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by Entrepreneur’s Coach Gareth Emberton on 19-Aug-10 7:59pm

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Is the telephone still your best marketing strategy?

In 1991 I started my first business. In those days I only really knew of two marketing strategies – the telephone and Yellow Pages. Whilst I can tell you a true story about how I generated a £1m per annum account with Tesco because of Yellow Pages advertising, it was the telephone which grew my company to the point where it had £££ multi-million sales per annum.

In those days there were perhaps half a dozen marketing strategies you could use but most of which were beyond the abilities of most small to medium sized businesses as the expertise wasn’t there for the average business to utilise like it is now.

In this day and age we now have a minimum of 21 strategies (listed below) and we are taught that you have to be your very own marketing guru and be an expert in each one! The question is, can you be that expert or do you want to be?

So where do you start with your marketing today…well the simplest strategy remains talking to people by picking up the telephone. That way, once you have sales you can then develop the more elaborate strategies. This is particularly interesting as recently I started another business in the construction industry and whilst I have had some particularly good results with google adwords, it has been work generated by the telephone which has had the best the conversion rates. Now that is not to say that a lead generated by electronic means cannot be converted but at some point you are going to need to speak to the prospect and whilst the cyber prospect has now decided to try and distance themselves from the sales person through e-mail, their bluff can be overcome by simply picking up the telephone.

There is however, a problem and that is the lengths to which a business owner will go to avoid picking up the telephone. But it is the basis of everything. If you have no sales system for the telephone you have no way to qualify or convert your prospects into customers. Then on top of that, if you cannot do it yourself, you have no basis on which to teach others so that you can delegate to leverage your time.

There is also something else here, in this day and age of technology there are many great ways to generate leads but ultimately the best way to convert a prospect is to build rapport on the telephone through the tonality of a voice and the opportunity to ask questions/respond to the prospect, which is something which just cannot be done using e-mail.

Here is the list of strategies you may contemplate:

1. Telemarketing
2. Website
3. E-newsletters
4. Networking: Physical
5. Networking: Social
6. Blogs
7. Testimonials
8. Qualification/Pain Questionnaires
9. Videos and DVDs
10. Books and Downloads
11. Direct Mail
12. Advertising
13. Signage
14. Strategic Alliances
15. Ask for Referrals
16. Seminars, Keynotes and Exhibitions
17. Press Releases
18. Internet Marketing (Pay Per Click & SEO)
19. Internet Affiliate Programmes
20. Magnify Your Expertise
21. Test and Measure

Gareth

If you have your own business you can register for a complimentary coaching session by emailing: success@the-entrepreneurs-coach.com and by doing so I will also send you a complimentary access to my on line business tool www.measureyourbusiness.com.

Using www.measureyourbusiness.com you will answer 100 questions in 10 key areas of your business and the results will be delivered in a 20 page bespoke report on your business.

Book your complimentary coaching session today: success@the-entrepreneurs-coach.com

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YOUR THOUGHTS????

prospecting, patrick henry, Dani johnson, selling, seller, marketing

Successful sellers have one thing in common….the ability
to effectively propspect. Sellers who consistently generate
qualified leads will make more sales and recruit more people
to their organization.

Prospecting is where selling starts. Selling is just not
selling your product or service, it is also selling yourself
as a person of integrity and a person others would like to work with.
Prospecting is the direct contact with a person that you want to possibly
have as a client or customer or business partner.

Prospecting involves taking the time to qualify or get to know the person to discover
their needs or situation and determine whether your product or service will meet those
needs and offer a solution. Prospecting and qualifiying is a process and can take time so
do not forget about continuing to build your pipeline so you always have
a fresh stream of people to qualify and talk with.

Sellers who do not achieve the success they desire fail to keep their
pipeline full of prospects. They need to be involved in opportunities to meet others.
Chamber of Commerce events, a booth at your local county fair, joining groups online,
Social Media places such as Facebook or Twitter are all ways to meet others and
start building prospecting relationships.

The successful marketer is seeks ways to improve themselves through
personal growth and development as well as professional training and skill
development. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways attenting group
seminars or training courses, online webinars, college classes,
books and one-to-one training.

One such company, Patrick Henry International offers books, trainings and
methodologies for prospecting and selling. Visit their website at: http://www.patrickhenryinc.com
to learn more about their 4 core training programs and to get a listing of Patrick Henry Hansen\’s books.

Dani Johnson is a renowned motivational speaker and author.
She has a great story and has changed thousands of lives
through her trainings and teachings. Personal growth and
development go hand and hand with successful prospecting and
business success and DaniJohnson is one of the best. Visit
her site: www.danijohnson.com to see the free tools and resources
she offers and also check out her list of live seminars held across the country.

We’re all aware of how difficult it is to find business builders. This can be tough…Even with the best recruiting techniques. For me one of the better ways to find business builders is to Recruit from your Customers. Read more »

Great article from Christian Net The World Wide Christian Market place.

The wise individual considering network marketing prospecting as a profession weighs the benefits of mining for recruits who will expand business and increase wealth against some possible drawbacks, which include the risks of a pyramid system.

Another term for network marketing prospecting is MLM: multi-level marketing. Specifically, this means marketing goods and services through individuals who refer customers to the multi-level company represented.

Thus, MLM is also known as referral marketing. This industry has both its enthusiastic champions and scathing critics. As a result, a careful evaluation of both these sides is generally recommended before a person engages with this kind of business venture. People suited for this enterprise are not only confident of their ability to select, inspire, and recruit others to become distributors. Suitable candidates are also confident of choosing individuals capable of selecting, inspiring, and recruiting still more people to become distributors. And so the levels of recruitment continue, ad infinitum. “And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;” (Deuteronomy 8:13).In the network marketing prospecting business, prospecting is an activity practiced on a daily basis. Simply, these marketers employ various tactics and strategies in order to find people to talk to about a particular product and/or business. Therefore, the workday involves a great deal of conversation with other individuals. And they must not run out of people to talk to, otherwise they run out of business. Moreover, it is essential that they do not merely talk about the business: the successful marketer’s communication is effective. When conducted properly the prospecting process yields a large number of people’s names which enables contact. Thus, news about that particular business spreads.

Read more »