Do you have a great product or service but simply can’t get traction in the market?consistency is key

You’ve tried advertising, going to networking functions, cold calling, sending out emails or even physical mail. But nothing much comes back in the way of interest.

If so, you could be falling into a classic trap. One that will doom you to failure, frustration and a waste of money.

It goes something like this…

You buy a list of 1,000 names.

You write a letter spruiking your services and send it to all 1,000 contacts.

You get little (usually no) response.

Frustrated, you think, “This list is a waste of time” and move onto another 1,000 people.

Same thing is bound to happen.

The same holds true if networking. You flit from group to group never making meaningful connections. Never getting to know people at a deeper level.

And if cold calling, you stop calling the person after the first “no”. No just means “not yet”.

If you’ve been in this situation, remember this…

Less is more.

The quality of your relationships will always trump the quantity.

Do not use a one shot approach. If mailing or calling, make multiple contacts with the same people. If networking, go to the same group multiple times. It takes time for people to get to know you, like you and trust you.

Consistency and regularity is the key. Anything else is a waste of time.

Contrast this with the approach we recommend. One that is proven to work.

Steve is a client of ours.

Steve is passionate about improving leadership in large organisations. His coaching program helps senior leaders achieve better productivity with their teams. And he gets quantifiable results.

But it’s taken years for Steve to get traction.

Why?

As we wrote here adopting new ideas and changing is difficult for most people and takes time.

Steve’s program takes a radically new approach. One which his target audience needs to be educated in regarding the methodology and benefits.

This is why educational based marketing is essential.

You slowly drip feed material which educates your target audience, highlighting the issue they’re facing, showing them a solution, proving it with white papers and case studies, asking them to contact you when ready.

You can also use curated material – other articles, videos, white papers from credible external sources which back up your argument.

The key is to keep in regular contact offering new and interesting material of value to your prospects.

If there are conferences and tradeshows your audience attends, go yourself.

In short, keep your name at the top of their minds.

Back to Steve.

He was at a leadership conference for CEOs. The third time in three years.

In the lead up to the conference we created and regularly sent delegates articles and videos we felt they’d be interested in. And suggested they come and meet with Steve at the conference.

At the conference, a CEO came up, said Steve had been highly recommended by another client.

He’d read all Steve’s material, felt comfortable with him and essentially signed up on the spot for a 3 year deal worth almost six figures.

Another two organisations at the same conference are also extremely interested in the program.

There are a couple of points to note here.

A recommendation is very important. But it is generally not enough to get a new client over the line.

You must have marketing material which fully explains the issue your target market is facing, what your solution is, how you go about it and the outcomes they can expect.

This must be backed up with case studies and testimonials. All of which we created by extensively interviewing his clients.

For a complex product or service, it can take a considerable amount of time to warm an audience up. To get buy-in.

The regular keep in touch mechanism we implemented accomplished this. Steve needed to turn up at the conference and be seen. People want to buy from people they are comfortable with.

One last thing.

Marketing and sales are not the same activity.

Marketing raises awareness that you, your product or service exists and can help your prospects’ solve their problems, achieve their desires etc.

But marketing never sold anything. You must also have sales skills and a structured process to move a person from “interested” to becoming a client.

If you feel you’re lacking in either department, we can help. Our Two Heads Program will give you both the material and the tools to consistently bring in new business.

Call us on (02) 9499-7958 for more information or click here.

Rashid & Barbara.

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