As discussed in the prior post, marketing and selling go hand in hand, with marketing developing a strategy to find the "hot button" that incentivizes the customer into buying. Salespeople, on the other hand, have to really push that customer the last few inches into "pulling the trigger". With that in mind, the seller also needs to use marketing techniques and find out what makes the buyer want to buy.
Since I am an independent insurance agent, I have to do both marketing and sales. Most of the insurance carriers I represent have their own marketing staffs and I can use them as a resource if I need to. These folks have also developed brochures and other materials that are professional and compliant with insurance laws and regulations. In other words, they have done most of the heavy lifting for me in that regard.
My job is to find prospects and determine a way to get this information to them. More importantly I need to make sure those prospects need the product I'm marketing. There are several ways to do this.
One approach is to find each client and fill out a "fact finder" questionnaire, which will help me determine which product I should present. There is no point in me ordering brochures on annuities when my client is fresh out of college and has no assets. But a fact finder may determine that this same client is engaged to be married and will be adopting the fiancée's child. That's more of a life insurance sale.
Another way to do this is be a specialist in a field. For example, if you are the computer person who only sells high end gaming computers, your market will be small, and your marketing will have to be more precise. While getting your message out to gamers, you may want to let others in the computer industry know who you are and let them refer those people to you, since they presumably have nothing to offer this group.
This can work against you if you are in an industry that has a wider focus. Using realtors as an example, there are people who clearly focus all of their energy on one type of property, like high end homes. The problem they face is that they can lose an easy sale because of their marketing strategy. I've seen this happen with insurance agents who focus on one product and miss opportunities to sell other products.
Then there is the "buckshot" approach, which involves sending your information out to a wide swath of prospects and letting them determine which product to buy. In conjunction with the other two ways of marketing, this can be very effective.
Let's assume that McDonald's only advertised their Big Mac. This may be good at getting customers to go to their stores but it could negatively impact their Filet-O-Fish sales. By advertising several items, like their fried, burgers and hot fudge sundaes (why are the machines always down after 7pm?) they will have people going to their locations and purchasing all kinds of food.
Back in the day advertising was frowned upon in certain industries, and even illegal for others. Cigarette advertising has been limited on TV since the 1970's and ads for spirits were banned from TV in 1948 and weren't legal again until 1996. Once they were back on the television, companies like Seagram's were reporting double-digit sales like they had never seen before.
Today we have the internet, which has greatly changed the way people advertise and market their products. A well placed Google ad or boosting an Instagram post can give your marketing plan more bang for the buck. There are two great aspects of this. It has leveled the playing field for smaller sellers who previously couldn't access the prospects, and it allows you to find out what works and what doesn't without dropping loads of cash.
I recently spoke to a colleague who was in talks with a "digital marketing" firm. They promised him a website, social media ads and a set number of leads for $2500 each month. As he works from home and is a bit of an internet nerd, he scoffed at the idea. "I can learn most of that stuff from YouTube and save myself a ton of money." Needless to say, his return on investment (ROI) on that $2500 would have to be enormous to make it worth his while.
Are you looking for a more efficient way to market? What are you marketing? In Part 3 we'll discuss our marketing strategy. Let us know. In the meantime, stay healthy and productive!
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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