Achieving Breakthrough Sales & Profits
By Gerry Foster

Copyright 2003 by Gerry Foster

The landscape for marketing services has changed dramatically in recent years.

For one thing, being good is no longer good enough. The key today is to become as good at marketing what you do as you are at doing it.

Furthermore, the Internet has changed everything. Prospects have access to any service, any information, and any product at the click of a button. It seems that people are more informed, savvier, and more demanding than ever before when it comes to hiring service providers.

Lets face it. People only want to work with service providers they can trust and have confidence in. At the slightest hint of deceit, trickery, or pressure on your part to "close" a sale, most prospects will say "no" and simply walk away. Therefore, it's in your best interest to be seen as the master in your field - a "cut above" the rest.

Bottom-line: You must have a written Mastery Marketing® ® "game" plan and a set of guidelines to follow that will quickly, inexpensively and painlessly take you where you want to go. This applies to both the marketing and selling (i.e. enrollment in) of your services.

Here are 38 suggestions for a mastery marketer:

  1. Don't be a tightwad. Be willing to take some risks and spend an adequate amount of money to market your business (although I feel it should be as little as possible.) Above all, view marketing as investment and not an expense. By seeing it as a necessary activity (not a necessary evil) to ensure business success, it is much more likely that your marketing efforts will payoff in huge profits.
  1. Make sure your marketing and/or sales plan is "tight"- well put together. Your plan should spell out exactly how you will achieve your desired monthly sales and monthly net income - who is to do what, by when, and where.
  1. Have patience. Rarely do marketing strategies (i.e. how your business objectives will be achieved) and tactics (i.e. the day-to-day actions to implement the strategies) pay off quickly and dramatically. Usually the tactics will reinforce each other over time, so that at some point a certain level of motivation and momentum gets established. Until this happens, it's important to stick to your guns: stay with what seems to be working reasonably well and don't switch tactics in an attempt to force dramatic results.
  1. Think long-term and not just short-term. A brilliantly planned marketing plan becomes an exercise in futility if it's not set up for long-run momentum and effect, as well as short-term impact.
  1. Profitable, efficient marketing requires consistency, follow-through and keeping score. In sports, the team with the highest score at the end of the game wins. While the game doesn't end in business, you can select certain time periods, like the beginning or end of a given month or quarter, to review the results of your marketing efforts and determine if the strategies are working. This entails monitoring monthly marketing results and evaluating those results in terms of whether the objectives set in your marketing plan have been met.
  1. Be willing to make adjustments. If your objectives (increases in sales, profits or cash flow) aren't being met, it doesn't mean you should cut your marketing. Instead, you should change your strategy. Since that strategy would be based on your perceived best shot against your competitors, it would be best to look first at the tactics you are using to implement the strategy. It's only after you've tried a number of tactics without success that you should ever consider changing a strategy. This is important for wise budget planning in order to optimize the results of any marketing program you implement.
  1. Any Mastery Marketing® ® tactics you implement must be reviewed on an ongoing basis to determine if they are contributing to the forecasted results. Tactics that do not achieve expected results should be examined and, if necessary, replaced by other more promising tactics. The mantra of a highly successful mastery marketer is always, Do more of what works and discontinue any tactic that doesn't produce results.
  1. Be careful with who you consult with in your company about your marketing plan. If that person tends to view marketing as more of an expense than an investment, you're in trouble. It is imperative that any person who is enlisted for marketing counsel or advice (inside or outside your organization) has a thorough grasp of its process and its pitfalls.
  1. Enroll don't sell! It's important that you engage in a style of enrollment (selling) in which the interactions are based on trust. Trust has to be established up-front. Make it a point to build relationships with your prospects based on a foundation of honesty, integrity and professionalism.
  1. Apply many of the enrollment skills in a business relationship that one applies in a personal relationship. These skills involve building rapport with others, discovering areas of want where one can be of help, listening attentively, sufficiently addressing concerns, and enrolling another individual in being committed to the relationship.
  1. Never spend too much time in an enrollment situation talking about your services. If you are spending 70% of the time talking, you're talking too much. It would be mush more advantageous for you if you do less than 30% of the talking. You might also want to learn how to improve your questioning and listening skills if you feel you are weak in this area.
  1. Always focus on fulfilling the unmet wants of prospective clients. If you, instead, choose to dominate conversations - despite how much information you provide to illustrate how you can help them - prospects (and possibly your existing clients) may get the feeling that you are more concerned about separating them from their money, instead of building their pool of money. Not only could this prevent you from truly bonding with people, you could miss out on enrolling the folks who have the desire and the money to use your services now.
  1. Be a true "friend." Care more about the welfare and well being of your prospects than your own (which is what a true friend does). Let them know that you have a strong sense of duty and responsibility, and that you treat each client honestly and fairly. Always be prepared when meeting with prospects, so you answer all of their questions.
  1. Learn how to relate to and enroll different personalities. Specifically, those who want an all-business relationship, those who like to socialize, those who like to talk, those who want to learn, those who want recognition, those who merely want a trustworthy person they can talk to, and so on. Up-front, you must figure out what kind of relationship a client wants and, if at all possible, give it to them. There is an art to this, however, and it can be learned.
  1. It's all in the preparation, not the presentation. By the time you meet with a prospect, it helps if you know something about them and/or their business situation. You should ask yourself two questions before a presentation: "Why is this person meeting with me? What unmet wants might this person have that I am able to fulfill?" Answering these questions will also build your confidence because you'll see the many possible ways a prospect can use your services.
  1. Identify the unique value a prospect would receive out of working with you. Make this picture very clear in your mind. You might also want to ask yourself, "What can I take along to reinforce the messages I'll give to the prospect?" This might be your company brochure, but it also might be something related to your enrollment call - the names and phone numbers of clients with similar unmet wants who have agreed to act as references, an article you wrote, or a newsletter. Whatever you decide to take with you, anticipate what the prospect is interested in. It should also establish credibility.
  1. Determine up-front, "What do I want to achieve during the enrollment call"? What, in other words, are your objectives? Obviously, you want to land more clients for your services, but that might require more than one visit. So, set your optimum objective as generating an enrollment (closing the deal), but choose another objective as well. The other objective might be for the prospect to consider your services seriously enough to ask you to prepare a proposal, submit a bid or a quote, or to meet with others involved in their business, and so on.
  1. Don't let your comfort level guide your efforts. Mastery marketers know what must be done on a daily basis to achieve their enrollment goals. Put your enrollment goals in writing with accomplish by dates. It will enable you to measure yourself according to some crucial numbers and become more accountable with your sales activities. If you, instead, are guided by circumstances, how you are feeling on a particular day, and which way "the wind is blowing," you will have a hard time achieving your goals.
  1. Do not be derailed by prospects that say they have to think it over. There is an opportunity to enroll even more clients, not only if you talk less, but also by concentrating on establishing more value in each person's mind. Additional value can be established if you get into their world and are further in touch with their pain - the things they want to get rid of, avoid, or be free from (such as worry, conflict, uncertainty, struggle, and so on). This pain must be identified by prospects, not you. Stressing something that the prospect wants no remedy for wastes valuable presentation time.
  1. Develop a list of what pain you provide a remedy for. If you were to zero in on a meaningful point of differentiation the prospect can relate to; a point of emotional involvement (pain) that each prospect desperately wants to treat, you would then be able to link the pain-elimination virtues of your services with their unmet wants. Just remember, no pain no appointment … no appointment, no enrollment.
  1. Find groups of qualified people who sincerely are interested in your services. You can have more than one target market. You may want to use your initial client consultations as an opportunity to discover what traits your best prospects have in common. Specifically, what their issues, desires, and concerns are. This must all be incorporated into your overall Mastery Marketing® ® program.
  1. See if there are any opportunities to obtain more business from existing clients. Conduct a survey to sound them out and get their perspectives. You could ask about their wants, desires, likes, and dislikes. What their outside interests, hobbies, and pursuits are. How they regard your level of service. Use the information gained in the survey to dangle a carrot or provide an incentive to work with you. Offer a complimentary 1-hour consultation or check-up.
  1. Mastery marketers have a vision and mission statement for their work. Formulating those statements (your purpose for being) will help you focus your energy as you prepare and implement your marketing program. It would orient prospects to the primary purpose of your work, and help you make decisions toward accomplishing that purpose. The clearer your vision, the easier it would be to see marketing opportunities and respond to them successfully.
  1. Seek more referrals. Mastery marketers have discriminating tastes when it comes to selecting the types of individuals from their existing client base for referrals. I suggest that you identify those folks you have frequent access to (in person or via phone); those who have experienced great benefits in being a client; those who might refer others on the basis of receiving favors, rewards, additional services at a reduced fee; those who have influence with others; and those who feel you are just a great, terrific person. A solid networking plan also needs to be in place.
  1. Add referral partners to your network of referrers (i.e. clients, centers of influence, friends, etc.). A referral partner is a referrer who could refer to you often and effectively because they have contact with people who are prospects for you and they have influence with them. They are people (i.e. strategic marketing alliances) you can and would want to refer. You and these partners would agree together to define the relationship and invest equal time in learning to refer one another and then working to refer one another.
  1. Launch a direct response-marketing program. The objective with this strategy would be to find qualified leads. It involves providing an enticing offer that would be designed to find people in pain by giving potential clients an inducement to contact you. This could be implemented via snail mail or by running advertisements in specialized publications that appeal to specific, targeted audiences.
  1. Establish yourself as a respected authority. The one issue that has to be settled in some prospect's mind before committing to use your services is the "never heard of you fear." They may also fear that your qualifications are lacking, or that your company is too small, or that a service provider in your field burned them in the past, or any number of reasons. Prospects must perceive you as an authority - the master - second to none. Therefore, be a fountain or resource of information - write articles, offer a newsletter, conduct seminars, provide special reports - whatever advice you can offer for free without obligation, pressure or hassle.
  1. Develop an effective, compelling Statement of Mastery (SOM). You have to express that statement by explaining the services you can provide to a specific target group you want to serve in a manner that is simple, specific, concise, memorable and unique. This is essential if prospects have a difficult time determining how you are different from your competition. On top of that, they are probably confused as to whom to trust the most. Any good service provider should be able to do good work. In order to stake a claim in the minds of prospects, you must develop a SOM that fits your personality, your target market, as well as one you can truly deliver.
  1. Mastery marketers have a brochure and/or website that highlights a direct and significant core value - singling out the most important advantage your clients will gain by working with you. It must capture what makes you special, and not make you come across as a generic entity. It has to distinguish your services from the competition. Crystal-clear differentiation is one of the most powerful elements of all effective marketing communications. It's critical that your marketing materials portray you as the standard of excellence in your field.
  1. Formulate a unique core Mastery Marketing® ® message. No one wants a confused client - they could be if they are unclear about the unique value you provide. It also is a great way to unite employees - without a consistent understanding and "buy in" of a core message and what your firm stands for, you will have a hard time pulling everyone together.
  1. Mastery marketers take responsibility for honing their marketing and selling skills. Be committed to maximizing the growth and success of your organization. And remember: It is always better to do some marketing than none.
  1. Do everything you can to be seen as a highly trusted advisor. Hold symposiums (a conference for the purpose of discussing key issues), give speeches or conduct seminars. Individuals want to hire a master. These serve as a platform for you to provide proof of who is real and who isn't. Also, write articles based on your unique expertise and/or publish a newsletter. Trade shows should also be considered.
  1. Consider appearing on local radio or cable TV talk shows. This would be another way to establish yourself as a master in your field. All other things being equal, media appearances and written articles will weigh more heavily than your self-acclamation. Or, if it fits, how about hosting your own talk shows for radio or TV? Become a celebrity!
  1. Mastery marketers know how to create more opportunities to enroll. I'm talking about getting more face to face appointments, bid opportunities, proposals submitted, or quotes given to prime, non-referred prospects. How? Do most if not everything I suggest in this article and the other articles that appear on my website at masterymarketing.com (smile).
  1. The operating word is focus. Focus on market segments (client groups), target markets (client groups with commonalties), and niches (unmet wants). In other words, identify those markets in which there is a set of clients with a common unmet want, whereby you have the best chance for success in matching your skills with those wants. By finding a market you can serve well and target, you can then focus on offering services that meet the special requirements of that particular target market.
  1. Differentiate, differentiate, and differentiate. Especially when a lot of people are seeking out alternative services. Differentiating isn't just about offering great service, although falling down in that category would undoubtedly cost you business. Rather, it means offering something or stressing something of value that sets you apart from the crowd.
  1. Review your time management skills. Do not spread yourself too thin and get frustrated when things don't go according to plan. This can severely damage a marketing program. Learn to master the ability to constantly juggle getting the work, doing the work, and holding down the fort. Marketing that is not done consistently creates peaks and valleys of work.
  1. Mastery marketers realize that business building is a team effort. Going it alone, taking the lone wolf approach, isn't in the best interest of the client or your company. No matter how good you are, or how smart you are, there are times when you need support from others so you can concentrate on attracting big clients with plenty of money to spend on your services. Your primary role should be to continue being the master service provider you can while developing and implementing a moneymaking marketing program for your company.

Please contact me directly by phone at 949.499.1174 or by email at gerry@masterymarketing.com if you wish to discuss developing a marketing or sales plan for your organization, or applying any of these 38 suggestions.