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Whos Sabotaging Your Sales and Marketing Efforts

Written by: Stuart Ayling

Article Overview: Without knowing it your business is being attacked. Sabotaged from the inside. "Certainly not", you say. "Why would anyone do that to me?"

Whos Sabotaging Your Sales and Marketing Efforts

Without knowing it your business is being attacked. Sabotaged from the inside.

"Certainly not", you say. "Why would anyone do that to me?"

But it does happen, and more frequently than you might think. Too often the people sabotaging your sales and marketing efforts may not even be aware of it.

The saboteurs I talk about are your employees. Your own team.

It's a sad fact that in many businesses employees are not educated, or "trained", in their role within the Marketing Zone for the business. Think about it. When was the last time you trained your team on the impact they have on your sales and marketing activities, and what they can do to help?

You can't expect your team to achieve the best results if they:
Don't understand what the business stands for.
Don't know what the marketing message is.
Don't know who your best customers are (and why).
Don't know what your sales and marketing tactics are.
Don't know what their role is within your Marketing Zone.

Even without intending any harm, damage can be caused in many ways.

This damage can include…
Mixed messages given to customers, creating uncertainty and reluctance to buy.
Clients hesitating to refer others to you.
Poorly designed marketing material such as web pages or sales presentations.
A-class clients perceiving they receive C-class service.
Poor management decisions, because front line staff don't mention critical issues - because they don't understand the relevance to the firm.
Clients not feeling as 'close' to your business as they should.
Your competitive advantage slipping away.

The good news is that this damage can easily be avoided. In particular it takes a commitment to training your team on the role they play within your marketing activities. Tell them specifically what you'd like them to do. Ask them for their feedback. Train them to provide the most productive response at each "moment of truth" with clients.

Follow these steps to convert your saboteurs into ambassadors.

1. Understand your own Marketing Zone. Identify all key touch-points.
2. Explain to your team how each of them impact upon clients at some point. (And if you don't believe they do, I suggest you take a closer look at your business!)
3. Explain your sales and marketing program and why each tactic is important.
4. Explain how your team influences marketing outcomes. For example - how they handle responses from advertised offers; is their style of greeting in line with clients perception of your firm?
5. Keep your team up to date with new sales and marketing tactics - always.
6. Provide a method of getting their input and feedback, even if you don't like it!

So don't encourage saboteurs. Turn your team into ambassadors

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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...
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