Blogging as a Sales Tool
Blogging as a Sales Tool
Blogging can be done by an employee of the company, a client you are working with on a regular basis or someone who retains a membership with your business. In fact, many successful CEOs use blogging as an informal way to get information to consumers, as well as strengthen brand presence online.
As an example, we’ll focus on how a fitness brand uses blogging as an effective sales tool. The company encourages its coaches and trainers to approach existing or potential members who have a significant amount of weight to lose and a strong back story on why they need to lose the weight. Ideally, the member should be highly-motivated and also possess good writing skills, which can be assessed indirectly by profiling her educational background, current career, and speaking skills.
Once a potential blogger has been identified, the company encourages them to write regularly about their weight loss experience and their experience with the company. In exchange, the fitness company provides them with incentives such as a discount on membership fees. The company also gives the member access to all of the club’s facilities so they are able to write about the entire club experience. The member, with a minimum of 3 entries weekly, will write the blog. Because other readers can view and post comments on blogs, a community can be created and the blogger will be more motivated to accomplish their own goal while acting as an example for others. Meanwhile, the fitness company is strengthening their online presence without overloading the wary consumer with expensive marketing campaigns.
In addition to the member’s personal blog, blog postings can also be used on corporate sites, in customer/member testimonial sections, and even in marketing materials. Blogs can also be added to numerous online blog directories for even more exposure. It is recommended that blogs are closely monitored to insure that they are being properly managed and the company is not unjustly portrayed in a negative light. Setting up a blog is easy, and the more members, clients and employees who are blogging about the company, the more online exposure and brand awareness can be generated.
Here is an example of a series of typical blog postings from a member:
Sept 9
I got my 40 minutes of exercise in today. The elliptical was much harder than I anticipated. My walking pace was 50 rpm while my running pace was 60. Tomorrow, I’ll run for 1 minute and walk for 39. I’ll probably do hills to keep it interesting.
Sept 7
I signed up for the 5K. I’m going to do it. Maybe not perfectly, but it’s a step towards my picture of health and fitness. I am so nervous, but I know I can do it. I need to start training for it!
Sept 5
I've hit a plateau with my weight loss goal and I really need to get going and drop the final 5 pounds. My Lifestyle Coach suggested that I try something different and enter a race. She said mixing up my workouts will maximize my results and I’m into that! I am thinking about it. She suggested a 5K then a 10K then maybe even a marathon. I laughed when she mentioned a marathon. Imagine?!
Blogging as a Sales Tool - To learn more about this author, visit Christopher Palumbo's Website.
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A blog is a highly advanced and yet very simple way of marketing your business by profiling a member’s, client’s or employee’s experience. A blog is simply an online journal. It is public and can be read by anyone. Although client testimonials and reviews are the strongest sales tools for a business, online blogging can also work as a major marketing tool to increase online exposure and spread the word about your company much farther than you thought possible.
Blogging can be done by an employee of the company, a client you are working with on a regular basis or someone who retains a membership with your business. In fact, many successful CEOs use blogging as an informal way to get information to consumers, as well as strengthen brand presence online.
As an example, we’ll focus on how a fitness brand uses blogging as an effective sales tool. The company encourages its coaches and trainers to approach existing or potential members who have a significant amount of weight to lose and a strong back story on why they need to lose the weight. Ideally, the member should be highly-motivated and also possess good writing skills, which can be assessed indirectly by profiling her educational background, current career, and speaking skills.
Once a potential blogger has been identified, the company encourages them to write regularly about their weight loss experience and their experience with the company. In exchange, the fitness company provides them with incentives such as a discount on membership fees. The company also gives the member access to all of the club’s facilities so they are able to write about the entire club experience. The member, with a minimum of 3 entries weekly, will write the blog. Because other readers can view and post comments on blogs, a community can be created and the blogger will be more motivated to accomplish their own goal while acting as an example for others. Meanwhile, the fitness company is strengthening their online presence without overloading the wary consumer with expensive marketing campaigns.
In addition to the member’s personal blog, blog postings can also be used on corporate sites, in customer/member testimonial sections, and even in marketing materials. Blogs can also be added to numerous online blog directories for even more exposure. It is recommended that blogs are closely monitored to insure that they are being properly managed and the company is not unjustly portrayed in a negative light. Setting up a blog is easy, and the more members, clients and employees who are blogging about the company, the more online exposure and brand awareness can be generated.
Here is an example of a series of typical blog postings from a member:
Sept 9
I got my 40 minutes of exercise in today. The elliptical was much harder than I anticipated. My walking pace was 50 rpm while my running pace was 60. Tomorrow, I’ll run for 1 minute and walk for 39. I’ll probably do hills to keep it interesting.
Sept 7
I signed up for the 5K. I’m going to do it. Maybe not perfectly, but it’s a step towards my picture of health and fitness. I am so nervous, but I know I can do it. I need to start training for it!
Sept 5
I've hit a plateau with my weight loss goal and I really need to get going and drop the final 5 pounds. My Lifestyle Coach suggested that I try something different and enter a race. She said mixing up my workouts will maximize my results and I’m into that! I am thinking about it. She suggested a 5K then a 10K then maybe even a marathon. I laughed when she mentioned a marathon. Imagine?!
Blogging as a Sales Tool - To learn more about this author, visit Christopher Palumbo's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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