The Biggest dilemma that I hear repeated over and over again is;
What can I do to sell more of my products/services?
Take a look around and you should be able to see exactly what you shouldn’t do.
Look at the very next ad you see a little closer…you will see braggart, self-centered
Ineffective marketing communications. In my opinion a waste of the marketers time,
Company money and of course a complete failure to gain the prospects interest.
The following 10 items are the most costly mistakes you can make as a business owner or marketing manager. Read on and I will help you avoid these all-to-common mistakes before they cost you your job or you business!
1) Laser Your Focus On Your Prospects, Not On Your Company.
You must focus all your marketing communications on your prospect, Period.
Forget how great your company is…save that for later, always begin with your focus on your prospect and their concerns.
Remember this; the prospect is interested in one thing and *ONE THING *only;
What is in it for them.
2) Know Everything About Your Prospect And Their Problems.
Remember this…people buy because they have a problem.
People will not buy from you just for the sake of buying or even because you’ve been in business for twenty years. Think for a second your own personal reasons for buying anything, and you’ll see what I mean.
The more you know about a prospect the easier it will be to solve their problem. Your job is to uncover their problem and present your product or service as the solution.
You must present fact based benefits to communicate to them that they must buy what you are selling to immediately solve their problem and lead a happier more productive life.
3) Know What Specific Benefits Your Product/Service Provides.
Features and benefits are completely different so don’t get them confused.
Remember this; Features are about the product…Benefits are about the prospect.
Like I stated earlier your prospect is only interested in one thing. The benefits he/she will receive by owning your product.
Look at it this way; how does the fact that your company has been in business for twenty years help me paint my living room? Tell me what amazing new system that you have to paint my room with less effort and in less time. Tell me how if I purchase this new system (super magic paint roller) today how I can benefit…maybe include a special offer. Tell me that and you’ve made a sale. More on special offers later.
4) Qualify Your PROSPECTS Before You Spend Any Money Marketing Your Products/Services To Them.
It continually blows my mind how many expensive promotional items I get sent to me without EVER been qualified as being 1) Interested in the product/service 2) Being able to afford the product/service. 3) Having any need currently or in the future for the product/service. I will never buy anything from that company no matter how dazzling the promotion they present to me. But…why don’t they know that? SIMPLE….they never took the time to qualify me as a prospect. There are many ways to qualify prospects I will cover more on this later. Don’t make this mistake!
5) Never Focus Your Marketing Communications At The Entire World.
This is another very common mistake that I see companies make over and over again. I call this type of marketing the shot-gun method. Just blast a bunch of marketing material out there and hope and pray that something happens….hope that just maybe you might make a sale. This is a big waste of marketing dollars and time.
You can’t be everything to everyone. You need to focus your attention on a specific tightly targeted market. You will sell more of what you have to offer to a smaller more focused market and save money in the process by cutting your cost-per-sale dramatically.
Remember this…Focus…Focus…Focus!
6) State The Specific Problem That The Prospect Has And What It Is Costing Him/Her Every Minute It Is Left Unsolved.
People do things for two reasons and two reasons only. To avoid pain or gain Pleasure. In order to get your prospect to take notice of what you are selling you must effectively communicate to your prospect what it is costing them for ignoring your message.
Remember to explain the main BENEFIT of your product as the SOLUTION to the problem you just stated.
This can be done in the form of a headline for example…
Stop Wasting Your Valuable Time and Money Waiting For….so on and so on.
7) Use The First Line Of Your Document To Attract Attention.
All too often we get caught up in another very common marketing trap. This one is extremely hazardous to your wealth. Scan over your marketing materials and you will
Probably see the following; a fancy company logo, your address, something about how good you think you are. The problem here is that the prospect doesn’t give a damn how great you think your company is or how fancy your logo looks.
The only radio station they are tuned into is WI.FM (what’s in it for me). If you begin any marketing piece with a strong bold statement about what’s in it for your prospect you will capture the attention of your audience immediately. The first thing the prospect must see is the statement of their problem backed up by a solution you have, backed up by the cost of not solving it immediately.
8) Motivate Your Prospect To Act Immediately While You Have Their Attention!
Now that you have their undivided attention and have created a need for what you are selling, you have to motivate your prospect to take immediate action. Why? Because they are excited about it now…wait to long and you know what will happen? The average consumer will completely forget about what you can or cannot do for them and quickly move to the next exciting offer.
Once you have convinced the prospect that you have the solution to their problem you have completed the fist step to a successful sale. However it will do you absolutely no good toy have the prospect ready to act but have no reason for them toy act immediately.
This is accomplished by using time deadlines, special “limited time” offers, two for one sales, cash discounts etc….you have toy tell your prospects you have a solution if they order today, and you will add some FREE bonuses, add a discount of XXX, double their order, pay for the shipping etc. It’s of no value to you in getting your prospect motivated to but and not giving them a great reason to act Today!!!
9) Use Testimonials In All Your Marketing Communications.
To a prospect who is receiving your materials for the first time, your company has little or no credibility. They don’t know, like or trust you yet. You are virtually unknown toy the prospect. To getting around this hurdle and convincing your prospect that others with similar problems HAVE truly benefited in a positive way from your product or service is the fastest most effective way to gain your prospects confidence.
Each time you get positive feedback from your customers or clients ask them if you can quote them, even if it’s just on the telephone. Keep a file on these quotes and the next time you sit down to work on your next marketing piece…use them. Failure to use testimonials will result in great difficulty gaining a new prospects confidence and will directly impede your sales. The rule of thumb is two testimonials per page; more might be acceptable but never less than two per page.
10) Offer A Strong Risk Reversal or Guarantee Of Satisfaction.
The common belief that offering a strong guarantee will result in more returns is FASLE.
In fact, by offering a better guarantee you will invariably sell more of your products or services without necessarily increasing your net percentage of returns. Your prospects will be converted into customers or clients more quickly because your guarantee implies faith in the product or service by your company. This may be the final step in getting many stubborn prospects to commit to purchase what you have to offer.
“Simplifying The Purchasing Process As A Final Step”
Do not make purchasing your product difficult…all the marketing in the world is useless if purchasing your product is not made easy. We are a people accustomed to immediate gratification and it is not only necessary, it is expected. Conclusion; As you can see marketing is a multi-faceted process that requires a great amount of preparation and is often over-looked as being anything more than a nuisance to the person creating the marketing communications. I can promise you this; if you follow the 10 guidelines I just presented to you, you will immediately increase your response rates and ultimately your sales.
Set no limits,
Chad Rissanen
