3 Ways to Increase Your Sales

Last week I got a call from Jose, who was looking for help improving his ads. He'd been running the same ad in four local papers for two months and only gotten one response. He was understandably frustrated. With more than a dozen very satisfied clients, he knows that the residential property management services he and his brother provide should interest more people, but he wasn't having any success getting attention or generating leads.

Jose knew that to grow his business he'd need to do some marketing. He had a web site and was doing all the networking he could in addition to running his ads. Isn't this what he should be doing to attract more clients? Aren't advertising, web sites, mailings and networking what marketing is all about?

Webster's dictionary thinks so; it defines marketing as an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer. In other words, marketing is a collection of activities. Is this how you think of it? Has approaching marketing with this mindset helped you increase your sales and pr0fits?

Think about it. You started your business to provide products or services that help people. You work long and hard for your clients to ensure they get what they want. You know that the more helpful you are to your clients, the more likely they'll be to hire you again and the more often they'll recommend you.

Your products and services are focused around your prospects' wants and needs. Focus your marketing on these wants and needs and that will guide your marketing activities.

Marketing is Helping Your Prospects Get What They Want.

Marketing is not about you. It is not building your brand name, (unless you're a Fortune 500 company and have the advertising budget to match). It is not convincing people to buy your products and services. It is not a group of activities that move goods and services. It is about your customers and what they want.

Working with Jose, I had shown him how to refocus his marketing on what his prospects were looking for. A few days ago Jose called me back to tell me about his experience with trying out this helping model of marketing. During a recent visit to Home Depot, he struck up a conversation with a prospect, Bob, who asked what Jose did. Instead of going through the litany of services his company provides, Jose said, 'We help landlords manage their properties more efficiently and make more money.'

That got Bob's attention; he wanted to know how Jose helped landlords. Jose briefly explained his company's services from the landlord's point of view. Bob asked for Jose's business card, so they could have a conversation about Jose managing Bob's 56 rental properties.

Whether you are crafting your advertising copy, elevator speech, or the copy for your web or print brochure, it should focus on what your prospects want. When your prospects see you as helping them instead of just trying to sell them, they'll be more likely to respond.

Want to help your prospects get what they want so you can increase your sales and profits? Focus your marketing on helping by doing the following three things.

* Regularly ask your prospects what they want, what their goals are and how you can help them.

* Use this information to shape your marketing copy.

* Describe in brief and in detail your clients concerns and how you help them on everything from your business card to your sales letters to your ads and to your web site.

When you focus your marketing on helping your prospects get what they want, you'll get what you want; more leads, more prospects and more clients.

2005 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

---

All Small Businesses Need to Gather Community Intel

How well do you know your community? As business owners... Read More

Sales Plan? Whats a Sales Plan?

In the past, if you said the word "plan" to... Read More

Run a Productive Business From Your Car-Office

The way we do business has changed dramatically over the... Read More

Project/Program Management Best Practices for Success in ANY Industry!

Where is our success? Although there have been improvements, over... Read More

Overcoming Sales Objections for Small Business Networks

Do you need help overcoming sales objections? Do you sell... Read More

How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance -- Part 2

Another key reason why companies suffer from 80/20 performance is... Read More

Sales & Marketing Plan Strategies

Design and Implementation of a new Sales & Marketing campaign... Read More

Finding A Sales Force That Pays For Itself

The elements involved in building a sales force, especially one... Read More

A Coachs Handbook For Sales Managers

This article may be reprinted in its entirety with express... Read More

Five Steps to Maximize Success in Targeting For Growth

Targeting is the process of selecting high potential customer accounts... Read More

Franchise Sales; Recruiting of Laid Off Employees

Because of corporate downsizing, many people have been laid-off or... Read More

The Differences Between A Commercial Collections Agency & Lawyer

If your letter writing and phone calls have all failed... Read More

The ACCOUNTABILITY Challenge for Today?s Business Management

In today's 24/7 driven business word, accountability is becoming a... Read More

Generous Donor Refused (how qualified business slipped away)

Generous Donor RefusedPicture this. You are a fund development director... Read More

The Effective Executive

What does it mean to be an "effective executive"? Well... Read More

Offer Package Deals To Increase Profits And Sales

An effective way to increase your profits and sales is... Read More

Small Business Marketing: Overtaking Your Competitors

Few businesses keep tabs on competitors, yet such knowledge can... Read More

Building Trust For Lifetime Success

Trust.One word.One very powerful word that can increase both first... Read More

Discounting Your Way Into Sales Oblivion

I don't even like saying the word d---------g. I have... Read More

How to Maximize Account Penetration and Jump-Start Sales

Maximizing account penetration is one of the most critical functions... Read More

How Do I Manage Workplace Conflict?

Workplace ConflictConflict is an inevitable part of business life and... Read More

Ten Awesome Ways To Incease Your Sales In Holidays

Everybody thinks that the businesses will slow down a bit... Read More

Hiring--A Vital Key In Sales Management Success

Recently, I was asked to spend some time on the... Read More

The Hidden Competition: Avoiding the 2 Most Common Competitors

There are really only two types of competitor:1. Obvious2. HiddenThe... Read More

Sales Tactics to Beat Your Competition

This month I want to share a success from a... Read More

Hire A Six, To Consistently Produce Sales Success

For many years as a sales manager, I would only... Read More

How to Organize a Seminar or an Event

Seminars and events have always been implemented as a holistic... Read More

How You Can Raise Your Business Earnings By 50% With An Age-Old Magic Truth

Imagine increasing your business earnings by 30, 40, or 50%.... Read More

The Get Dangerous Quickly Approach to Product/Service Training

In 2000 a computer distributor hired me to help them... Read More

How to Keep Projects From Spinning Out Of Control

Are you involved in projects that seem to go nowhere... Read More

Commodity Sales Prospecting - How to Stand Out From Your Competitors

I have received a number of requests for advice from... Read More

Accepting Responsibility for Your Sales Success

That we live in a time of relentless and pervasive... Read More

Speed-up Your Sales Cycle

This week's article is my response to a question by... Read More