| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Happy Hunting!
Before you ever get on the telephone, send a marketing piece or set up an appointment with a potential customer, you must first identify whom that customer might be. To do that, you will need to create an "ideal customer profile"-a profile of who would be the best possible prospect for you and whatever you are selling. Be very specific. You are creating the model to which you will match all prospects. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to find those prospects. Look at the entire demographics, location or target region, revenues, number of employees, specific industries and, especially, the title of the decision-maker. If you are in the consumer market, look at age, income level, marital status, interests... whatever might be relevant. Once you have an ideal customer profile (and, by the way-you could have several different ideal customer profiles with a different approach for each), go to the library and tell the librarian exactly what you are looking for. She can probably tell you exactly where to find it-for free. At the library they have association directories, trade journals, business directories? You can also join associations in related industries where you might find prospects. This will provide you with valuable networking opportunities, along with a membership directory. If you do not want to join an association, contact them anyway; sometimes associations sell their membership directories. You can do the same thing with trade publications in related industries. They sometimes sell their subscriber lists. Your local chamber of commerce is also a good place to look for leads. And one of my favorite resources is the telephone book! Looking for prospects in a particular industry in your neighborhood? Open up the business yellow pages. There are online resources as well, such as http://www.hoovers.com, although there is generally a fee associated with these. The last resource for finding leads is to rent a list. Find a broker with whom you are comfortable-someone who listens to your needs, is knowledgeable and helpful. And be specific about your parameters. The list broker acts as a liaison between you and the list owner. The broker works for you. You can also rent lists from list owners (i.e., companies or organizations that own their own in-house lists) or from list managers who are hired by list owners to manage and market their lists. Lists are generally rented on a one-time basis. If you rent a list and turn a prospect into a client, that client then becomes part of your in-house list or database (which, later, you can rent out!). Because I almost never rent lists, I have asked Amanda Puppo, CEO of MarketReach, Inc., a New Jersey-based company focusing on appointment setting, list qualification and surveys, to give us her advice on renting a list. Amanda says: 1. Shop competitively on price, but remember that you want a source that will deliver what's promised and a broker that will be resourceful in helping you target your list. 2. You should (affordably) get the following "selects" on each "record": owner/president, address, phone number, fax number and often the staff size and sales volume, if you are going after businesses. If you are targeting individuals, you can get information like homeowner/renter status, marital status and income. 3. A good list company updates their lists at least once a quarter. The best ones do so once a month. People move. Companies go out of business. Situations change. A good list allows you to spend your time productively on qualified information. A company that only updates records once a year (especially in the personal/individual market) may not have the most recent information, which will limit your success. 4. The good news is that a targeted list of approximately 500 companies should cost no more than a few hundred dollars. The more records you purchase, the less the cost of each individual record. Each record will cost you between 15 and 90 cents, depending on how comprehensive the information. You can reach Amanda by email at Amanda@marketreach.biz or by phone at (609) 448-6364. Happy hunting! Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling & Selling Success," is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, Cold Calling College, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy's free e-zine at http://www.wendyweiss.com. © 2004 Wendy Weiss
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Eliminate Your Competitors With 2 Simple Steps In business, having competitors goes with the territory. There's almost always someone selling the same product or service you are selling, or at least trying to solve the same customer problem you solve. What Can Star Wars Teach You About Creating a Buzz for Your Business? Many people think marketing is some type of mystery that only a few select people know the secret too. In fact if you look at the entertainment industry you will find some of the best models to follow. Knock, knock. Whos There? Your Target Market, Are You Listening? Have you ever had a conversation with a person who wasn't listening to anything you said? This one-way communication experience is a big turn-off and many times frustrating to cope with at the time. Is this occurring in your marketing? Oops, no one wants to think of their business as turning a deaf ear to their market. How You Can Make Money From Competitors Easy Are you market products and services using PPCs? PPC Advertising is one of the fastest and easiest ways to get visitors, capture email addresses and make sales. However, I am sure not every campaign you created are profitable. Send Postcards To Save Money and Cut Through E-mail Clutter Use your computer to send personalized color postcards in quantities of 1 to 1,000.Print on demand postcards are here. The Most Powerful Marketing Weapon Ever Invented It was probably first discovered out there in the caves or wherever else the history of mankind begun. And yet this weapon has been used so sparingly over the centuries. Large One? Here's a proven, and truly easy way to start increasing your sales, immediately.All you need to do is add these 2 words to your selling system, and you're good to go. Distinguish Your Business From The Competition You followed time-honored online marketing techniques to the letter: you have a great web site, the site has a high search engine rank, and you created a compelling marketing message that showcases your unique selling proposition. Unfortunately, your competitors are reading the same playbook and are implementing the same marketing strategies. Incestuous Relationship Between Football and Marketing Thousands eyes were fixed. Hearts were beating hard against the chests. Meaning and Marketing - The Hurricane I step outside my back door and look at some large limbs lying on the ground. They are all dead. Attract More Clients by Raising Your Profile One of the most common issues I'm asked about is how to raise the profile of a business to attract more clients.This is an important issue no matter how small or large your business may be. The Biggest Problem With Your Marketing Is...? What is the biggest problem most marketers have? Who knows. We don't, and they certainly don't either. Why Your Sales Copy Should Be Written As If It Will Never Be Read At All! What is enthusiasm?Well, consulting good ol' Mr. Webster, you could stake a claim that enthusiasm is "an absorbing possession of the mind by an interest, study, or pursuit; [an] ardent interest. A Questionnaire for Businesses As best you can, answer the following twenty-five questions. There's no scoring. How To Make More Money The biggest crime in small businesses today goes unnoticed by most outsiders. It is not reported in the media. How Effective Customer Surveys Will Help Innovate Your Business Have you ever wondered why the phones aren't ringing the way they should? Or maybe sales are flat and you're not achieving the revenue and profit targets you set for your business. There's one sure-fire way to uncover the problems to get your company back on track. Guide to a Profitable Marketing Mix You may have heard the term Marketing Mix used in connection with marketing planning.Marketing Mix means the combination of promotions, products, places (distribution channels), and prices you chose for your business. Tips For Developing An Effective Questionnaire Developing the questionnaire is undoubtedly the most important part of conducting a survey. The quality of the questions will determine the quality of the results and the effectiveness of your survey. Growing Your Business With Your Marketing Priorities None of us have enough time in the day to get everything done, but small business owners and entrepreneurs like you are particularly pressed. You wear so many hats; there is a seemingly infinite list of tasks to accomplish each day, from providing services to clients, managing product distribution and delivery, to keeping accounting in order. The Power of Thank You Sometimes we loose site of the small things in life that are incredibly important. As a child growing up in America, most people are taught from a very young age to say Thank You in appreciation of a courtesy extended by someone.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
