Know-How Exchange : Strategy

OK, you need a system for marketing, and we have such a thing that can tailor exactly to anyone's needs. Let me show you how and with any luck, I'll be able to finally describe what we do "different" to you and anyone else reading this:

Premise #1: you have existing customers that are happy.

Step #1: This is where we always start. Segregate the list of current clients into two categories: your best clients (usually 20% of the list - you know the ones: no trouble, love the service, NEVER have problems that cause grief, spend the right amount of money and have recurring revenues for you) and all the others (usually about 80% of the clients) Make the list show all phone numbers and names of these best clients. Prepare a list of key benefits and features of your service, comparing it to your competition and all the internal features that people rarely see of your company.

Step #2: Formulate a list of 20 questions that you will ask these "best customers" about the business. Key types of questions are such as: what media do you read, watch, listen to? Do you get the paper every day? What sections do you always read? What do you like about our services? What do you not like? What would you like to see different in our business? If we were to offer this >>>> service, would you try it out at this amount? What groups do you belong to? What part of each day do you read new mail, offers and other stuff that you get in the mail? What radio station is your car tuned to? What time do you listen to that station every day?


Step #3: Tabulate and summarize these answers using a survey software. (we have one) This will group all the answers and give you a primary target to shoot for in your marketing campaign: now you'll know where to go to get more customers with the same attributes as your best customers: and these new customers will get along well with your staff, will appreciate your services most and in general, you'll have the best luck attracting and retaining their business in the future.


Step #4: Shoot images of people just like your best customers: same age, same hobbies, same business, same vehicle, same everything - all shot using your services and the business outcomes that they can expect by using your services in the future. (We have a studio and tons of models all ages)

Step #5: Research and profile the 20 new customers that you plan to sell to. Put their profiles into a CRM, such as GOLDMINE - which will automatically send out emails, prompt staff to call/followup at regular intervals and track sales performance. Find out everything you can about their business, their sales, their staff, their operations, where they live, how their doing, on and on and on. This way, you'll be able to prepare a single sheet of paper in full colour, glossy 11.17" with a fold.

Step #6: Prepare 20 new brochures using the target on the cover of each, if possible. Get your benefit and feature list from step one and go forward with this mailer piece. Use an automated Proposal Software to create super sales pieces that really work well and give business issues, outcomes and why you are special. When completed, each piece is ONLY good for that client - as it caters directly to their needs - from actual research! Print it for .25 each.

Step #7: Prepare 20 full colour envelopes with your company name on it, their logo and address and an "attention" line. Mail it - for a $1.00 !

Step #8: Prepare email follow-ups for GOLDMINE to automatically send out in your 90 day sales cycle. Prepare one email for each week that you are attempting to close these targets.

Step #9: Prepare sales letter followups to mail at 20 days from the original package.

Step #10: Input the followup call "phone scripting" into GOLDMINE for a call at 5 weeks into the cycle.

Step #11: Do the diligence and complete the program - you'll end up booking a sales meeting at week 6 and all of the notes, brochures, emails, sales letters will pay off: roughly 25% of the time.

This process has NEVER failed yet. If you estimate the revenues that 5 new "best customers" should bring, you'll have the amount that you need to spend on marketing...

That said, if everything isn't quite right with the rest of the process - it all goes for a shit. Fine tune things BEFORE you try this process.

We usually do a "needs analysis" first - as its' a lot of money to do this process and any weakness MUST be uncovered and corrected prior to starting.

Generally, our charges are $10,000 a month to set this up and yes, it does take 90 days to complete the sales cycles: any less and you'll be appearing too pushy.

That said, once you've set this up- you have it for life and don't have to waste money on throw and stick advertising, you'll know your best customers even better and they will all feel like your business is "their business"

Imagine the impact of having hundreds of sales people out there pumping you - and paying you too! Can't beat it.

This system has taken me 23 years to devise properly and I'm probably leaving a ton of stuff out, just too familiar! Any way, if you think this is ok, give me a call and I'll try and show you all the things that I'm leaving out as we actually go through the process.

There's also more on my website - but it too leaves out some key points: my competition is always on my sites.


take care and hope that helps,

Kevin Palmer

Hey Bill,

I hope you're having a great day!

SEEKING COUNSEL IS ALWAYS WISE...BUT THE LESS WE KNOW THE HARDER IT IS TO GIVE GREAT ADVICE..
I think you're a wise man to consider seeking others advice but this is a heavy duty question. Our best answers exist in the questions we ask. And as a famous German architect, Mies Vander Roes proclaimed "God is in the details"...and so are the creative solutions of your client.

SO SOME HOW WE'VE GOT TO GET CLOSER! Do they have a website that would allow us to ponder more on how they do business and where they could be missing it? The missing link could be here.


IF GOD IS IN THE DETAILS THEN A CLONE OF MIES VANDER ROE & THOMAS EDISON WOULD SAY THAT...

"SUCCESS IS IN THE DETAILS OF YOUR FAILURES!"
You've done an amazing job presenting the current successes but what about some of their tremendous failures? If you could get them to share that with you and you with us we'll be light years closer to contemplating a solution thats's unique for the client. I think knowing where they really failed at would stimulate us a little more. It's like the old saying "we learn more from our failures than our successes". And I'm wondering what have they overlooked in their failures that there might be a tremendous gold mine of successes waiting there.


HERE'S SOMETHING FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT...
A great deal of even the most successful companies fail at this. And I found just in doing this one small thing you could multiply your business like a farmer multiplies his return harvest with the planting of every seed. Just one seed of corn brings forth a production of 6-8 ears of corn with nearly 100-150 seeds. Even if you only get 5 ears & 100 seeds per ear, thats an amazing increase of 500 seeds for every seed planted. And you could bring new business at tremendous levels if you too did this one small thing.

BEFORE I TELL YOU WHAT IT IS HAVE YOUR CLIENT...
raise the stakes for finding new business. Yes this is very radical but the drive it will create in your sales force will be amazing.

IDEA #1...OPEN UP NEW DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BUSINESS BY USING A METHOD I LEARNED FROM JAY ABRAHAM...
Paying the sales force an amazing commision on new sales. I learned this one from Jay Abraham and will qoute the book "GETTING EVERYTHING YOU CAN OUT OF ALL YOU'VE GOT", pgs 6 & 7 (below)

(start of quote from book)

How to Increase Your Number of Clients

I have a client whose income curve was stagnant. It doesn't matter what they sold. Pretend it's your product or service. This company had a compensation program that paid the salespeople 10 percent of the profit. So, if the company made a $1,000 profit on a sale, the salesperson would get $100 and the company would get $900.

I had them calculate:

* What the average new client is worth to them in dollars each time they buy

* How many times that client will buy from them each year

* How many years the average client will be with them

It turned out the first sale, on average, resulted in about a $200 profit for the company. Of that, $20 went to the salesman or saleswoman, $180 to the company. On average, the client bought five times a year for three years. So basically, each time that company got a new client, they were receiving $3,000 in cumulative profits.

My solution: Instead of giving the salespeople 10 percent of the profit on a sale to a new, first-time client, give them 100 percent of the profit on the first sale.

The company management's response: "You're insane!"

I smiled pleasantly and went on to explain that as long as their salespeople maintain sales from existing clients at past levels or above, give them 100 percent of the profit on the first sale for every new client they bring in. They'll be ten times more motivated to sell new clients. And every time they bring in a new client, the salesperson makes an additional $200, but the company makes an additional $2,800.

The company implemented the plan and sales tripled in nine months.

...and they said they were sorry for calling me insane. (end of quote from book)



IDEA #2...THE ONE SMALL THING YOU CAN DO TO INCREASE YOUR BUSINESS...
Again most companies overlook the multiplicative factor of how this grows their business but remember the farmers excelerated growth comes out of one seed. So the one small things you can do to increase your business is learn to master and become productive at what most companies are failing at these days and that is...

MASTER THE REFERRAL BUSINESS...
most people overlook the inherent wealth associated with each client. If you really train your sales force to get multiple referrals from every client your business will grow exponentially.

THE BIG MISTAKE...
The problem is most sales people don't ask, and those that do ask don't get.

THE BIG OPPORTUNITY for the farmer is in the seed BUT for the MASTER SALES WOMAN IT'S IN THE CLIENT...
The master sales woman knows the big opportunity that exist with every client and she never underestimates how much her business will expand. She values her relationships with every customer. She always ask for referral business because she knows like the farmer that her future harvest are tied to the seed she planted with her client.

SHE KNOWS GOOD RELATIONSHIPS...
Like a good seed extends itself into the future. Every relationship has far reaching expansive opportunity to take you like Star Trek..."where no man has gone before".

THERE'S GOLD IN DIM DER HILLS...
Well I know these ideas work because my clients have used them thousands of times over to bring tremendous value beyond their own belief. It's a no brainer when you really think about it. If your client's sales force has mastered the selling process from a consultative stand point they can always go back to the old customers and get referrals. So get the gold out of them hills (your existing customer) and Remember our only real problem in life is our failure to be "MORE Creative" than we’ve ever been. If you “Invent” your opportunity YOU WILL most definitely create your future. Just know that I'm here for you if you need my help. Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)