The New Year means a blank slate for your business, including revenues. It’s likely that business owners are hoping for MORE sales this year, naturally, and therefore let’s discuss the sales process. Please understand that sales is, indeed, a process. Sales is not a one-off activity. In fact, it is a marketing maxim that your prospect will need to hear from you or about you anywhere from 6 to 9 times before they can draw the dots between their problems and your solutions. Many new businesses spend their entire initial marketing budget on one big ad, whether online or perhaps “old school” and mailed to nearby residents. Those business owners need to know that they have just begun the conversation – there’s lots more to do!
Now, not all business models require a lengthy process. Consider this scenario: it’s a hot August day and you’re returning home and see neighborhood kids have a cute lemonade stand. They probably don’t need a series of online ads, social media posts and Google reviews – it’s hot, lemonade is cool, you’ve got a spare buck or two (and the savvy kids take Venmo, anyway!). That’s an easy sale. Or is it? Do you know these kids or their parents? Do you know how well they clean their kitchen, and thus that pitcher they’re using? You can imagine that you’d be far more likely to buy that glass of lemonade from kids you know.
That’s the idea behind “relationship sales,” where you develop strong ties with your prospects, chipping away at those 6 – 9 contacts or communications so that your customer turns to you rather than to a competitor. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to buy a bunch of expensive ads. You probably already share great insights about your industry with your friends and neighbors. Think about being that same friendly neighbor with your social media posts. Perhaps you do HVAC contracting, for example. Do neighbors have questions about tankless water heaters, or do they ask if high-efficiency furnaces are worth the premium cost? Other people – your prospects – have those same questions. Share your expertise, and build that relationship so that when a furnace fails, you’re the only business that’s been keeping in touch in a friendly, useful manner. That information can be shared via social media and/or e-mail, and those same posts can be stored on your website to provide great keyword-rich content for search engines to digest, increasing your search rank as a nice bonus. If you want some great insights into relationship sales, read Jeffrey Gitomer’s terrific “Little Red Book of Selling.” Also, Gitomer will tell you that keeping in touch with current and former customers will get you new ones, as the recipients share your useful content.
Also, make sure that any ad or communication you run includes a call to action, where you tell the recipient what you want them to do. That may be to follow you (so that they’ll see subsequent content and you’ll continue to chip away at those 6 – 9 contacts!), to click through to your website or to call for an appointment. Jerry O’Neal of Continental Siding ends every TV ad with the words “Click or call NOW,” which is his call to action. If your ad doesn’t have a call to action, it’s largely a wasted effort. But remember that an ad alone will not typically get the customer to respond to that call to action. Couple your call to action with great, useful content and they respond far better.
So, be a friendly, knowledgeable neighbor, share your industry insights frequently and build those relationships so that your business is the trusted choice.
