Changing Your Position When Thereกs Competition

Changing Your Position When Thereกs Competition

by: C.J.Hayden

Are you finding many of your best prospects already working with competitors? When you pursue a new opportunity, is someone else capturing the prize? Maybe itกs time to reevaluate your positioning.

Your market position is the place you occupy in the mind of your prospective clients. Itกs how they think of you as compared to your competitors. Adjectives like established or cuttingedge; highquality or inexpensive; convenient or fullservice are all relative terms. When applied to you and your business, they distinguish you from the competition.

Your clientsก impression of how your business compares can determine whether they work with you or not. Try conducting some competitive research to find out what it is that clients like about the people you compete with. Are those qualities you can emulate? In what areas are clients not as satisfied? Could you offer more satisfaction there?

Ask your current and former clients about their experience with the competition. They may be quite candid with you about what they liked and didn’t like, and give you some valuable insight into why they chose you. Check out how your competitors are positioning themselves by surfing the Net. Mission statements, lists of features and benefits, etc. will often be posted on their web sites. You can also have a friend request their literature, or hire a professional market researcher.

Target market research can help if prospects are telling you they don’t need what you are offering. If you think they need a teambuilding retreat, but they are looking for more skills training, you won’t make a sale. If you learn more about how prospects view their own challenges, you can develop a new market position to better match their mental, or reallife, purchase order. Your retreat might fly if you called it กan intensive threeday training program in the critical skills needed for effective teamwork.ก

Ask your satisfied clients for a testimonial letter. The way they describe the work you do and benefits they received from it can give you valuable clues in how to sell it to others. An evaluation questionnaire can be used for the same purpose. Try asking, กHow would you describe my service to someone who could use it?ก

Your research might uncover that your service isn’t packaged in a way that prospects want to buy it. Developing a better service package could make what you offer more attractive. A marketing consultant who has been charging by the project might find clients more receptive to a monthly retainer they can budget for. An interior designer encountering resistance to his hourly fee might instead raise his commission rate on furnishings, and no longer charge by the hour.

Sometimes just naming your service package can make a difference. An image consultant might be much more successful selling the กOneDay Makeoverก than asking clients to buy six hours of her time to revamp their whole look. When doing your market research, try asking your prospects how they prefer to buy services like yours, and tailor your offering to their preferences.

You may make the discovery that youกve chosen the wrong market the perceived need for what you offer isn’t strong enough, they aren’t willing to pay what you need to charge, or the size of the market is too small. In this case, itกs time to position yourself for an entirely different market.

A career counselor who can’t find enough individuals who will pay her fee can market herself to companies who need outplacement services. A software trainer who discovers that large companies prefer training firms that can serve them nationally might find a better market in midsize organizations. Keep asking the question, กWho is MOST LIKELY to hire me?ก until you find the right fit.

About The Author

C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients NOW! Thousands of business owners and salespeople have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. Get a free copy of กFive Secrets to Finding All the Clients Youกll Ever Needก at http://www.getclientsnow.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 12

by C.J.Hayden

I Hate Asking for Referrals! – 6 Proven Methods fo

I Hate Asking for Referrals! – 6 Proven Methods for Getting a Flood of Referrals Without Asking

by: David Frey

Yes, I admit it I hate asking for referrals don’t you? Be honest. Doesn’t your heart start to pump faster and hands start to sweat even thinking about asking a customer for a referral?

If you’re like me, you hate to impose on others. Asking for names of friends or family members almost makes you feel as though you’re selling a multilevel marketing opportunity.

Not to worry. There are many ways to get a continual stream of qualified referrals without having to go through the painful process of asking for referrals facetoface.

The secret to getting referrals without asking for them is to develop referral systems that do the asking for you. Here are six innovative systems for getting referrals without asking.

Referral System # 1

Make a list of people / businesses that sell complimentary products and services to your own product or service. If you sell athletic shoes your list might include health clubs, running clubs, basketball teams, or podiatrists. Now create a referral program that pays referral fees for people that are sent to you by your referral partners.

To make this system more effective, give your referral partners customized coupons, tickets, or cards that the referral brings with them to your business so that you can correctly track each referral source.

Referral System # 2

Approach charities in your local area to get a list of donors that already give to the charity. The United Way is a good place to start. Most United Way donors make advanced pledges or set goals to give a specified amount to the United Way.

Now approach the executive sponsor of the United Way donation drive and make a proposal. Propose that for every referral that is sent from their organization to your business, you will take a percentage of your sale and donate it to the United Way (or whatever charity they are affiliated with) in their name.

Referral System # 3

Local churches are always looking for innovative ways to raise money to sustain the programs they offer to their members. Most churches would be enthusiastic about the opportunity to receive a donation from you or your business.

Simply call up the ecclesiastical leader and ask if you can meet with him/her to talk about a potential fundraising activity. Propose that for every referral (church member) they send your way, you will donate a percentage of the sales to the church. In return, the church should agree to promote your business.

This same referral tactic can be done with the booster clubs of local sports teams, Boy Scout troops and other organizations looking to raise money.

Referral System # 4

The fourth referral system is very simple. Give your products or services away (or significant discounts on your products or services) in local raffles. In my hometown of Friendswood, Texas the local Ford dealer gives away a brand new truck in a 4th of July raffle through the local Chamber of Commerce.

The tickets sold in the raffle go towards paying for the cost of the truck and the dealership gets to display the new truck for several months leading up to the raffle in highprofile areas provided by businesses that are members of the Chamber of Commerce.

In fact, we found our financial planner through a raffle offered through the local Boy Scout troop. We กwonก a full financial analysis and eventually purchased some of his products as a result of the raffle.

Referral System # 5

Most everyone has a barber or hairstylist they use on a frequent basis, especially if you have children. I don’t know about you, but my barber always engages me in conversation during my haircut. And most barbers and hairstylists are very happy when you give them a $2 $3 tip. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Why not approach the local barbers and hairstylists and offer them $1 for every referral card they pass out to their customers. You might even motivate them to talk up your business by promising them a percentage of each sale that results from their referral.

Referral System # 6

The last referral system will not only bring you referrals, but will also create a lot of goodwill. I learned this tactic, strangely enough, by Princess Diana and a local real estate agent. When Princess Diana died a close associate of hers was interviewed and revealed that Diana always carried a set of กroyalก thank you notes.

Every time she met with someone she would remember their names and as soon as she got in her car she would write a short thank you note to them. The people cherished the thank you notes they received from the Princess. After hearing that, I started to carry around my own box of thank you notes.

But here’s what really will make this referral tactic take off. Not long ago I received an email from a subscriber to my Marketing Best Practices Newsletter that had this phrase under the man’s signature:

By Referral Only

By Referral Only…means: We invest 100% of our time and energy to delivering firstclass service to our clients. As a result, our valued clients, suppliers, and friends refer their family, friends and work associates to us for advice on buying or selling real estate. We’re interested in building strong life long relationships one person at a time.

You see, its not enough to send a thank you note. People need to know that you want and appreciate their referrals. The phrase, in essence, answers the question, กWhat can you do for me in return for this nice thank you card?ก Immediately, I had this phrase printed on the bottom of my thank you notes and my referrals took off.

Conclusion

Each of these referral tactics that I have shared with you are systems. They motivate others to generate referrals for you without you having to play the role of the beggar and asking for referrals facetoface.

The best thing you can do to excite your referral partners is to get them to experience your product or services themselves. Then they can talk about it with firsthand knowledge. It will not only make them more credible to others but once theyกve experienced the benefits of what you have to offer, they will be more excited to tell others about it.

In the referral systems that require you to pay referral fees, make sure you pay quickly, honestly, and with gratitude. Always give your referral partner the benefit of the doubt. If you treat them right, you will be the benefactor.

Copyright 2005 David Frey

About The Author

David Frey is the author of the bestselling manual, ‘the Small Business Marketing Bibleก and the Senior Editor of the กSmall Business Marketing Best Practices Newsletter.ก To get your free lifetime subscription visit http://www.MarketingBestPractices.com.

This article was posted on April 20

by David Frey

Evaluating Your Customer

Evaluating Your Customer

by: Jay Conners

It is one thing to make a sales presentation, but it is another thing to make a sales presentation without first evaluating your customer. For all you know, you could be selling your customer something that they already have, or something they don’t want, don’t need, or can’t afford.

This is why it is so very important to take your customer in, sit them down, make them feel comfortable, and get to know them and what their needs are. Once you have done this, you can then sell them a product based on what their needs are and not what you think they are.

On a personal note . . .

I learned the importance of evaluating your customer the hard way. A few years ago, I was a branch manager working in a bank branch. One particular customer of the bank approached me in my office about opening a savings account for her daughter.

Once I explained to her the process of opening a savings account, I proceeded to tell her all about a current promotion we were having on our home equity loans. She sat there and listened very politely and patiently as I very proudly went down the list of all the benefits, features, and tax breaks that come with a home equity loan.

Once I had finished my rehearsed presentation, she said to me;

That all sounds very nice, and it is something that I will consider in the near to distant future. She than went on to tell me that she and her husband rented the house they lived in.

So there you have it, I tried to sell a home equity loan to someone without a house.

Needless to say, my face turned a deeper shade of scarlet, and I felt like an idiot.

But hey, I learned from my mistake. Had I asked some simple probing questions before I went straight for the sale, I would have saved myself a lot of embarrassment.

You will be amazed at what you can find out from people just by asking them a few simple questions about themselves. Remember, people love to talk about themselves. Their jobs, their pets, their kids, just about everything.

I once had a friend who owned a shoe store, and his inventory was made up mostly of sneakers. One day a man walked into his store to buy a pair of sneakers. As my friend assisted him with his decision, he struck up a friendly conversation with him. As it turned out, this customer ran a basketball camp during the summer and he loved to talk about it. A few minutes into the conversation, my friend and his customer had come to an agreement. All of the boys and girls that attended the customers basketball camp would receive a 10% discount on their sneakers if they purchased them at my friend’s store.

So, as you can see, my friend increased his sales that summer simply by striking up a conversation with his random customer and asking a few questions.

Imagine going to your doctors office with an ailment and having him prescribe you a medication without asking what your symptoms were. Would you take the medication?

The same principal applies.

It really isn’t rocket science, it’s just friendly conversation, get to know your customer and watch one sale turn into many.

Why service only one of your customers needs when you can service them all.

About The Author

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years experience in the banking and mortgage industry as a loan officer and sales manager. He is the owner of http://www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site. He also owns http://www.callprospect.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 13

by Jay Conners