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Education Based Marketing Can Increase Sales Results

Written by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Article Overview: Are you like all those other gray suits selling your products or services? Why not change your sales strategy and become the Red Suit in the Sea of Gray Suits through Education Based Marketing.

Education Based Marketing Can Increase Sales Results

Any day in the week, several gray suits enter the marketplace selling their products and services. Gray suits are those sales professional who act and, therefore, sell like everyone else. Their sales to earn ratios (sales to close for those gray suits who still believe in closing the sale) range from 5% to 25%.

Now imagine being a Red Suit in the Sea of Gray Suits where your sales to earn ratio jumps over 50% and averages near 75% to 80%. What would that mean for your business, your view of yourself and let’s not forget your piggy bank?

First, let’s examine a couple of established beliefs that must be changed.

The first belief of traditional sales based marketing (SBM) focuses on establishing a monetary reward as quickly as possible so that the next reward can take place. Given that most sales (80%) are completed between the 5th and 12th contacts, this belief of quickly is somewhat in error. (Source: National Sales Executives Association).

The second belief is giving anything away for free is wrong because the goal is a sale hence the name sales based marketing. Professional sales people must be compensated for their efforts ASAP. Unfortunately, the 21st century technology driven global economy has changed the marketplace forever because free information is readily available through the Internet.

Second, let’s look as the role of the professional sales person in this new 21st Century technology driven marketplace. The role has not changed from years ago because today as in yesterday, the role is to become the trusted advisor.

Now the question is what behaviors does a trusted advisor demonstrate?

Sharing of information
Knowing who does what within the local business community
Being a sounding board for the customer or client

Simply speaking, the sales professional of the 21st century is an educator. To educate from its Latin’s origins means to lead out. As sales professionals are you not leading your customers out of the darkness and into the light?

This is a great time to establish a new way of thinking about your sales to earn ratio as the time from entering a tunnel to the time of existing a tunnel. Your task to keep the light burning bright enough so that your potential qualified customers who entered the tunnel with you will stay during the entire journey through the tunnel. Sales Coaching Tip: Leave the concept of a funnel as it does not provide the same visual as the tunnel. Remember, people hear words, but think in pictures.

Now, the trick is to not lose anyone during the trip through the tunnel. How you do that is by developing and embracing education based marketing. After all, are you not the educator? Should you not be actively sharing your information?

Education based marketing is where you educate the potential qualified customer while simultaneously showing your value as that trusted advisor without charge. Sales Coaching Tip: This marketing strategy also helps to disqualify potential customers who are not a good fit.

For example, when ending a conversation with "if you need anything, please call," what would happen if you ended the conversation with "Let me send you a white paper, article, etc. that may help you." Of course, the document must provide worthwhile information and not be sales based marketing in disguise.

Websites are a great place to begin to educate potential customers. Writing articles and driving them to your website helps to separate the potential from just the usual suspects.

Using auto-responders that promise a free report, free assessment or free white paper are great examples of education based marketing. Requesting specific information from your website visitors helps to further identify potential qualified customers from the potential customers. Sales Coaching Tip: Use the phrase potential customer instead of prospect because this builds an image of you potentially working with this individual or company.

Education based marketing has been around for many years. Successful sales professionals have been engaged in this behavior of leading out their customers. Only in the last couple of years, has this term gained ground especially within the professional services industries.

TAKE ACTION SALES COACHING TIP: If you want to increase sales, to create customer loyalty and to become the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, then now is the time to throw out the traditional Sales Based Marketing strategies and embrace Education Based Marketing. Watch your sales to earn conversions double and your bank account grow.

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  Out With the Old and In With the New To Increase Sales

Article Tags: 21st century, belief, century technology, darkness, driven marketplace, educator, error source, executives association, global economy, gray suits, local business community, monetary reward, origins, piggy bank, professional sales person, ratios, sales executives, sales professionals, sbm, sounding board



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Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
webinars on Autoreponders - Evan, putting it that way you may have a point - the effort doesn't seem to pay off. If you could score webinars with people you profile I can see word getting around and that driving traffic to your site and exposing them to the content you already have on the site. Based on the types of businesses approaching you to do these webinars you could also have them set the whole thing up and all you are doing is exposing it to the group. Example a webinar on Autoresponders and Email Marketing. I'm sure there are companies out there that will do the whole setup for you.
Ivy League vs. Affordable school - To play devils Advocate .... Prestigious school vs. Education I can afford? Does going to a prestigious school gaurantee success? I'm sure it helps - imagine the contacts made - powerful I assume. Also there is the pressure of being an alma mater of a school where everyone else is driven to succeed by thier parents. But, what if you got the "Education you can afford". It's still education. You are forced to analyze, engage in relationships, manage your school mates, and deliver on deadlines. What's the common denominator when you get out of school? Is it the ability to take action? The ability to see the big picture and then take the necessary actions to bring a project to completion? There's that action word again! what do you think?
Re: Internet Marketing is the best business in the world - 17. Education is freely available


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