Sales

Enacting a Construction Sales Process: Make Time for Sales to Have Sales

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By TOM WOODCOCK

Contractors often must wear many hats – everything from estimating to project managing, vendor relations and, oh yeah, selling.

The selling part can often be an afterthought. The problem is that it needs forethought. Not allotting time and strategizing to sell can cripple a construction firm. Instead of trying to reshape an entire construction firm’s approach to sales, I often find it more effective to increase the level of efficiency and time usage. This is a process, but once enacted it produces opportunity.

My biggest challenge is to convey cause and effect, as many contractors tend to be a point A to point B types of thinkers. Sales rarely flows in that fashion. But if you practice the basics efficiently and consistently, results follow. The first step is to allot a percentage of time consistently to selling. This will require looking honestly at the amount of time you currently commit and what you can realistically designate for sales. Whether it’s a percentage of time or actual hours, start where you are, increase that number a bit and stick to it. A weekly total is most desirable.

The next level is to determine what to do with that time. What will get you the most bang for the buck? What actions will get you in front of more clients and potential customers? What is the quality of that contact time? This may sound daunting, but if you put a little effort into it, you’ll save time in the future.

Analyze which associations are most effective in generating opportunity. Which of the events you normally attend produce leads and relationships? Of the current relationships you have, which afford quality business opportunities? Invest time in these areas and reduce time in those that are nonproductive. Remember, you’re busy and you have other responsibilities. Sacrifice the more hit-or-miss opportunities that are out there. On a side note, make sure those other responsibilities are worth sacrificing any type of sales time to at all.

After you have time allotment laid out and know where you’re going to get in front of people, you need some preliminary marketing. The quickest, least expensive option is electronic marketing. But even in this realm, you still need to use your time efficiently. Hitting every aspect of social media can be alluring and trendy; however, realistically investing quality time into one avenue is best. Becoming consistently active on LinkedIn by joining the proper customer groups, connecting with industry professionals and searching for high-caliber networking functions should suffice – at least as far as social networking goes. Tie that activity to a monthly electronic newsletter properly designed and produced, and you have an effective platform.

Now you’re set to implement. Ah, there’s the rub. It’s far easier to get a company to strategize its approach and another to get it to diligently implement the plan. Even though we’re being respectful of all the other responsibilities that professionals have, still, many tend to put sales on the back burner. Effort cannot be structured into a strategy. It either exists or doesn’t.

Practicing efficient sales time usage will help with your corporate sales results, but true dedication to your firm’s sales dynamic always produces. Efficiency is effective, and yet a high level of time committed to a sales effort trumps efficiency – even if it’s not as effectively managed as a smaller, tighter effort.

There’s a principle in sales that holds true: If you’re out amongst people more, you’ll discover more opportunity. Projects come from unique leads, and introductions can be made to stronger network contacts. Creativity can be invoked in the sales approach, resulting in greater attention or differentiation. This larger type of time commitment is very rare in the construction industry. It’s usually inherent within larger contractors whose firms can afford specific business development and marketing personnel.

The final stage in this process is to continually evaluate what is producing the best results. Adjust your time commitment to those areas and expand their impact. Take actions producing good results and develop them into producing even greater success. Discontinue actions that are not producing sales opportunity, and you now have a formula for growing greater results. Of course, your efforts will eventually hit an artificial ceiling in terms of how much time you’re able to allot. The decision at that point will be to 1) stay put and maintain your new status quo, or 2) adjust the level of time your company commits to sales work. This is a good problem to have. It’s one that takes companies to the next level in revenue and profitability.

Construction is a hands-on industry. It’s filled with individuals who take complex plans and turn them into projects. Sales can be a foreign concept that is too often practiced on an as-needed basis. If the same amount of planning goes into a sales approach, quality results should be the expectation. The efficient usage of time relevant to sales can solidify a revenue base, not to mention increase overall profits. The old adage “time is money” must’ve been coined by a sales individual…if you consider Benjamin Franklin a sales rep.

Tom Woodcock, president of seal the deal, is a speaker and trainer for the construction industry nationwide. He can be reached via his website,  www.tomwoodcocksealthedeal.com, or at (314) 775-9217.

Spring and Summer Selling: Make the Effort to Attend Prospect-Laden Events

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Tom Woodcock

By TOM WOODCOCK

Money is being spent in all directions to try and to gain an advantage in sales. Websites, digital campaigns, graphics, giveaways and promotional materials grab the lion’s share of the attention. Though these are, (add comma) at times, (add comma)  necessary, hoping these pieces will suffice, (remove comma) as your sales effort is overly optimistic. Still the most effective methodology is to get in front of people. But how?

There is a definite divide developing between those who hide behind marketing and promotion with those who use it to increase their opportunity to get around people. I really believe in some of the old, traditional, people-centric gathering functions. The difference is that I’ve always had a plan of attack for these events. What events?

Two of the most common, as well as the most effective, are associations and trade shows. I know. They’ve both been around forever. There is a reason for that. They’re effective. When worked properly, they serve as a great point of access to customers and potential customers. When I do seminars, I usually ask this question: “How many of you have to deal with a person when getting a project or making a sale?” Guess what? I usually get a 100 percent positive response. We all have to deal with people to get our opportunities.

The question is this: How can we maximize the effectiveness of attending these events? First of all, when it comes to associations, it’s critical that you select a couple active associations that are successful in bringing people together or are customer-rich environments. The more people in attendance, the greater the chance you’ll either secure a good piece of sales information or a direct opportunity with a potential customer.

Secondly, you have to dive in. Arrive early and review the nametags to see who’s coming. Stay late and milk it for all it’s worth.

Lastly, get involved. Committees, boards and volunteering for events put you in the limelight. It gives members a chance to seek you out for your ability to connect them within the association. I practice this firsthand. It really doesn’t matter if you feel awkward. Things will get comfortable as you move along. Go with the purpose of meeting people, as opposed to sitting back and criticizing those who are. There is an old saying in the association world: “You get out of it what you put in,” and it holds true.

Another misunderstood event are trade shows. They have been around since the dawn of time, it seems. Trade shows sometimes draw large crowds, sometimes not. They always involve people. Yes, it’s good to see new products and services at these events. You may even grab a great seminar. (I do a ton of them at trade shows!) The greatest value, in my opinion, comes from the people who are in attendance.

If it’s a customer-rich environment, you need to attend with the intent of making some connections. Introduce yourself during booth visits or at breaks in the seminar programs. Go with the purpose of walking away with at least three solid connections. Plan your attack, have your business cards accessible and bring a tool to jot down notes. Planning ahead will take your experience to a new level. I’m often amazed how one person can attend or work a trade show and say it’s a flop while another individual attended the exact same show and found it to be a tremendous success. It seems that perspective and attitude play a huge role with regards to results.

Lastly, there are business breakfast meetings, networking happy hours and luncheons popping up everywhere. They are worth the time if you qualify them first. Who is putting it on? From industry is the host? Are the times and locations generally convenient? If so, they’ll probably have higher attendance. Taking the time to include these opportunities in your event repertoire can produce significant results. With the weather improving, golf tournaments and barbecues pop up. Worked correctly, they can be big lead sources.

But all of this is useless if you don’t follow up on the information you secure from these networking opportunities. This is the biggest issue I find when training sales reps; they’re great at the event but then they never call their newfound contacts or take the next step. A lead is only effective when it is worked. Most leads go dead in 48 hours as people move on to new ventures.

Set aside a specific time to sit and make those follow-up calls. This takes discipline and few really take the time to pick up the phone. Most good sales people love the fact that so few individuals actually do follow up because it allows them to stand out that much more. It’s always easy to discount going to people-connecting events, believing they’re not worth the time or inconvenience. The highest percentage of people uses these excuses to bypass being involved. Sadly, this is a critical sales mistake. Easy to make, but just as easy to rectify.

I know that not every meeting or show is going to be a premium event, but you need to stay out there to catch the ones that are. Join the associations. Get to the meetings. Attend the trade shows and meet people.

This isn’t the most complicated of concepts. The biggest issue is making the time. If it’s a priority, you’ll make the time. The percentage of sales agents who do is woefully low. Getting around people is still a big lead producer. Finding events where people are congregating is critical. Surprisingly, if you put a real sales effort towards them, you’ll meet a ton of people. I highly recommend having a good schedule of people-laden events on your calendar. There you’ll meet someone who will be of value to your business. The strong ones tend to be strategically involved in your business transactions.

Tom Woodcock, president, seal the deal, is a speaker and trainer for the construction industry nationwide. He can be reached at (314) 775-9217 or admin@tomwoodcocksealthedeal.com.

Help Customers Learn How to Buy From You: Let Them Play the Hero

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Stephanie Woodcock

By STEPHANIE WOODCOCK

When a company decides to amp up its marketing, the natural tendency is to tell everyone how great it is. We assume that if we make the marketing good enough and explain better than our competitors how great we are, our prospects will come running to buy our services and confirm our greatness.

I meet many talented professionals who work for trusted, experienced and longstanding companies. Immediately when I ask them about what they want to tell their customers, they come up with a list of comparisons. “Well, we do this and they don’t do that. We’re the best at this or that, we do this faster, they don’t have this software,” etc. Some just come out and say they are the lowest priced and that’s their selling point. I’ve seen quite a few companies even insist on putting these bullet points on the back of their business cards, lest we forget. (Please don’t do that.)

How do we get more business? The default is to tell the customer base what it is missing. This is especially the case if said company has been doing this for a long time. Company personnel state, “Well we’ve been in business for X number of years. We’re a family-owned business. We don’t gouge our customers. We strive for customer satisfaction. We have the best people.” While all this may be true, it is not where you start with your marketing plan; this becomes white noise in the world of marketing.

The harsh reality is that customers don’t really care about your business beyond how it can help them. How do your business offerings solve a problem and make life better for your clients? These are the questions we should be asking in strategic marketing planning sessions. How can we make the customer the hero, someone who is admired for great acts or fine qualities? What qualities about our customers do we want to highlight? What do we do that could make our customers’ acts great?

It’s a shift in messaging. But, when companies do it right, it’s powerful messaging that cuts through the rest of the “look at me” marketing. Our brand will grow when we define a desire for our customers. People want to hear about themselves, not about inanimate objects such as services, software or years in business. They want a story, and they want to be at the center of it. Great marketing tells a story and places the customer squarely in the middle of that story.

Have you ever been told, “Wow, that person is a great conversationalist”? Have you ever left a meet-and-greet thinking, “Wow, I really liked that person. I enjoyed that conversation.” That’s usually because that person asked a lot of questions about YOU.  You probably did most of the talking (no offense). You felt needed and heard. You got to talk about yourself, and you were listened to. Shocking, right?

The same interpersonal skills can be applied to a company’s marketing strategy.  We want our customers to feel needed and heard. We want them to want to come back –not because they are convinced that we are the best due to our fantastic marketing efforts (“We are the best! We are the best!”), but because of how we framed our branding message to help them understand the needs they have and the solutions we can provide.

One of my client’s main marketing objectives was to increase online sales and get customers set up with unique online profiles. This required a couple of steps and a learning process. Rather than telling customers how great the system was (“You must join, even if you aren’t a techie! You have to figure it out and join. Look what you are missing!), we created a digital assistant who both entertains and guides. We named her, gave her a personality and brand and set up contests. But most importantly, we found a way to find a need the customer had and kindly guided him/her through a process to fill that need. In essence, we showed people how some needs they had could be filled and solved by following these simple steps. Once a customer set himself/herself up with a unique online profile, he/she realized how convenient and quick the system was for ordering, checking inventory and more. We made the customer’s acts great by saving him/her time and hassle. Thus, the customer became the hero. He/she conquered his/her digital fears, completed his/her tasks, and had extra time for other parts of his/her job.

In any good story there is a hero, a villain and a guide. In business, the villain is the problem our customers face. Rather than our being the hero who swoops in and delivers a great product or service, let’s let our customers be the heroes who use us as the guide to a solution. We still have a great product and service. Rather than singing praises to the product’s or service’s greatness and longevity, let’s frame these great products and services in a way that helps the market understand a need and a solution. As a guide we can shed light on a new way of doing things that could make the lives of our customers easier and more enjoyable. Rather than trying to be admired through our marketing efforts, let’s try to shine the light on those who keep us in business.

Stephanie Woodcock is president of Seal the Deal Too, a St. Louis-based marketing, creative & communications firm. She can be reached at stephanie@sealthedealtoo.com.

The Epic Fails of Sales: Eat Your Sales Strategy Veggies or No Dessert for You

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Tom Woodcock

By Tom WOODCOCK

After 30 years of selling, managing sales efforts, creating sales strategies and working in sales consulting, I may have a couple things narrowed down. People love to corner me and ask me their biggest sales question, waiting for a pearl of wisdom.

The one thing about pearls is that they take a long time to form. I’ve witnessed virtually every sales technique and gimmick known to man. I often chuckle when a young, newly college-educated star gives me the inside scoop on how sales works in this day and age. I love their zeal, but I saw that back in 1982, my friend.

Everyone is looking for a new angle to avoid doing the tough stuff, trying to reduce personal contact and get greater results. Kind of sounds like an oxymoron (or just moronic). Apps, social media and website innovation can all replace genuine sales work, I’m told. Technology makes it so easy for the customer to do business with you. Well then, they just have to, right?

Not so fast, Padawan! We are still human, the last time I checked. We are communicators by nature. We still like to talk to people we like…some more than others, but we all do. Companies spend gobs of money on methods they are sure will work, or are told will work, only to remain exactly where they are with regard to revenue and profitability. Why is that? My Facebook page is killer and I have a gazillion likes! I’m number two on Google under my trade! I even Instagram all my projects! Plus, you should see my website. Then thud. Same old, same old. Here are the most common errors I see:

  • Saying, Not Doing – Yeah, this is number one. Many people talk a good game but few enact the techniques necessary that develop into action. They don’t see people, make the phone calls, follow up, join associations, create a sales strategy or properly negotiate. They usually revert to selling by price. They’ll often talk a good game but they have no game. Sad but true. The easiest step of doing what you know to do is skipped.
  • No Plan – Could you imagine building a facility without a plan? Well, how can you build an effective sales effort without one? I mean, where are you going to go? Who are you going to talk to? What are your goals? How will you attain them? Where do you need to improve? These are not easy questions for many to answer. Many owners and reps I meet with have an epiphany when I discuss developing a sales plan. I feel like a genius, when in reality this is 101 to an effective sales effort. So if steps one and two are missed, good luck! Throw that dart into the ocean and hope you hit a fish. Better yet, bid until your little estimator brain falls out on the floor and dies a slow death. Estimating is not sales. Discounting is not selling. Giving away the house is not business development. Having a sales plan can eliminate the pricing game.
  • No Competitive Difference – If you’ve ever been to one of my seminars, which I’m sure you have (wink wink), you know this is foundational to everything I teach. If I’ve trained you one on one, you’ve seen me with a blue face because I’ve told you this until that occurs. If you do not give me, the prospect, a reason to choose you over a competitor, why would I spend more to choose you? Even if you were the same price, why choose you? Why would I change from my current supplier I trust and choose you? This is the baseline, folks. You first must know what makes you the better choice, and then know how to communicate that effectively. Low price is not a competitive difference; it’s simply math. Any caveman or cavewoman can lower their price. My five-year-old is at this stage in his mathematical skills. “If I charge $3 but the other guy is charging $2, if I go to $1.50, can I have the job?” Find out what makes you different from the competitor and sell it.

Those are only three of the common errors, but they definitely occur the most often. Lord knows, I try to convince thousands of construction industry professionals of these truths. Some have heard it over and over again, but to no avail. I regularly get asked to speak on sales at events and privately to companies. They’ll bring me back multiple times over the years and ask if I have something new. In actuality, they need to hear this stuff again…and again…and again. I still see these same mistakes made everyday, but now with new techniques. Facebook pages that say the same things as their competitor’s page. Social media posts saying exactly the same things. Websites that are merely plug and play templates because the businesses are plug and play. Yikes. New formats, but the same gruel served up only microwaved.

As companies come into the new construction season, they’ll scramble to spend marketing dollars to get attention. Not that they shouldn’t, but to what sales effort are these efforts attached? What’s the plan to capitalize on the interest created? Is there a clear separation defined? Will the sales effort and follow up be done or merely talked about?

It’s tough to be the person who has to tell a company that just dropped $20k on a website that it’s meaningless if they don’t have a detailed sales strategy. It doesn’t always get me an invite to the company BBQ.

There is no denying that if you eat your sales vegetables, dessert will soon follow. Companies love when revenues and profits increase but struggle to format a way to achieve that end. Regardless of the fact, it’s there for the taking. If you sell properly, it’s all low-hanging fruit!

Tom Woodcock, president, seal the deal, is a speaker and trainer for the construction industry nationwide. He can be reached at 314-775-9217 or admin@tomwoodcocksealthedeal.com.

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What’s Your Company’s Sales Culture?

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by Tom Woodcock

Tom Woodcock

Webster defines “culture” as: “a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterizes an institution or organization.” Most interesting is the concept of shared values.

Every company develops a sales culture. Whether by plan or accident, a culture will be established. This culture directly relates to the way customers are treated and approached. Some companies mistreat customers and don’t even realize it. This is because they’ve developed their culture without regard for the effect their choices will have on customers. That type of culture can stunt a company’s growth and profitability. Others companies bend over backwards to please their customer base. They go the extra mile and do whatever it takes to serve them. That breeds both customer loyalty and increased profitability.

How do you establish a positive, progressive sale culture?

It starts at the top. Ownership sets the rudder in regards to the value they place on their client base. They establish the priority level of customer needs and the parameters of service. They get involved with the client base and assist in the sales effort. The more detached ownership is, the more opportunity for customer abuse or neglect. Owners that are absent from the sales effort cannot expect staff to place a proper prioritization on clients. If it’s not important to ownership to be involved, why would you expect the employees to place proper value on them? The good thing is that the weight of ownership helps minimize the time commitment the owner needs to make to sales. A little attention from the president of the company can go a long way towards making the clients feel appreciated.

Next up, upper and mid-level management. Direct supervisors must reinforce a customer-first focus to their staff. They must encourage staff to freely communicate issues that develop with clients. A belief that management isn’t as concerned with customers as internal issues causes staff to focus more on paperwork than customer retention. Management also must have contact with the client base and be willing to support sales staff in servicing them. The thought that insulating management from the customer base may make a manager’s life a bit easier is understandable, until numbers drop!

Adjacent to management is the sales and business development personnel. Those individuals become the immediate face and personality of the company. This is why strong people skills are so critical to a company’s sales efforts. Internal relationships with management and support staff also are integral to a successful sales culture. That means this group actually has three customers: the true customer, management, and internal support staff. Failing to adequately invest in any of those relationships can inspire negative impressions that filter down to the buying customer. You’ve probably seen it in the common tension between sales and administration. Business development people feel the support staff is there to “make it happen” for them, while the admin folks believe the sales personnel are out there just “playing around”. I see it all over the country within GCs, subs and vendor firms. It’s a poison that kills customer trust.

Finally there’s the support staff. This can be everyone from the person doing invoicing to field personnel. A great sales effort can be completely dismantled by unhelpful, arrogant staff. The pleasantness of a good sales relationship is fast forgotten when dealing with a short-tempered collections person, a cocky driver, or a belligerent field worker. Often those individuals have more regular contact with the customer base than the sales personnel! It’s remarkable how when invoices are fought over and change orders questioned repeat business dissipates due to issues created by support personnel. Often those issues go unknown or unreported to management.

To practically begin developing a profitable sales culture you must enact a few basic steps:

  1. Determine the company sales philosophy, which is set by ownership.
  2. Set regular corporate sales meetings to reinforce the philosophy.
  3. Monitor staff implementation of the philosophy.
  4. Create an environment of free customer information exchange.
  5. Set a central CRM program to capture customer information
  6. Survey a sample of customers to verify how the philosophy is being experienced.
  7. Adjust, account, correct, and replace if necessary.

The vast majority of companies will never invest the time or effort into consciously developing their sales culture. They will continue to go with the flow and watch their profits shrink as they race to the bottom to be low. They will blame the customer for their profitability issues and blame suppliers for high material pricing.

Customer loyalty is not a thing of the past. There are companies with strong profit percentages. The reason? A sales culture that looks at the customer first permeates through the entire company and has the correct corporate priority. How did your company’s sales culture come into being? I’d love to know, wouldn’t you?

Tom Woodcock, president, seal the deal, is a speaker and trainer to the construction industry nationwide and author of “You’re Not Sellin’, They’re Buyin’!” He can be reached at his website: www.tomwoodcocksealthedeal.com or at 314-775-9217.

Setting Annual Expectations

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By Tom Woodcock

Tom Woodcock

As the holidays pass and we barrel into the new year, companies scramble to forecast next year’s performance. Numbers will be thrown around, projections made, and hopes elevated. Ownership will almost always demand better results in either revenue or profitability, or worse, both. Then the great master plan is formatted and presented at a company meeting. At that point, virtually everyone walks away leaving the sales team to make it happen.

Kinda comical if you really think about it. Marketing budgets get cut, entertainment expenses reduced and owner engagement wanes, yet you’re tasked to increase business. “Do more with less!” is the new company motto. You sit there wondering how you’re going to pull it off, if at all. It might be easier to just start making your excuses now as opposed to when the projections are blown. It seems to be an annual ritual. The real question is how do you project what an upcoming year will hold?

Projections can be very strategic or de-motivating in nature. Most are unrealistic in scope and cause unnecessary sales stress. Many have no formulation on how to achieve the numbers. Whether revenue, profitability or expansion of customer base, projecting results without having a plan is a shot in the dark at best. There are a few key areas related to sales that will require a strategic approach. Otherwise, reaching a projected goal will be a seat of the pants proposition. Hitting these main points will at least allow you to hit the basics:

  1. Market Conditions: Understanding and calculating what is taking place in your specific markets is paramount to setting your company’s sales rudder. Is demand trending up or down? Are there economic factors that dictate market direction? Has the customer base shifted in need or demand? These are important questions to answer. These influences can send you in the wrong direction if not addressed.
  2. Historical Sales Data: I find many organizations evaluate their sales teams via gut reaction. You “feel” like someone is doing a good or bad job and approach that person accordingly. The sales data may reflect the opposite of your impression. It’s impossible to project where you’re going without knowing where you are. What’s the starting point? What increases have you been averaging year to year? If historically you’ve realized a 5 percent increase year over year, you’d better have some strong data supporting an expectation of a 20 percent increase for the projected year. Unrealistic growth is never realized.
  3. Ability of Sales Personnel: Being realistic with the talent and work ethic of your sales team can assist in determining what you can truly expect that team to produce. Are they seasoned veterans? Developing rookies? Maybe a combination of both? Break the team down by individuals and measure the past contributions of each to your sales total. Use that as a baseline then incorporate the information you attain in the first 2 points and project growth. Combining the individual results will give you a company-wide figure. It’s useless to predict a high level of growth when you don’t have the players to get there. It’s like expecting your nine-player baseball team to hit 90 home runs when no one has ever hit more than five. It is just not possible.

If you’re diligent in at least these three areas, you can expect to make reasonably educated forecasts. Hitting projections will fuel the motivation tank. Over analyzing causes paralysis, insecurity and mistrust. Set your direction and stick with it. Be sure everyone clearly understands the requirements and the result of hitting or missing goals.

Recognizing that your company can fall into the trap of letting external factors dictate your success will keep you working on your strategy. You really do control your growth, not Wall Street or the next President. Rising above circumstances requires more than effort. Having a strong sales strategy tied to that effort has virtually a zero percent chance of failure. Of course each company has its own idiosyncrasies that can affect success, but having your sales ducks in a row can mitigate the negative and extenuate the positive. You are in control.

I’ll be sitting with the companies I work with over the next few weeks setting projections. Owners will argue with me and want to push the numbers. My response will be; “Okay, how are you going to pull that off?”. That will at least light the fuse. From there, reality will kick in and we’ll end up with a good, aggressive, yet achievable projection. Which, truth be told, is exactly what both they and you need. Don’t give in to the wishful thinking of pie in the sky expectations. The eventual result is a bad taste in your sales mouth.

Tom Woodcock, president, seal the deal, is a speaker and trainer to the construction industry nationwide. He can be reached at his website: www.tomwoodcocksealthedeal.com or at 314-775-9217.

 

Butts in the Seats Marketing: Don’t Obsess Over That and Miss Your Existing Client

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BY STEPHANIE WOODCOCK

Stephanie Woodcock

When do owners usually start thinking about marketing? When they need to get more business, correct? When they experience a lull or change in the market or business climate that spurs them to say to themselves (and I’m paraphrasing), “Hmmm…I need to get more butts in the seats.”

But what if owners look at the purpose of marketing a little differently? What about those “butts already in the seats,” so to speak? In other words, what about those customers they already have?

In traditional marketing there is a sales funnel. We market to the masses through traditional and non-traditional means – radio, television, billboards, flyers, social media, electronic marketing and signage. The sole purpose of this broad-reaching campaign is to “catch” as many in that large end of the funnel as possible. Then we keep marketing to that captured audience through drip marketing and ta-da: out comes a sale at the small end of the funnel!

What if we flipped that funnel upside down and started marketing to the core business base we already have? This outlandish idea also flips the definition of marketing on its head. I can hear the objections now (again paraphrasing): “Why spend all that money on customers I already have? I want more and new customers. I’m looking to differentiate and move into new markets. I’m looking at my numbers, and I need to increase volume and sales by XX percent.”

Marketing is part of an overall strategic culture of a company. If part of that strategy and culture is appreciating those longtime clients and the core business we already have, we can transform our sales approach. By spending time and marketing dollars on our core customer base, we help instill a sense of ownership, loyalty and “brand love” with our clients. We fill up that small end of the funnel, invest in our greatest resources and trust they will help spread our message.

While there is a time, place and strategy for marketing to the masses and filling up that large end of the funnel, sometimes we can miss the forest for the trees in the process.  We are so concerned with getting more butts in the seats that we become obsessed with the seat – the height, the cushion, the proximity to other seats and the emptiness. We can’t wait to pack the room with a new, fresh audience of future customers ready to buy that we miss the low-hanging fruit of what we already have.

Part of our marketing plan should be focusing on existing customers and going beyond the status quo in our marketing efforts. If we concentrate our marketing message and dollars on helping our existing customers feel special, they will gladly spread our brand for us. When we start appreciating them, we reap dividends in referrals. Plus, we get to build on an already established platform of trust.

I am a big advocate of referrals and the power of word of mouth. In fact, research shows that 70 percent of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels he or she is being treated. My company has grown through just that – referrals and word of mouth. I have a select few who I thank often for helping me grow (you know who you are). Then I try to do a good (great) job for my clients and see where else that word of mouth takes me. While I like to display your marketing message in as many creative ways as possible, nothing, absolutely nothing, beats word of mouth.

But clients need something to talk about. They need to see a new marketing campaign, a new website or be invited to a carefully orchestrated open house. They need to see a marketing plan in action and feel like they are an essential, intrinsic part of it.

If we market to our clients, if we create a VIP club and appreciate them with our marketing dollars, clever marketing messages, promotional giveaways, happy hours or simply thank-you messages, if we appreciate them the way they deserve, that upside down funnel will start churning out new customers.

We essentially market to the masses as well. We do it through our customers.  Our core clients tell other new, potential customers about the loyalty and brand love they have towards us and ta-da: out comes more sales. In other words, our powerful word-of-mouth message and our strategic culture of making our customers our primary focus helps increase the volume of our sales.

We are no longer marketing to sell to the masses. We are marketing to appreciate our current customer base: the people who keep the lights on. Then we will realize that this forest has a lot of trees. Plus, those new customers we get through word of mouth have been vetted and already believe in our strategic culture because they have started with trust. It’s a beautiful thing when marketing goes from selling to the masses to appreciating the most important.

I’m not advocating removing all marketing to potential new clients. However, I am proposing a new way of approaching marketing. It begins with a company-wide culture of appreciating clients. In this type of culture, the main goal is appreciating those we already have rather than despairing over those we don’t have. Potential customers know when they are being oversold to. In the same way, they know when they are being appreciated. How we frame our marketing messages to both segments can make all the difference.

With this approach, the new clients will come. They will wonder what all the fuss is about. They will see all those butts in the seats and wonder why they are all being treated so well. Instead of being sold to, they will see and hear all about the brand loyalty and brand love that they are missing out on.

Benjamin Franklin famously stated, “Well done is better than well said.” We can say all we want in our marketing messages, but the people who have walked through our doors and experienced our service and product firsthand are the best messengers. They can testify to the fact that our companies are “well done” as opposed to just “well said.”

Stephanie Woodcock is president of Seal the Deal Too, a St. Louis-based marketing, creative & communications firm. She can be reached at stephanie@sealthedealtoo.com .

 

Cold Calling is Dead, Networking Lives

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By Tom Woodcock

Tom Woodcock

For decades, people have tried to find business through the painstaking process of cold calling. I battle old school sales managers all the time who swear that cold calling is the way to go. Think about it: Do you like someone coming in and interrupting you –when you’re in the middle of working on a project – and trying to sell you tools? No! Then why would you think someone else would?

Don’t get me wrong. I grew up as a salesperson by cold calling my little guts out. Back in the day, we had no choice. Our lead source was the Yellow Pages. We hoped we would be greeted by a cordial receptionist; more often than not, the prospect’s building sign was the only advanced information we had. This made cold calling not only necessary but mandatory.

The ability to get advanced information on today’s potential customer is at its highest level in history. Via the web, you can secure company information, market presence and even contact information. This eliminates much of the need for a cold call. The issue here, however, is that you lose the physical presence with your would-be customer.

With that in mind, you need to find a way to accomplish this in-person connection in order to gain your initial meeting with the prospect. The best way to do this? Go backwards in order to move forward. Use your associations, organizations and chambers of commerce as resources. Yup, that’s right. Pools of people. Add your own customized network of contacts and you have a leads machine. Consistently attending events, happy hours, business breakfasts and business group meet-ups is paramount to finding opportunity. There are some qualifiers, however, to keep in mind so you don’t waste time and effort:

  1. Customer-rich? Does the event appear to be attracting customers or potential customers? Though often you’ll never really know until you attend, promotional media will give you an indication of the function’s target market. Customer-rich environments are always your best shot at direct business opportunities.
  2. Network development potential? Are there going to be current or potential network contacts in attendance? These are individuals who also sell to your customer base. They can be great sources for introductions and inside information. Your personal network should include a high concentration of these types of individuals.
  3. Association affiliation? Events that are hosted by associations are often well attended. They tend to cater to specific groups, so it’s a bit easier to qualify attendees. Many times the events are limited to members and their guests, but every so often they’re open to visitors. Grab those opportunities.
  4. Known host? These are events hosted by well-known individuals or companies in a particular industry. People will attend because they know historically that this host has strong networking meetings. Some hosts have a knack in setting up these programs. Why reinvent the wheel? Take advantage of their expertise.

Simply using these four criteria will produce results. At that point, it comes down to your personal approach to networking. You have to develop a methodology that you’re comfortable with and matches your personality. Some people can simply own a room. Others? They need a good, structured plan of attack. Either way, it’s best to attend with a little information and strategy. Here are some tricks to get even more bang for your buck:

  1. Get there early. Check out those nametags and select a couple of targets you want to approach.
  2. Ask for permission to call. Politely asking if you can contact a potential client goes a long way. Do not be challenging or confrontational; you’re hoping to obtain permission to contact them.
  3. Use your existing network. Connect with those who are already in a network relationship with you and leverage that existing relationship in order to meet new contacts. This is the easiest way to gain new contacts.
  4. Stay late. A lot happens after the scheduled meeting is over. Those who hang around tend to be more open and share more freely in their discussions. This can provide an inside track on potential projects or opportunities.

I’m a firm believer in the power of networking. I feel that if you combine a good physical network of contacts with a functioning electronic network of them, you’ll have the basis for a well-oiled, lead-generating machine. Finding business opportunities should be a primary goal that all companies share. Without leads, there aren’t sales. Without sales, there aren’t projects. Without projects, there aren’t contractors. Continually priming your network will result in a steady stream of leads and prospects. Undervaluing the power of networking can not only be shortsighted but may result in your business’ decline. Forcing a “cold call first” mentality displays a dated sales approach. It also reveals a weakness in network development. With the increase in communication and social connection, it is far easier to find as well as secure sales leads than it ever was.

The final piece of the networking puzzle is this: Be sure to follow up on the information you secured at the networking event. This, of course, is assuming you gained some information. What good is information that you never act upon? It happens all the time. Taking the time to make the phone calls and get the appointments is where the real rubber meets the road.

Not turning networking information into business is inexcusable. The discipline to attend networking events must be followed by the discipline of acting upon the results. A healthy sales effort includes between four to eight networking events per month. That’s roughly 50 per year! I find it hard to believe that kind of networking commitment will not produce results. As a matter of fact, I know it will because I do it myself. The results have been impressive, and it will always be a part of my sales regimen.

How’s your network producing?

Tom Woodcock, president, seal the deal, is a speaker and trainer for the construction industry nationwide and is author of “You’re Not Sellin’, They’re Buyin’!” He can be reached through his website, www.tomwoodcocksealthedeal.com or at 314-775-9217.

Build Brand Love by Taking it Up a Notch from Good to Great Marketing

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BY STEPHANIE WOODCOCK

Stephanie Woodcock

Companies hire marketing firms for many reasons. Some are obvious. They want to freshen their brand, broaden market awareness, increase lead generation, drive sales and “take it up a notch.” Many times companies decide to reach out for help in marketing when they want to gain a foothold in a new market, have an upcoming anniversary, notice a drop-off in sales or need a whole new brand and direction. While all these goals and needs are important, there is no “silver bullet” marketing technique that will stun the customer base into handing over their business. Before results can be measured, we need to step back and evaluate why we want those results. What is our real motive and measure of success?

Effective marketing requires a “long game” approach, where both parties sit down and assess the big picture and long-term goals before diving into the details. It’s more than listing sales goals and last year’s YTD numbers. It’s about asking key questions such as the following:

  • How does my company’s brand, big or small, make a difference and impact in the world?
  • How does my company’s vision align with the vision of my employees and my company’s culture?
  • What does my brand provide customers and employees beyond a product or service?

Answering these macro-level questions is the start of building Brand Love. Surprisingly, many times a mission statement is just words on a wall, not a company culture and daily vision. Brand Love embodies that mission statement with a sense of purpose and connects employees and customers around that purpose.

Brand Love is when a customer experiences a bond with a company’s values and mission through its messages. This is marketing at its best. It’s when the message goes beyond selling and connects clients to the real reason and vision of that company’s driving goals.

Brand Love is achieved by building on brand loyalty and can be accomplished through a variety of marketing objectives. This is where the marketing professional can dive into the details.

Good marketing helps create brand loyalty. Many companies have a good, solid marketing plan that helped gain a loyal following. Great marketing helps create Brand Love. Fewer companies achieve this kind of recognition. Brand loyalty is when customers trust your services and reward you with their repeat business. Brand Love engages the clients, tells a story and offers a clear, concise vision that is more than a product or offering. It creates a partnership with its customers and enables trust, security and hope in its brand. This keeps a customer for life and protects against the commoditization of the company’s product or the clients coming and going with a particular salesperson.

This is a good indicator whether or not a company has achieved Brand Love. If a key salesperson leaves a company and takes much of his or her book of business, then that company hasn’t done a good job at creating a partnership and trust with its clients.

Building Brand Love requires more than bullet points on a sell sheet. It requires a vision that aligns with the goals and internal culture of the company and a vision that is consistent, transparent and relevant. No touch point is too small to build Brand Love and tell the company’s story.

One exercise I conducted with a client helped differentiate between brand loyalty and Brand Love. As a team, we came up with 10 different touch points or marketing techniques to unroll our recent campaign, such as lunch and learn sessions, sales flyers, social media, event engagement and electronic blasts and contests. Each one of these techniques was designed to provide helpful information about our product and would help create brand loyalty.

Then we created two columns and explained exactly what we wanted to achieve through that technique and how each would create both brand loyalty and Brand Love. This exercise was really helpful in showing the difference between the two. It forced us to look beyond the obvious marketing tool and “take it up a notch.” One is based on logic – on features and benefits. The other is based on emotion – on engagement and instilling a sense of purpose. The insight gained through this exercise was immediate. Now with each new marketing objective and message, we think first about what we can do to make it a little better and increase our Brand Love. It’s taking the marketing techniques from good to great.

The overall goal is still achieved. We broaden our market awareness and increase our lead generation, but we also deliver our message with an extra level of care. We try to surprise and delight our customers rather than just promote or sell to them. While it may not be the “silver bullet” of marketing, Brand Love safeguards against commoditization, creates a community with the client base and adds to overall long-term goals.

Stephanie Woodcock is president of Seal the Deal Too, a St. Louis-based marketing, creative & communications firm. She can be reached at stephanie@sealthedealtoo.com .

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Contractors: Did You Know That Your Whole Company is Selling?   

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Tom Woodcock

Sales is an all-inclusive, company-wide effort. Anyone having direct or indirect contact with the customer influences the customer’s buying experience. Failure to demonstrate value in virtually any area of the company can cause the customer to head in another direction. Departments such as accounts receivable, reception or even transportation (drivers) play a bigger role than many companies realize. Direct contact positions such as project management and estimating can acutely affect the customer experience. In construction, so much of the focus is on the project itself. The scope, schedule and costs are at the forefront. What can be lost in the details is what the customer is feeling throughout the project. Not having the sales skills to handle customer personnel may mean the company’s front-end sales efforts have been in vain, and prolong the endless cycle of having to be low bidder. That’s if the relationship isn’t damaged to the point of elimination from the bid list.

Taking the time to train all company personnel in relation to their role in the sales process accomplishes at least three key objectives:

  1. Creates a Company Sales Culture – Many companies sell but few have an actual sales culture. A company-wide sales culture is an understanding that sales are the most important aspect of any business. Cultivating and protecting customer relations is a top priority. The desire to meet and exceed customer expectations permeates all departments and personnel. This ensures the customer will feel well served and appreciated. All staff responsibilities are measured against the ultimate impact on the sales experience each and every customer has.
  2. Breeds a Unified Team – If everyone is pointed in the same sales direction with the same sales focus, a sense of achieving a common goal is realized. Staff members hold each other accountable and encourage one another. Sales and administrative personnel respect each other’s role. Employees become more supportive of each member’s role, knowing the sales success of the company is at stake. Understanding this affects everyone’s financial position.
  3. Instills Customer Confidence – Customers notice the sales cohesiveness of the company and feel they are being taken care of. Though basic in nature, trust and security are a big part of the sales experience. The more consistent the communication is company-wide, the more secure the customer base will remain. Customers entrust the company with their projects and funding. Consistency is the core of sales trust.

The strength of a company’s overall sales effort can make the difference between strong and weak profitability, growing and flat revenue and large or small market share. These are the drivers of business success. Having an entire company that understands the critical nature of sales and respects the role each person plays is exceptional. I rarely see it in my travels, but I have witnessed it in the construction industry. Contractors who engage in these practices reach high levels of sales success. Many achieve it for generations. An authentic sales culture becomes more than just the company culture; it establishes a firm’s corporate identity. This becomes the company to beat, the contractor no one wants to bid against. When that company is spotted on a bid list, competitors drop off and choose not to bid. These are the elite contractors. Sales excellence permeates project performance, estimating and vendor relations. It is not a stretch to link a strong sales culture to virtually every aspect of the business.

Finally, a strong sales culture can drastically influence your marketing results. Marketing in itself cannot become a sales effort. However, a marketing message embraced by a staff well trained and educated on the importance of sales goes a long way. Employees reinforce that marketing message when speaking with customers and even go out of their way to communicate it and this can magnify the overall marketing campaign, gaining greater reach and penetration for the firm. The thought that your marketing isn’t working because your internal staff doesn’t perceive the sales value is a foreign concept to most contractors. It would be like working for Apple, supporting Apple’s marketing campaign but buying a Samsung for your personal use. That one sale makes a difference, small but real. A staff that understands the importance of each customer – and even more so, each sale – will embrace the marketing message.

Making sure team members are aware of the role each plays in the sales process is an indicator of a company with a mature sales culture. Most will think it’s trivial and do nothing to improve the climate. They’ll continue to irritate the customer base and wonder why they have to fight for every project, often placing the blame on the customer. It’s not that they don’t want results; they simply won’t invest the time or resources for the training. Those companies that do will create an edge very few will be able to compete against.

 

   Tom Woodcock, president, seal the deal, is a speaker and trainer for the construction industry nationwide and is author of “You’re Not Sellin’, They’re Buyin’!” He can be reached through his website, www.tomwoodcocksealthedeal.com or at 314-775-9217.

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