Educational Marketing
Chet tells a story where he is standing on stage in front of 1000 people and he says, “Who’s in the market to buy a car right now?” About thirty people put their hand up. He then say’s “Who’s in the market to buy a mobile phone right now?” and another different thirty people put their hand up. The point is that about 3% of every market is in the market to buy right now. Another 7% are thinking of changing a purchase, 30% are thinking about it, 30% have thought about it and have decided not to, and the last 30% just don’t need it.
If Chet said, “I am going to talk about buying a new computer, anyone not interested can walk out”, he would lose 90% of the audience, not a good thing to do, if you are a speaker.
The solution is to deliver something the whole audience is interested in. Chet does this by carrying out research on the target market group he is talking to and identifying what is causing them pain in the sector. He then comes up with solutions and delivers an educational talk on how to solve the problem. Everyone is interested; he then goes onto presenting his sales pitch right at the end just for a few moments. The audience doesn’t mind because they have had something of value.
The benefits are:
- Positions you as an expert in front of the audience
- More people will ask for more information
- The follow up calls lead to more appointments
- More people are becoming aware of you
- The word will spread if you really wow the audience
The Gift Strategy
A great follow up marketing campaign that Chet describes in the book is about a gift campaign. I also have experience of this strategy being successful.
The idea is to create a selection of fun and economical gifts and send them to send to a select number of targeted clients you really want to work for with tag lines. You then follow up and get the appointment.
It works because:
- It’s memorable
- It’s great marketing
- The client will respect your tenacity
- It’s fun
How it works:
Chet’s example is to select a number of gift items and develop a clever tag line to go with the gift:
- Rubik cube – Is marketing a puzzle for you?
- Magnifying glass – Let’s focus on profits
- Calculator – Can you calculate profit?
- Tape measure – Is your team measuring up?
- Whistle – Let’s blow the whistle on rising overhead coasts
Send out the gifts, in a box with a leaflet with the slogan and message. Follow up with a letter and a phone call to book your appointment with the person you want to do business with.
Recruiting Super Stars
Make sure you take on the right people that can sell. Chet uses DISC to find super stars, he looks for people with high dominance and high influence characteristics in their personality as these types of people make good sales people.
The high dominance makes them a little cocky, with a high self esteem and a little ego. The high influencer characteristics give good communications skills and the quality of continuation, with more objective handling communication when the going gets tough.
Workshop Meetings
Workshop meeting are held for each sales or any other business objective, by the team in charge of delivery of the objective. Meetings are held for no longer than an hour and are focused on results, thinking through strategy, new idea’s encouragement and commitment to the results.
Determination for the desired outcome is paramount. Chet talks about pig headed determination to achieve the results.
Thinking
Chet say’s that 90% of executives are tactical thinkers, 9% are strategic thinkers and 1% are both.
It’s the 1% that make the biggest impact. So, if you know you are a tactical thinker and find it difficult to work out the strategy, find a mentor who is a strategic thinker.
If you are a strategic thinker and find it difficult to make it happen, find a mentor who is tactical thinker. If you are not sure how to go about it read the book! Chet gives lots of example of each type.