How to Win at Marketing Every Time

What’s on the iPod: Already Gone by The Eagles

Yesterday was a day of planning. I finished a ton of work last week, and now I can take a much slower pace to finish other projects. Plus, I worked on setting up in-person meetings at the upcoming conference. I had one person cancel — not unexpectedly, but without a single word accompanying the cancellation. Not terribly professional. Probably a good thing we couldn’t come to an agreement.

I had a call from a lovely woman who sells insurance. She had read an article of mine on how agents can market more effectively. She had specific questions, and she had some frustrations. Like a lot of people trying to attract more customers, she’d listened to advice from this person or that person, paid too much money for a list of names/addresses, and came up lighter in the pocket for it. She’s doing everything right. But it’s not working.

So how was she to attract customers, she asked? Sally, this post is for you.

It doesn’t matter what business you’re in — you have customers. In only one case did a client ever tell me he didn’t really want to attract customers (yes, he really said that), and in that case there’s no helping (and I still can’t quite get the logic behind his approach).

The goal is to reach as many clients as you can without spending a fortune doing so.

So for all the Sallys out there — whether you’re an insurance agent or a freelance writer or a landscaper — here’s the best way I know to win at marketing:

Be consistent. I told Sally this, and it applies to all of us. It’s like hockey– the more you shoot at the net, the better your chances of scoring. But you have to keep shooting. If you contact that client six times and hear nothing, you’ll never know if the seventh time was the one time they were looking for just what you were selling. I tell this story to the point of redundancy — I had talked with a client in email and in person who was interested. Nine months after our first contact, I sent out one more “checking in” email. She bought. My persistence resulted in an extra $24K in my pocket that year.

Be helpful. If you go at this marketing plan of yours with the idea that you’ll give them this can’t-pass-it-up offer and not build a relationship, you’re going nowhere fast. Think about how you like to buy. You want to buy from someone who’s nice, helpful, and who gives you information that can help you solve a problem (or entertain you). Think relationship first, sales after the fact.

Don’t be pushy. I remember winning a lease on a new car from one of the trade shows. The lease was for two years. At the time, my daughter had just turned 16, so I checked the insurance rates. That “free” lease was going to cost me $7,700 for two years of insurance on a teenager, no matter what car she drove. I called the dealer and told him I couldn’t take the lease and why. For the next two weeks, he called me incessantly, pestering the hell out of me to try to change my mind. I was polite on his first call, but when he refused to hear what I was saying and talked over me, I hung up. Each subsequent call went right to voice mail.  If you’re pushing something someone doesn’t want, you’re going to become the newest plague to hit their lives. No one ever wins people over by wearing them down.

Don’t forget to review your message. I told Sally that if she sends out postcards or emails or newsletters and doesn’t see any results, she should look at the product, the targeted customer, and the message to see why. And as I said to Sally, chances are it isn’t the product but either the people you’re trying to sell to or the words you’re using to convince them to buy. Marketing is an active pursuit; you can’t simply create a plan and then never do anything else. You have to get used to watching how people respond or don’t respond and adjusting your approach as you go.

Be on social media. Sally said she liked Facebook, and that someone told her she has to be on Facebook in order to get customers. Those of you who know me know how I get when someone says we MUST do anything. There is no requirement or magic bullet, period. I don’t have a Facebook page for my business, and I have lots of clients. I told Sally (and I’ll tell you) as long as you’re comfortable with the platform, it’s the right one. I love Twitter. Sally doesn’t, so it’s not going to work for her. Some writers love LinkedIn, while others think Google+ is the way to go. If you’re able to find a way to reach potential customers via social media, it doesn’t matter the platform. What matters is you keep it up.

Be consistent. Yea, I know. I said it already. But dammit, it’s the most important part of marketing, and it’s the part that’s going to get you results.

Writers, how do you win at marketing?
What can you tell Sally and others like her about reaching potential customers?
How often do you change up what you’re doing?