Professional Services Leadership, Marketing & Rainmaking
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Giving Away Products and Services to Create Loyalty
A reporter for a major business publication asked me whether businesses that lower prices and give away free services for buyers that are struggling to “give them a break” is a good strategy for keeping them loyal when the economy turns and their financial fortunes improve. Here’s what I told him…
A little while ago I was visiting Will and Holly, friends of mine who have a four-year-old son, Chaka. Chaka just got a new pair of performance-enhancing sneakers (Wildcats anyone?) that, in his mind, has him challenging Lebron for the MVP.
No question Chaka got game, but even with the bionic footwear his dunking ability still doesn’t extend much past Oreos and milk. Can’t tell him this, though.
Chaka came to mind when I saw that RainToday.com just published a new free report Deal or No Deal – Sales Mistakes that Turn Buyers Away. The report shares never before released data about sales mistakes from our How Clients Buy benchmark report, and gives thoughtful advice about how to fix them.
The problem most people have is this: they don’t think they’re making them…
A few weeks ago someone said to me, “In this economy, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to get ahead. It’s been nearly impossible to get new clients to sign on, and I think it will be for some time to come. My team feels flat. It’s been a huge challenge to keep them motivated. And I understand why…it’s just so hard out there.”
We talked about it. The conversation went like this:
Mike: That sounds pretty difficult, but not an uncommon story these days.
(To protect anonymity, let’s call the other person David Lee Roth.)
DLR: My team seems like they’re running at 50% energy because no matter what they do, there’s just not the return on the other end for their efforts like there used to be. Click to Read More
Imagine yourself on your best day. It seems like you’re productive before you wake up, because something happened while you were asleep to charge your batteries, clear your thoughts, and give you inspiration while you snoozed.
You wake up and nothing can stop you. The path is clear and the ideas are flowing. You settle in to work earlier than usual and start plugging away. And it all starts clicking. You accomplish one goal.
And another.
And another…
I’m always intrigued when I see what real companies are doing to build their brands, increase their revenue, and grow their firms. Here are five outcomes that stood out to me as I was reading RainToday’s latest ebook How 10 B2B Service Firms Grew Their Business in a Down Economy Using Affordable Marketing & Business Development Tactics:
Here’s an excerpt from one of the cases about marketing with live seminars:
Ask a professional service provider about the difference she makes for her clients and you might just hear something like this, “I help my clients first see, and then achieve, better futures.”
If a professional says this, they’re right that the concept of creating a vision of a new future is powerful. So powerful that we have included the concept as a core part of the RAIN Selling methodology. In RAIN Selling, the “N” stands for New Reality. It’s all of our jobs—in business development as well as in our daily work with clients—to help clients conceptualize situations, problems, and possible solutions.
In my recent podcast discussion with Dan Roam, author of Back of the Napkin, we talk about the power of helping people use pictures to solve problems and sell ideas. As you listen to the podcast, you should look at these graphics. They’re helpful in following along with what Dan and I are talking about, and will help you build your be-amazing-at-the-whiteboard skills.
Every business pundit has said at one time or another, “There’s no more misunderstood, argued about topic in business than <insert topic here>, but it’s really not that complicated. Here’s the secret to understanding it.” The concept of value proposition falls into this same category.
On the one hand, it’s a pretty simple concept to grasp. But like all simple, important concepts, it takes some thinking to understand it deeply and use it to your advantage. Let’s first look at a definition of a value proposition, then we’ll look at the three major components that comprise it so you can put it to work for you…
Every year about this time we members of the tribe engage in a sacred tribal ritual: sending email jokes, videos, and other types of hah hahs to each other so we can have something to talk about at our family dinners over green bean casserole and boiled chicken. (Thank you, tribal leader Len Glazer, for leading this annual rite.)
Those of us MOTs in marketing recognize these not just for their deep religious significance, but that, while they don’t reach everyone in the population, they do become semi(te)-viral.
Viral marketing is often attempted—but not often achieved—by many firms. For those of you out there that haven’t figured out a way to get it right, here are a few tips from the yarmulke crew.
Service professionals know everything they need to sell their services. It’s how they organize that information and how they approach prospective clients that determines whether or not they make the sale. Michael McLaughlin, author of Winning the Professional Services Sale, talks about how services professionals can convert a sales lead into a paying client.
By connecting, collaborating, and getting commitment, service professionals work to get the sale without overtly selling, which can turn clients away.
(Time: 11:43)
If you’re going to cover a Barry Manilow classic you had better tread carefully. Barry may not have that much street cred with the kids anymore (if he ever did), but when he sings a song it’s smooth like buttah. When someone else sings his songs, it’s usually smooth like haggis.
The Man in the Chair ad is one such classic. First debuted in 1958, this McGraw Hill advertisement delivers a timeless message with clarity, grace, and impact. If you’re going to mess with it, you had better do it right, lest the world go all Simon Cowell on you.
I think the Business Marketing Association hit the nail on the head with their modernized rendition of the Man in the Chair at their 2009 conference. Nice job, BMA. Now, how about a little Mandy?
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