Small Business Marketing Sucks

I’m conducting some intensive training for the lead generators I manage and oversee, based on curriculum from appointment setting expert Scott Channell. I’ve broken the training into four distinct phases. Although this is specifically geared towards cold-calling, the steps in this process apply to any type of marketing you do.

The first step in the process is What to Say when you have a decision-maker’s attention. Whether that’s over the phone or on your web site, you’re going to have to plan in advance what you’re going to say. If you don’t have something very compelling to tell them, you will lose them. Without the right message, even the person who has a need for your product or service will tell you ‘no.’

Answering Objections and Responding to Resistance is phase 2. We hear the same objections over and over, so there’s no excuse not knowing how to respond to them, be it face-to-face or in your marketing material.

Phase 3 is implementing a Seven-Touch Call Process. This is where most sales people struggle… how often should I call? How many emails until it becomes spam? Unless you figure out how to consistently touch your prospects numerous times, you will become lost in the clutter.

Targeted Marketing is phase 4. Most businesses would love to clone their five or ten best customers, but few make the effort to try. Does it work? We’ve only done it to a small degree but we’ve seen some dramatic results

The final step is Creating a Killer Value Proposition. A value proposition is ”a clear statement of the tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services”. The best source for this information is from the mouths of your customers themselves. Once you know why they buy from you, weave that into all of your sales and marketing messages. Why did I save this step for last if it’s so important? Because you need to start marketing as best you can, as soon as you can – with or without a “killer” value proposition. Once your marketing machine is in motion, you can tweak it as you go.

I’ll be covering each of these steps in more detail over the next few days. Until then, happy marketing!