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The One Response Your Prospect Wants To Hear...

Guest post by: Thomas H. Swank

Article Overview: Today’s marketplace is an endless sea of meaningless marketing messages and hollow promises. So, when it’s your turn to pitch your product or service... will you be able to deliver the one response that your prospect absolutely wants to hear?

The One Response Your Prospect Wants To Hear...

In a previous article, I addressed the subject of the question that you simply can't avoid... the "Magic Question". I hope that you have taken sufficient time to earnestly consider how you have fared in the past from your previous responses to the MQ. In like fashion, I also hope that you have begun the process of contemplating how you might more effectively "answer" the Magic Question in the future.

I would like to begin this sequel article by making an inquiry of you... How many times in the past two weeks did someone actually ask you or your people The Magic Question? Once? Five times? Ten or more? How does this calculate in terms of a "Prospect Matrix" (PM)? Each contact that you or your people touched has the ability in turn to touch and potentially influence another 250 people - who also know an average of 250 more people. While I touched on this statistic previously, let me now add some impact to it. The two levels of "touch" that I just described equates to a potential Prospect Matrix which encompasses 62,500 people!

So, did you make any hits with last week's contacts or did you strike out? If you didn't take the subject of the MQ seriously before, I certainly hope that you now see the magnitude of the problem that the Magic Question actually presents. The issue of how you respond to the Magic Question is truly a game breaker and should be approached with nothing less than a serious game "plan".

The great news is that there is a "Magic Answer"! A unique response that will flat out stop potential prospects dead in their tracks. An eye popping answer that will completely and immediately engage your prospect's full attention. Imagine what it would be like to be able to attract prospective clients who are predisposed to purchasing the solution (products and services) that you provide.

What would that do for your business? How would things change? What would that be "worth" to you?

The key is to find your ideal clients and provide them with exactly what it is that they "want". Up until now, your marketing efforts and advertising campaigns have centered on old school thinking relating purely to demographics. The problem with focusing on demographics is that it defines the literal universe of potential prospects who "need" the product or service that you provide - but may have absolutely no interest or motivation in purchasing what you offer.

For example, consider the demographics for a carpet cleaning service. The prospect could be male or female, age 18 to 100, single or married, a residence or business, employed or retired, with an income from $20,000 to an unlimited income. In essence, anyone on planet earth that has carpet. So, exactly who then are you going to market to?

Demographics merely assess the physical aspects of your potential prospect. The greater determinant in establishing what the potential customer wants comes from knowing their psychographics. If you are able to determine the emotional decision making processes of your potential customers, you will then learn what it is that they truly WANT with relationship to your business products and services.

Wouldn't it be a far better strategy to first identify the customers who actually WANT your products and services and then focus your marketing efforts directly on them - as opposed the universe of prospects who may only need what you offer at some point in their lifetime?

Creating a powerful and commanding introductory marketing message (IMM) is not terribly difficult to craft once you understand the process. It will however require some real dedication, creativity, and perseverance to perfect the optimum IMM. The investment of your time, energy and perspiration to create the right IMM for your business or sales career - will pay HUGE rewards! This issue should be taken most seriously.

Serious efforts = Serious results

My question to you is... just how serious are you about accelerating your business growth and income? How serious are you about making more money, while working fewer hours? How serious are you about improving the overall quality and balance of your life? When you have done what it takes to create the optimal introductory marketing message for your business... it will be like capturing lightning in a bottle!

As a business owner, entrepreneur or sales professional you get up every morning and spend all day at your business and in your place of business... How much longer are you going to wait to start actually working ON your business? How many times have you heard the timeless definition for insanity? Do you really want to keep making the same tired ineffective response to the MQ "What do you do for a living?" or the abbreviated version "What do you do?" -- "I'm an accountant"... "I'm a financial planner"... "I'm a real estate agent". Is this dusty elevator speech approach getting real results for you? We both know that it's not.

Not only does what you say to the potential prospect either capture their attention or fail to engage them - it also personifies and transmits your belief, energy and enthusiasm for what it is that you actually "do". If you're not projecting your passion for what it is that you do -- then "why" should your prospect become enthusiastic?

The real silver lining in having a powerful attention commanding IMM is that the more ideal your introductory marketing message is... the more likely you are to attract your "ideal" client!

Copyright © 2010 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

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Article Tags: Business Coaching, Marketing, Sales



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