Do you find that in business it’s the smallest gestures that have the greatest impact? You make an unscheduled phone call to a hot prospect because you have discovered something that could be really beneficial to them and suddenly the door is swung open to a sale. After procrastinating over your marketing activities, you decide to write a timely, well considered and personal letter to a handful of prospects and within days you’re inundated with requests to find out more about your services. You pop a nice pen in the envelope with your survey and the responses come back in leaps and bounds with a few cheeky but welcome requests for some extra supplies!
It’s tempting to search for that marketing miracle at the end of the rainbow; you know the one that’s going to propel you to unimaginable riches and successes when in fact being brilliant at the basics is more than good enough.
What does this entail?
Well, it means treating each customer, each prospect as an individual as opposed to a line of data on a rather large prospecting list. It means standing in their shoes, looking at the landscape through their eyes and considering without a shred of ego why this person should consider giving you their business or should continue doing business with you. It means contemplating whether their circumstances have changed – in the current economic climate are they swimming, keeping their head just above the water or sinking? Do you perhaps need to demonstrate how your offering can really help them or should you suggest some changes to help tide them over until the storm passes?
If you are not sure of the answers to some of these questions it means plucking up the courage to talk to your customers or prospects without your selling hat on. The likelihood is that their answers will yield the precious nuggets that in turn will fuel your next relevant, targeted and charming marketing campaign.
That tipping point – the one that leads to the sale is much closer than you think.