one else has, or does, make a guarantee. It sets you apart from your competition and it makes you more visible in the market.

The Bottom Line

Your USP drives your business and success because it differentiates you from your competition, it persuades someone to buy, it makes an offer to the prospective buyer.  It can also be used as a branding tool for your marketing efforts. This allows you to build a lasting reputation while you are making the sale.  

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.

Why Should I Buy From You?

Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

Why Should I Buy From You?

This question is the 600-pound gorilla in the prospect's mind. 

What do YOU look for when making a significant purchase? 

• Low rate? - only if you can take a chance on the outcome

• A fancy glossy proposal? – where’s the meat?

• A description of the work that lacks a clear statement of the outcome and completion date?

No way – you select the vendor that achieves:

1.     A meeting of the minds through shared communications so each party is clear on the process and outcome

2.     Open ended questions that lead to defining the scope of the job and results

3.     Show a track record of delivering on promised results

To achieve trust use a process: 

• of investigating the prospect's priorities

• that leads to the value you bring to the table

• developing trust that the prospect is dealing with a true professional.

 When you tell a story showing how you use similar techniques you define what success looks like. The trust you create is a picture in the mind of your prospects.

Bottom line?
Increase probability of success by establishing trust, which is the yellow brick road to a prospect’s acceptance.