Bill Gluth's Creative Business Strategy Blog

Why not just ask me to buy

I was shopping for a bicycle this week. I need to get off my butt and get some exercise, so I thought biking might be a good way to start.

I went online to see what the options were in 2008. I narrowed my choice down to a Trek or a Giant hybrid bicycle.

I went into my local bike store and was greeted by the shopkeeper. I told him what I was looking for and asked for his advice regarding size and choice.

He quickly told me the size I needed and gave me a rather expensive looking book that had all the bike options from Trek in it.

“Stop back when you’re ready,” was his closing question.

The fellow never took the bike off the rack.

He never offered to let me take a test ride.

He answered my question (what size) wasn't sure about the bike I was looking at being the right choice, gave me a book that had every bike in the world in it and told me to stop back when I was ready.

The truth is, I was ready to buy then, probably, if my choice was validated. No attempt to ask for the sale equaled no sale for the bike shop.

This same drill was repeated with one other personal visit to a Giant dealer and a phone call to another shop.

What’s the deal with bikes? Do they just fly off the shelf without having to be sold?

If that’s the case, many of us are in the completely wrong line of work.

The Only 3-Things You Ever Need to Market

Marketing is difficult for many business owners for one simple reason. They don’t know what to market. Many think the features of the offering makes their business unique.

Unfortunately, features do not make a business unique. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. When comparing one business over the other, features make a business appear to be pretty much the same as everyone else.

There are only 3-things that every business needs to market to be successful. They are:

1. Your talent for the business you are in.

2. The unique insider knowledge you possess that gives your clients an advantage over their competition.

3. The value you’ve created that helps your clients gain what they want.

Weave those elements into a compelling story. Then simply tell that story consistently to a group of people who have reason to care.

Content: Your First Step in Marketing

Marketing is filled with steps, strategies, and methods. There is Guerrilla Marketing, Permission Marketing, Gravitational Marketing, Book Yourself Solid Marketing, and even a 4-hour workweek marketing method.

With all these options, it’s no wonder that the majority of small business owners are in a quandary about how to market their business effectively.

Here’s the secret you need to know that makes marketing work best. No one cares about you. They only care about what you know that can help them.

You have to offer prospective clients something they want before they will buy. The best way to do that is through content that focuses on educating.

All you have to do is share your expertise, talent, and knowledge to establish interest, trust, and credibility.

Here’s how to share your knowledge effectively.

Write an article. Have a designer lay it out for you. Print it and use it as a sales lead generation tool. You can save printing costs by making the article a PDF that can be emailed or downloaded.

If you can’t write, hire someone to do it for you. The increased sales you gain by being seen as an expert will give you a strong ROI when hiring writers and designers.

In modern marketing, content is the first step. Strategies, methods, ideas and tactics build around it.

I Get Too Many Emails

I get hundreds of emails everyday. Some of them go right to junk. Others are deleted based on the subject line and because I don't know the person sending the message.

Today, I got a message in my junk folder that may have been interesting to me. It was about a service that handles direct mail send outs.

I did not give permission to receive the message.

I did not know the person sending the message. I had no idea what they knew about direct mail.

I deleted the message without reading it. Then I created this blog post.

Here's how to sell me (and everyone else) stuff:

1. Tell me what you know.

2. Help me understand how you can help me.

3. Give me a call to understand my problem better.

4. Make a recommendation that fits my time availability, desires and budget.

5. Then ask me for the order. Please don't make me figure out how to buy. Offer up your solution once you have my interest, trust and credibility built.

The best way to open the conversation? Ask for permission to educate me about your industry and expertise. Tell me how to do what I want to do better.

Now, read the post on content being the first step in marketing and follow Seth Godin's sage advice: "Turn strangers into friends and friends into loyal clients."

Make my life easier, PLEASE!

The Main Reasons You May be Resistant to Selling

If sales are the lifeblood of business, why are so many small business owners resistant to accomplishing sales consistently?

One reason is time. The mantra, “I don’t have time to sell” is often heard.

Another reason is you don’t have a sales method to follow. That makes you feel confused and uncomfortable.

The final and perhaps most powerful reason is mindset.  When your mind and emotions are not engaged in what you’re selling you simply won’t do it. 

But there’s hope. You can overcome all of the areas that make sales challenging.

You can start eliminating sales challenges by controlling your time. Here’s how to do it.

1. Choose a task. 
2. Assign a day or days when that task will be accomplished. 
3. Schedule an exact time to do the task in your appointment book or software.
4. Accomplish the task at the appointed time and mark it as complete. 

Once it’s “checked off” and done, you’ll feel great. That productivity leads to greater productivity in other areas as well. You soon find you’re getting more done in less time.

Next consider the process you will follow to make sales happen?

You must have a way to attract qualified prospects into your pipeline. This is the step called marketing.

Once attracted you must have a sales system that converts attraction into revenue at least one in five times. At this point, you've gained a new client.

Now that you have a new client, your process of doing more business with them and gaining referrals based on your strong relationship is vital. 

Your brain and emotions do the rest.

Think about how you feel about what you sell. Is the value you have created with your business worth the asking price?

How do you feel when you’re working with a client? What kind of passion do you bring each project? How does a client feel after working with you?

Your thoughts and feelings, combined with time control and sales process methods are the difference between sales success and considering a new profession. It’s that important.