I was speaking to a business owner this week and he said that he needed to be calling on prospects, but he was waiting to get his brochure done. It turns out that due to some unforeseen circumstances, he’s been waiting a couple of months already. Now, that just isn’t right.
After some probing, I found out that he was planning on using the brochure after the initial introduction in a meeting with a prospect to point out all the services he could provide. The reality is that no one has ever bought from a brochure. Every week he waits is another week of lost opportunities.
The lesson here is that brochures and marketing pieces, no matter how fancy, don’t sell you. If you rely on them, you’re missing a serious opportunity to connect with your prospect and find out what’s important to them. In the case of my business owner friend, he had about 30 services listed out in his brochure. Certainly, it would be rare that someone would want all of his services. Instead they might need one or two.
If he continued down the path he was headed, he may never find out which one or two services are important to his prospects and more importantly, why. That’s because if you focus your discussion around your brochure or around all the things that you can do, you’re not going to be focused on the right thing, your prospects and what they need.
A business card, a brochure, a marketing piece, and even a portfolio of work do not sell. They are marketing tools, but if you’re relying on them to sell for you, you’re not going to be as successful as you could be. I’m not inferring that these tools are not good to have, but you have to recognize them for what they are.
I have another client who is a graphic designer. She was like everyone else in her industry. She liked to go into a meeting with a prospect with her portfolio in hand. I suggested that she go to her first meeting without anything. At first, she objected and couldn’t conceive of not having her beautiful work to show off.
After we discussed it, she agreed to try it. The prospect, who was checking out several graphic designers, asked her why she didn’t bring her portfolio. To which she replied, “I assume that anyone that you’re talking to is going to have a wonderful portfolio. When you look at them, do any of them really stand out?” To which the prospect replied, “No, they’re all good. But now that you mention it, they are similar in many ways.” To which my client replied, “I’ll be happy to show you my portfolio at another time, but really what I’m interested in is finding out more about you and what you want.”
After that, she was off and running, engaging the prospect with good questions and attentive listening. The end of the story is that she got the client and never even had to show her portfolio.
Like my graphic designer client, your sales will grow when you really engage in a meaningful conversation with your prospects without relying on your visual aids. The time and place for those will come.
Leave Your Marketing Materials At Home - To learn more about this author, visit Will Turner's Website.
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Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland Smith's Website |
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Will Turner
(Visit Will's Website)
As President of Dancing Elephants
Achievement Group, Will feels he has the
best job in the galaxy. He loves working
with salespeople and entrepreneurs to
"unblock" themselves and "unlock"
their potential. Will is the first to
admit that he was a reluctant salesperson
for many years. He thought most
salespeople had to be pushy, and he just
wasn't comfortable in that role. He later
discovered that you don't have to act
like a typical salesperson to be a great
salesperson so he created a company to
teach others what he had learned.
Will transitioned a twenty year career in
sales and sales management into his
current position as President of Dancing
Elephants. In addition to facilitating and
presenting, Will is the author of Impact!,
the company's monthly e-newsletter on
sales performance. He is also the
co-creator of the Sales Magnetism program
and the co-author of Six Secrets of Sales
Magnets.
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