Bill The Builder

Posts Tagged ‘leads’

Reduce Your Marketing Budget While Increasing Sales

In this economy every business, big and small, is looking for ways to reduce cost and increase profits. One of the questions I’ve been hearing is, “Should we cut our marketing budget?” The short answer is no. That is unless you are retooling your marketing efforts with proven tools and techniques that cost less. In this article I am suggesting a timeless marketing technique that doesn’t have to cost a dime.

Networking is something all living organisms do naturally. The strongest have just learned how to do it better. In business networking means connections and visibility. The more you network the better you are known.

Think of networking as team building. Your team will work for you at all times. To network well, you need to first decide who you need on your team.

The most obvious question that will help you build your team is to ask, “Who are my customers?”

Think about your most faithful customers. You might want to find out about their interests. Where do they spend their time? What are their hobbies? What are their causes? If you discover they have a favorite charity you might ask, “How can I help with that?” If you find out they are attending an upcoming event you might plan on attending yourself. By getting involved with their causes and attending the events they attend, you create opportunities for them to introduce you to their network. These can be rich opportunities. Do your customers have children? Are they involved with youth teams or activities? Wherever people congregate, is a good place to network.

Another customer related question might be, “Who do your customers do business with?” If you have a customer doing business with the sign shop down the street, you might simply send an email that states, “One of my customers highly recommends your services. His name is Mark. I was hoping we might talk about how you can help me with a unique project we’re working on.” The fact that Mark is a shared customer creates incentive for the sign company to work with you in any way possible.

A third question you should be asking is, “What services do I pay for?” How well do you really know your service providers? Could they serve you better if they knew you better? If they knew you might generate referrals, would that incent them to give you a better deal?

 A question you might be overlooking is, “Who does business with the people I do business with?” For example, as a speaker I do business with event planners. Hotel and conference center sales managers do business with event planners. So, I should be networking with the hotel sales team. I might give them a CD of me speaking or offer to provide a free training day for their staff. In return I might ask that they keep my brochure on hand to give to event planners they meet.

One last question to consider is, “Who can I give value to?” Obviously, these may be potential customers. However, they may just be people who will speak highly of you if you help them solve their problems. And you can’t have too many people singing your praises.

There are three things you need to know to start network marketing right now.

Networking works best when everyone finds value in the network. Value is the greatest reason anyone connects on an emotional level with another person.(listen to Relationships & Business Audio http://www.charlesspeaks.com/momentum-resources ) In other words, if I feel you have helped me, encouraged me or informed me, I find value in that. If I think of you as an asset I am comfortable with investing in our relationship. The most important thing you can do to be successful as a networker is to share ideas, solutions, tips, referrals and support.

Trust is oxygen to relationships. When trust is broken it is like a fist to the diaphragm knocking the wind from our chest. When that blow is dealt, it is unlikely that I will trust again. Safeguard your integrity as if it were your most valued possession- because it is. If you make a mistake, admit it readily. If you drop the ball, inform everyone affected promptly. Even if you think the dropped ball is insignificant, follow-up. You don’t want others hearing comments like, “She took three weeks to get back to me about my premiums.”

Experts at networking understand the value of being outstanding. Make sure you are memorable from exemplary service to your business card. Avoid the ordinary. Make people laugh. Give others something to talk about, you. Of course, you don’t want to be obnoxious, off color, rude or excessively loud. You want to strike a delicate balance between credible and entertaining.

A great networking resource is www.meetup.com. You can join us for a networking event by registering online at www.meetup.com/columbussbn

You can follow Bill the Builder at www.twitter.com/billthebuilder

There are videos at www.charlesspeaks.com and you can email at Charles@charlesspeaks.com

Bill Carpenter is available for keynotes, seminars, personal coaching and webinars.