The number one reason that I receive from a potential new clients is because they have spent a lot of money on marketing and received absolutely nothing in return.

When I first start with a business, the first thing we look at is what they actually sell.  Nearly 99% of the time, business owners (or the people doing the marketing) are marketing what you deliver, not what your product or service can actually do for a potential client. These two things aren’t the same.

The second thing I hear from a business owner is that it is obvious what I need to market. 

Or is it?  For example

If you’re a financial advisor, you probably think you’re marketing financial advice. If you’re a HR advisor, you may think you are marketing HR advice. If you own a clothes shop, you may assume you market clothes. If you market a restaurant you may think you are selling a meal.

In each case, you’d be right in terms of your deliverables, but you are wrong about what they are buying.

What you’re marketing and what you actually deliver are two different things.  The key to increasing your sales is to realise that what you are really marketing is hope – your clients’ hope of achieving their goals.

I have worked with a variety of business owners from design agencies to bridal shops.  They have all faced the same problems when increasing sales.  They have confused their marketing with what they deliver.

For example, if you are financial advisor, yes you deliver financial advice, but what the client really wants is hope.  Hope that you can help them with their money and deal with things that they don’t really understand.  Ultimately, they want to make money, which you can’t promise, but you can offer hope.  If you sell carpets, you deliver the carpets and lay them in the house, but what you are selling is hope.  Hope that at the end, the room/house is going to look better then the owner has visualised it in their heads and also practical for their needs – you are helping to create a home.  If you own a restaurant, you are not selling a meal, you are selling hope.  Hope that the evening will be something to remember, that the meal will be better then what they can do at home.  That for once, they don’t have to do the dishes! The meal may be for a special occasion i.e. birthday, reward, celebration.

You’re marketing to your prospects’ hopes that they’ll be happier, more successful, more attractive, smarter, richer, more comfortable, and more secure, etc. Target you’re marketing to the real reasons people buy and you’ll be much more successful in motivating them to make a purchase from you.

Do you see the difference?  Let me know your thoughts.

One of the cheapest forms of marketing is to build a list of potential contacts and clients and marketing to them.  Using email, newsletters, flyers or what ever you care to create.

One of first tasks I always do with a client is to get the to build their list.  So, I thought I would share with you my top secrets on how to do it.

Secret No. 1 Landing Page or Squeeze Page. 

A squeeze page/landing page is a shameless and blatant tool to get visitors to your website or blog to leave their names and email address in exchange for a valuable piece of information.

It can be your home page on your website/blog or it can be one page website that is created just to capture their details.

This information can be in the form of a down-loadable report, a video, piece of audio or an invitation to a special event.

It is a “teaser of information” about what products you sell or services you provide.

99% of people (or traffic) to your website/blog will leave without taking any action.  Think about the money you are leaving on the table.  If you have a system that you can capture their names and email in exchange for information, you can start to build a relationship with them.

Let me know how you get on

I hear it all the time… business is slow, times are changing and the economy is affecting my business.

When a client or a potential client utters these words, the first thing I tell them is great! Use this time to really get to know your customers. The often look at me in bewilderment.

If you want to sell more then you really need to get to know your customers. I can assure you that the reasons you think they are buying from you are very different from their reasons.

My two tips for today are:

1. Talk to Them – ask them what their problems are and what they are looking for. It is only then at you will be able to explain the benefits of what you do and how it can help make their lives better today.
2. Ownership – Let your clients feel what their live is like when they have your product/services. Wait a few minutes then take it away from them. Remind them they have to own it first.

The last one sounds cruel, but it is very effective.

Let me know how you get on and most importantly, what you learnt when you really got to know your customers.