If you were once a salesperson and then become a business owner, the tables suddenly turn, and then you discover the real reasons people buy. You also find out what it’s like to get bombarded by those in your previous profession and why your past sales calls often went unanswered.

I’ve been in the same selling situation as the buying situation I’m in now. Having experience on both sides of the table offers me much deeper sales and marketing insights.

It’s a go!

Most recently I needed to procure services for a couple of client projects and had several pros in my network to call on. All have networked with me and marketed to me in similar ways, and I had no strong loyalties one way or the other. I made my selections and so far, so good.

Why did I choose whom I chose? What most influenced my decisions? In each case it was the strongest and most relevant brand impression left with me. The deciding factors were the suppliers’ focus on their relevant specialties along with my perceptions of their quality, personality and integrity.

Branding Matters!

This is why I always harp on branding. The most powerful brand elements reside in your head and mine! And when we take them to heart, we develop brand loyalty and know whom to call again and again for those needed services or products.

Brands have the power to open relationships! Your brand is only as strong as its recall impression. What does your brand stand for and why does it matter?

Need help with that? Call us and we’ll figure out the messaging that will make your potential customers realize it’s you they should call first.

The post Leave a Recall Impression appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

What if you could expand your opportunities by expanding your interest in what’s going on all around you? Can you bring valuable, creative energy and solutions to people unexpectedly?

Can you tell me about this?

Asking the right questions, often of perfect strangers, leads to opportunities. How many stories have you heard about a seemingly random, happenstance meeting that led to something great? I’ve heard hundreds of such firsthand experiences and have a few of my own to share. I’m sure you do too.

Many years ago, I was curious about a sign I drove past that I hadn’t noticed before. I made a u-turn and pulled up to the building. I inquired about what the company did (thinking at first it was a bakery) and learned it was an industrial manufacturer of niche papermaking equipment. I got the President’s card from the receptionist and never made direct contact. I put his email address into my newsletter list and that was that. A full nine years later, I got a call out of the blue from the guy, and his company became one of my best clients for several years.

Did You Know…?

One day I was drinking a certain brand of tea in the office, and it dawned on me to call the brand’s headquarters in Connecticut. I got the VP of Marketing on the phone and told him about qualitative market research which he happened to be interested in. That serendipitous phone call led to millions in revenue for the company I worked at. I duplicated this tactic and landed business with a major coffee maker brand – Keurig – when it was first entering the commercial market. I have similar stories.

The big secret is that you can create chance meetings and opportune moments intentionally. Make it your intent to bring value to people by learning what they need and pointing them in the right direction to obtain it. This is done by asking questions, but you need to find the people to ask. Where are they? Everywhere – grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, churches, chambers of commerce, construction sites, town offices, BNI groups, coffee shops, hotel lobbies… you get the idea. Just go to these places armed with curiosity, approachability and ideas.

Creative Solutions Nuke Objections

There’s tremendous value in expanding your local presence beyond your traditional home turf. I did this early in my career by making a tiny mom & pop print shop in the North Country a significant competitor in Southern NH and Northern MA. This was unheard of at the time. Due to high demand, logistics and shipping costs, most commercial printers only competed regionally. But I found a way to do business successfully from a long distance. I became the territory rep of my small, faraway company and confidently dispatched objections about distance, turnaround time and logistics.

We didn’t have our own trucks and couriers like other printers, but we had a bus route passing near our shop. Most bus companies gladly accept parcel and freight business, and they run most routes several times a day. Did you know that? We did, and Concord Trailways became my local service equalizer for years! As a result, I more than tripled the company’s revenue by bringing business from the populated south to the rural and sleepy White Mountains region where we had our presses.

Value Driven Field Work

It’s easy enough to show up at places where opportunities may be found but simply asking questions of strangers can be awkward. However, if you have a valuable idea to offer, it’s just you trying to help with whatever situation you observe someone in.

Whatever your expertise, if you make a “cold call” in person or inquire from a stranger about a potential opportunity, be prepared to offer real, expert advice, and be objective about it. If you get back to the person with something of additional value, you’ll likely form a relationship. Create, build and maintain those relationships and more referrals will come your way.

The post Curiosity and Ideas – a Salesperson’s Best Friends appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

Then there was poor me. I worked my tail off to get new business and produced enough to be valued. I cold called like mad, set appointments and made pitches day after day. It was a constant struggle to sustain business growth as it ebbed and flowed in spite of my mighty selling efforts. But Richard just sat there on the phone discussing business and taking big, fat orders. Either that or he would meet his clients at the plant and entertain them as they brought him more projects.

Richard’s cup runneth over while mine was either half full or half empty, depending on my attitude.

The real kicker about Richard was this. Most of the new business inquiries calling in would ask for him even though he didn’t spend time prospecting. What did he have that the rest of us didn’t?

Never Compromise Quality

Richard understood quality and he never cut corners. While I was trying to figure out ways to lower costs or match competitive price quotes to “win” an order, Richard could smoothly negotiate price increases making sure to add value to the total package.

The primary value that Richard added was quality-assurance. Richard’s clients knew that if they worked with him, they would get the best quality products available. No shortcuts, no surprises; just predictable high quality at a fair, negotiated price.

I assumed price meant everything and I was wrong.

When Richard sensed cheapness or price challenge from a new business prospect, he would usually refer them to competing manufacturers whom he knew would cut profits to keep their machines running. Better they get the difficult clients.

Quality Fuels Word of Mouth

If you’re looking for more qualified sales leads, focus more on delivering premium quality to all your customers every single time you do business. Word of mouth referrals are the best inbound leads. Quality reputations can only be earned, and if you’ve earned yours, then go ahead and promote it!

Promote the one thing that separates your quality from the rest. If a prospect happens to see your company promotion and call you after also getting a referral, the sale is yours! And that was Richard’s secret to easygoing sales success. He promoted quality assurance and all his customers backed him up.

Best-in-class quality is the goal. Your marketing and sales efforts will work better as the quality seekers in your market find what they’re looking for in your brand.

The post Quality Promotes! appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

Having “followers” in business is a good thing. And what are followers, exactly? Think of having fans interested in what you do, what you think and what you have to say. They would say positive things about and recommend your brand in a heartbeat. And they literally choose to “follow” you on social media because they value your insights.

Celebrity or Influencer?

Celebrity status is by degrees. There are local, national and worldwide celebrities. We can all be celebrities of sorts when we’re doing the kinds of things people celebrate as praiseworthy or valuable. If you’ve been in the same profession for 5 years or more and have a successful track record, the people who know this about you will value your thoughts and opinions about your industry. If you write about it publicly, you’ll attract a following of curious and likeminded people, and you’ll begin to influence their thinking. This is known as your “tribe” in business vernacular. To these folks, you’re known as an influencer which is akin to being a celebrity among that select group.

Can you attract people to an event or influence them to share your message? We all have a circle of influence which can wax and wane depending on our commitment to proactively offer value in every business situation. The more you engage people with value, the wider your influence grows in the market. That influence can fade quickly the moment you ease up and back off from proactive market engagement. I’ve seen this happen in my own business life repeatedly over the years which is why I keep writing blogs, columns and newsletters as well as attending events in my market, even creating them.

Innovation Gets Attention!

Last year I started a new local event series called “Networking in Motion” which keeps my brand and others’ in front of people like you. Having recruited a couple of influencers in my network – people who have their own tribe, we easily attract a dozen or more people to fun and “kinetic” business networking events. We build relationships and expand referral partnerships which you know are super valuable! So far, 3 successful events with another one coming up in early December! Stay tuned for details.

Would You Follow Yourself?

Whether you’re a buyer, seller, connector or just an observer, the amount you engage other businesspeople in meaningful conversations is usually in direct proportion to your current business success.

If people respect what you say, they are likely to follow you in the market, in your industry, at events, and it extends online. The key is to publish content and make sure it passes the value test! Do people get value and are they entertained when reading or listening, watching?

Proactive Market Engagement

Consider the ways in which you engage with people for the purpose of growing your business.

• How many networking events per month do you attend?
• Are you considered a “regular” in the groups you belong to?
• Do you sponsor or host events that bring businesspeople together?
• Do you lead workshops, seminars and educational events?
• Do you have an email list you regularly send newsletters and updates to your followers?
• Do you join boards and committees so you can contribute to and influence the groups you belong to?
• Do you invest time to build individual relationships with key players and influencers in your market?
• Well, do ya, punk? (See Dirty Harry)

Answer “yes” to as many of these questions as possible and you will develop followers who will help you succeed by advocating for your business success.

Real Followers do more than like and click!

Mere clicks on your links and likes or comments on your social pages indicate that some people are noticing your messages. It’s better to have engagement than not but how far does the engagement go? For some in your audience, it’s no more than a like, click or comment hoping they will get noticed on your profile.

Your real followers will take more actions on your behalf. They’ll make direct business referrals, share your posts to their networks, hire you for services and show up to your events, and they will invite their friends!

If you want real followers in the market, get out there and lead. Reread the section under Proactive Market Engagement and make plans to answer “yes” to the questions. If I can do it, so can you!

The post Who Follows You and Why? appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

This article stems from a current national discussion and I believe this discussion is culturally and economically crucial. In fact, I encourage you to discuss this topic with your colleagues and get to the heart of the matter for your business.

We’re shifting our own “social media marketing” over to real professional networking on LinkedIn and within our chosen organizations. And by the way, email marketing still rocks!

We’re leaving the noisy social chatter and joining the focused, productive discussions both online and in real meetings. Care to join the movement?

Facebook Folly

Consider this analogy. Let’s say you commit a significant budget for radio advertising. Would you pay a radio group that only played your ads if they felt like it, or only according to a secret broadcast schedule, and then refused to give you independently verified data about audience reach, demographics and ratings stats? Welcome to Facebook! They’ll gladly take your money and then quite possibly hassle you about your ad content. If they let you run the campaign, they generate analytics reports that show “engagements” which are also called “vanity metrics” for a good reason. You might even hear from a tire kicker or two, perhaps a couple of trolls… and gain little or no new business.

This is the typical experience that I and numerous B2B colleagues have had advertising on Facebook.

Targeted demographics or advertising sales scam?

The top social media company says they know who your customers are (or would be) because they have the data, and they have it in spades, but not on everyone.

Supposedly, they pinpoint and distribute your ads to the right people; whatever they say their algorithm does, not what an independent auditor can analyze and measure, and you have no possible way of confirming or validating the analytics they provide. It’s whatever they say it is, not what you actually experience in results. I find it amazing that advertisers still widely accept this dubious scheme.

Where it Works

Social media does work for certain kinds of businesses, namely socially-driven businesses such as design, retail, fashion, beauty, health & fitness, coaching and lifestyle brands. That makes perfect sense.

What if you’re none of the above and sell things like heavy equipment, engineering services, contract manufacturing, commercial construction, IT services, application software and other B2B products & services? In these industries, Facebook is a time drain in a creepy crapshoot.

On the other hand, LinkedIn will connect you with dedicated career people in your chosen fields. The free LinkedIn personal profile provides the best functionality and user experience of any “social media” platform, and all in a business-driven environment!

Look at Reality!

• Will a clever Facebook ad resonate like a conversation between an engineer and their client CEO?
• Would a manufacturing company CEO be more likely to click an ad and request an appointment on Facebook or return a subject-relevant email from a potential supplier of critical components?
• What carries more weight, a pertinent direct message from a LinkedIn Connection or a message notification from a salesperson on your company Facebook page?
• How about a Facebook ad versus a product demo invitation from a company referred to you by someone in your network?
• How about seeing a mask-clad visitor dropping off a colorful brochure with large photos and bullet points that speak to your need? Compare that to the slight chance you will see a boosted Facebook video from that company sandwiched between an insane political meme complete with rant and your buddy’s latest vacation bragging.

B2B decision makers respond to messages that directly speak to their needs and they don’t use Facebook to look for those solutions! If you’re the odd CEO or Operations Manager who goes to Facebook to find crucial information to run your business, my advice is don’t be too distracted by the ugliness, and good luck finding any solutions that meet your needs.

Marketing Efforts Better Prioritized

When it comes to your B2B social media strategy, I offer this soothing advice. Relax!

The real social media value for most B2B marketing is having another nice looking brand presence online. That takes only minimal effort while it maintains some additional brand visibility.

If you’ve been struggling to make social media work for your company, pause and reconsider your entire marketing mix. Place social media where it belongs – as an ancillary extension of your primary online presence. Your website is far and away your higher priority!

Go Direct!

Yes, of course you can use technology to reach more customers! PPC search marketing delivers validated and proven results, especially when your landing pages resonate with effective calls to action.

So first off, channel more creative energy into the only place on the internet over which you have total control – your website! Work hard on those campaign landing pages!

And remember, direct marketing and personal selling have always worked and still work wonders for small business.

If we’re not already connected on LinkedIn, please feel free to reach out and connect with me: linkedin.com/in/chucksink.  Perhaps my network can help you and your network.

The post Why Your B2B Social Media Fails to Produce appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

When you see an inbound call from a familiar company or brand name, you’re more inclined to answer the call. If you’re a business owner, you know this is true, and so do your salespeople.

Sales is a brutally competitive, uphill battle in this day and age. Why discourage your team by pushing them up a steep hill? Help level the playing field by investing in your brand and executing a targeted marketing plan.

Creating strategic brand awareness is the best investment you will ever make in your business. Name one initiative that brings in customers and revenues better than being well-known for what you do best… You can’t.

Better Mousetrap?

“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” This is only true when people believe you have a better mousetrap, and they have to find out about it first!

The more you authentically communicate your value proposition in the marketplace, the better your “mousetrap” is perceived by potential customers. Once you have established a high-quality perception in your market, prospects’ doors open much easier. Your outbound emails and phone calls have not only a fighting chance but a likelihood of being answered or returned.

Sales Pay Dirt

If your brand carries sway, your prospective customer is either curious, willing or eager to answer their phone when you or your team come calling. This is sales pay dirt. It’s the magic merger that takes companies to the next level and improves lifestyles.

Grow Your Business in 90 Days

Once you make the decision to invest in your brand to boost sales, you just need to remain committed and stay the course! Within about 90 days of implementing a new branding campaign, you should start seeing profitable results. Sequencing looks like this…

1. Create or refresh your brand with the focus on unique value – include both visual and verbal elements. 30 days
2. Produce branded marketing communications right away – Don’t worry about perfection at this point! You can easily start with a landing page, an email blast, a press release, a postcard or just a flyer. 45 days
3. Develop a media and direct marketing strategy – use your proven, go-to channels and carefully consider adding new, targeted media. Apply tracking code to your digital communications and utilize your platforms’ analytics to monitor engagement. 60 days
4. Launch and implement a marketing/advertising campaign according to an appropriate frequency schedule – stick to a consistent brand theme and keep reinforcing your core value proposition in creative ways. 75 days
5. Make copious targeted sales calls to prospects in your database – prioritize people you identify engaging with your campaign. Email platforms and social media tracking tools make this easy. There are even certain marketing automation programs with tracking code that can identify individuals who visit your landing pages. And remember, this is sales. Be persistent! 90 days

This simple 5-part strategy should be implemented in a continually repeated manner except for step 1.

Your sales team should always be prospecting and making calls with or without a rigorous marketing campaign. We get that. However, those who sell for Leading Brands enjoy more answered phones and open doors while the unknown, me-too reps deal with voicemail greetings and declined meeting requests.

Become a leading brand in your market and simply sell more!

The post The Magic Merger of Marketing & Sales appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.