All too often businesses embark on sales and marketing activity, both inbound and outbound, with one single goal – to reach and engage with the elusive ‘decision maker’.  And if you are lucky enough to reach and engage with an actual decision maker then that is a wonderful thing, but it’s unlikely to result in much of the way of business if you haven’t engaged with other people in the process.  Here are two good reasons why you should never obsess with the decision maker when you’re creating your sales and marketing strategy:

They’re not the person with the need

The person who can place an order may not be the person who has the ‘need’ you are trying to fulfil with your solution . . . meaning your marketing efforts are likely to fall on deaf ears.  For example, if your product or service helps businesses close sales more quickly, target those people who have the greatest need for this (e.g. sales managers).  If they are sold on what your product does then they will become your biggest asset when it comes to influencing decision makers.

Making decisions does not necessarily equal placing orders

Within most businesses there is rarely a single point of decision-making or a single budget holder.  Of course there will be somebody who physically places orders but they will do so based on the consensus of key stakeholders – ignore these at your peril.

A successful sales and marketing strategy needs to be built on clever targeting based on the answers to a few very simple questions.  Who are my stakeholders?  Where are they?  What do they need?  Understanding the answers to these questions can create all sorts of new opportunities for your business to engage with your customers.

If you’re reading this then I’m guessing you have a blog and are creating lots of content designed to interest and attract your target market over to your website.

However, it’s hard work coming up with ideas, and takes time to write a decent blog and share it across the relevant platforms.  It makes it all the more frustrating when, after all the blood, sweat and tears, no-one seems to be reacting to your blog.  It’s like nobody cares.

So what’s the one simple thing you can to generate more business from your blog?  Add a visual Call To Action.

A Call To Action is a clickable image which drives the reader to take additional action once they’ve read your blog.  They’re most traditionally associated with e-commerce (think the ‘buy now’ button you find on websites) but they should be used with all content marketing to drive the type of behaviour you want.

It’s important to think about what it is you’d like your readers to do after reading your blog post and this will depend on your type of business.  If your business offers services and consultancy then your Call To Action should encourage the reader to get in contact to discuss their requirements so you can make some recommendations on how to help.  If you sell software or solutions then perhaps your Call To Action could offer a free trial.

Once you’ve decided on your Call To Action all you need to do is create a nice visual image which clearly states your desired action and include it with every blog post.  Easy peasy eh??  Actually it is.  I created the Call To Action image below for my education consultancy using a powerpoint slide and a free stock photograph (if you’d like the template just get in touch and I’ll make it available).

Fancy a free 30-minute phone consultation?

The vast majority of my clients offer products and services, but visual Calls To Action such as the one above sound obvious but are often over-looked as a marketing tool.  The key is to make them clear, simple and highly visible; they’re fantastic for creating deeper engagement and make it easier for your potential customers to come to you.

A couple of years ago during an interview I was asked the almost inevitable question “Are you an introvert or an extrovert?” to which I responded “neither”.

The interviewer was adamant that I must be one or the other and it made me question why this should be the case.  It seems to be unquestioned wisdom that the best sales people are extroverts and if you are in least bit introverted then there’s no way you’ll be successful in sales.  However, there are lots of reasons why this simply isn’t the case.  For example, I used to work with a man who’s friendly, outgoing, confident, enthusiastic, great at getting along with people, but couldn’t close a sale to save his life for the simple reason that all that enthusiasm meant that he didn’t listen.  Equally, another ex-colleague of mine was quiet and unassuming but his unthreatening nature and methodical way of working meant he was really rather good at sales – the only frustration being that he could have been absolutely amazing if only he would come out of his shell a bit.

So who ARE best at selling?  Ambiverts.

Ambiverts sit somewhere between introversion and extroversion and display personality traits from both.  And it absolutely makes sense that it is this personality type that makes the best sales people as, ultimately, selling isn’t about foisting your personality onto your client.  Successful selling involves listening to and relating to your client, presenting to them a person they would like to deal with and a company they want to engage with.  The best sales people are the ones who adapt their behaviours to the situation in front on them.

So, which personality type are you?

All too often I hear companies say that the thing they absolutely must to do overcome competition is beat them on price.  The logic being that if we’re the cheapest then we’re the ones the customer will choose, right?

Generally speaking, and unless everyone you are competing against is offering a 100% identical product to you, this simply isn’t the case.  People are looking for value as much as they are a good price.  In the public sector most large deals go through a formal procurement process but, even then, price will only make up a certain percentage of the score.   Customers tend to use the MEAT criteria (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) which also takes into account quality.

So instead of making price the thing you must beat them on and the focus of your efforts, why not try highlighting some of the other things that stand you apart instead.  For example:

• Are you greener or more ethical? Is your product/service locally based or locally made.  Equally, is your service UK-wide or international?
• Is your product of a higher quality, built to last, easier to use, safer to use or approved by a respected organisation?
• Are your staff experts in their field, do they come from industry, are they a large, happy and stable team offering fabulous service, do you offer longer more flexible opening hours and online help?

At the end of the day cheapest rarely means best.  Aim to price your product or service at a price-point that truly represents what you offer and then focus your attention on delivering all the added value your customers will love.

Now this is a dangerous phrase because when businesses say this they are often referring the fact that they feel they have a product that does something or has features that perhaps other products don’t have.  And, based on this, they feel no product compares to theirs and, therefore, they have no competition.  But the phrase “we don’t have any competitors” is a dangerous one for three main reasons:

1. That piece of unique functionality that your product has may seem like the most important thing in the world to you but your customers may think differently.

If they don’t see it as a deal breaker then they will look at all the similar products on the market – so you need to be conscious of the fact that you’re also competing with them.

2.  Even if your product or service is completely 100% unique, you are always still competing for budget.

It may be that your customer chooses to spend their budget on something completely different as they consider it more important to them at that moment.  The challenge is finding a way to ensure your potential customers consider what you’re offering as high priority.

3.  The belief that no competitors exist in your market can ultimately lead to complacency.  

If you feel that your product is the best out there then there’s a danger that the needs of the customer will stop being the priority and you’ll fall into the trap of believing that “the product sells itself”.  To successfully sell you must always be asking yourself ‘what’s important to the customer?’ and making sure your value proposition is based on this.

Ultimately knowing your competition is the key to creating a great marketing and sales strategy and, believe me, they definitely exist!

No matter what the question or situation my 4-year old niece will always, always ask “why?”  And she asks this because she genuinely wants to understand what’s going on, what is the reason behind it.  As grown-ups we become experienced in our field and come to know our customers and competitors well and, as a result, we stop asking why because we feel we know the answer – and to be fair there’s a good chance we do know the answer.  But the point at which you stop asking “why?” is the point when you start becoming a less effective sales person for two reasons:

1. Things change; you may be able to able to make a fairly good guess at what’s important to your client right now but never assume – you don’t know what’s around the corner for them so you should ask.
2. You may stop asking “why?” because your experience tells you the answer, but asking questions is so important as it shows your clients you are interested in understanding their specific needs. They may be different or similar to everyone else, but you need to take the time to let them explain what’s important.

So try it, keep asking “why?”  I’m not suggesting doing it in the manner my 4-year old niece does (e.g. relentlessly, and often accompanied by tantrums) but I would certainly be sure to ask the question as you’ll be surprised by the results – especially when you’re the only person to have taken the time to ask.

The product sells itself.  How many times have you been told this, or heard it from a manager, or even thought it yourself of the product you’ve created?  In saying this, the thinking is that the product is simply so good that once the customer sees how it works they will definitely buy it.

This is a dangerous phrase for two reasons.  Firstly, no matter how good your product is, if you as a business don’t spend the necessary time engaging with your clients and understanding what’s important to them they won’t even look at your product.  Secondly, even if your potential customer does spend some time looking at your product, they’re not going to buy it based on how it works, they’re going to make a buying decision based on what it does for them.  For example, people and businesses don’t choose to buy a piece of software based on how the buttons work, they buy it based on the fact that it improves outcomes, save time, or simplifies a difficult task.  The product doesn’t sell itself – it’s the business that sells the outcomes that using that product can achieve.

Sales strategy should not be about describing how the product works, but about communicating the value proposition – how the product is going to help your client – and you’ll find that getting this right will open the door to far more sales opportunities than a simple product overview.