Author: Paul Tagent

My tips on how to make the dreaded cold call

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Like many areas of business, to be successful a great deal is to do with planning. Have you done your homework? Do you know the prospects’ name, job title, role within the organisation, areas of responsibility, business sector, email address and correct phone number – direct line is a bonus? In that case, you are pretty much ready to pick up the phone and dial…


This is not the best way to prepare!

However, before doing so, there are some very beneficial little habits I have included in my routine that I feel give me a better chance of getting that all important meeting. These are confident building steps and little personal elements that I am going to share with you. I know cold calling is a nasty initiative, but I never see cold calling as a numbers game. The people I contact are relevant and I truly believe I can add value to their business. This makes me feel positive before I start! I appreciate that cold calling makes people nervous and rejection rates are high so don’t laugh at the next paragraph!

1) I always make my calls in an empty office or room. This may sound obvious, but you never want to be overheard or have the possibility of being interrupted. If you work from home and have a family, wait for them to go out!
2) I always stand up. This actually makes me more alert and able to move about. Sitting down might seem relaxing, but it is far easier to be aggressive or defensive if you are in one place.
3) Smile. This is pretty much industry standard, but a smile projects the correct mood in your voice and, believe it or not, a good, positive smile can be heard down a telephone!

4) I have been known to play a song from i tunes in the background and sing to it as I dial. This actually makes me happy and feel like the call is going to be a positive one.

My next post will be about the call itself such as, DON’T start with “how are you?” Always say who you are and your role clearly. So many cold calls that I receive just go straight into the sales pitch following a “how are you” opener. The person on the other end of the phone will most likely receive loads of these calls so concentrate on what you can do for them and why.

I hope this little snippet from Bath Marketing Consultancy helps.



What are links?

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(If you are reading this from my Twitter post, well done, this is what link building is all about!)

Basically, a link is a word, phrase or image that people can click on in order to be taken to your website. The more genuine links you have coming into your site, the better, especially if they are one way links. But why should other sites link to you? Perhaps you have great content that their visitors would find of interest or you host a great  video, you are offering some sort of give away or even a free report. Either way, the people most likely to link to you will not be competitors, but more likely businesses that compliment your business in some way. For example, a site about fitness might be linked to a site dedicated to sports or nutrition. If you find a site that links to your competitors, ask the site owner to link to you.

You can also create links yourself – for example in a Blog like this or a directory or maybe even online press release sites. BUT be very careful of Black Hat link building as this will have an adverse effect. For the same reason avoid buying links.

If you need some help with this side of search engine marketing, please get in touch with me via my website…

Why outsource?

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When you stop and think about just how much is involved with marketing, you may stop and ask yourself how can you possibly do it all yourself. The answer is that you can’t. Not on your own and especially if you want to cover all your other responsibilities. This is where outsourcing comes in. While you might think this is just a way of paying someone else to do something you might be able to do, don’t. Outsourcing is the best way to bring in an expert to do the jobs that you are either not very good at or simply don’t have time to do.

One of the many reasons why it makes sense to outsource is that it will let you take advantage of the principle that 80 per cent of your value comes from 20 per cent of what you do. If you can put more effort into that 20 per cent, you’ll be able to bring in someone else to do the other tasks you are shedding. As a small business, the temptation to do everything yourself is great especially as outsourcing will normally mean a cost, but don’t forget specialists will actually save you time and money in the long run. In addition, in areas like marketing, a specialist will be able to open doors for you that will bring in business actually helping your business grow and actually make you money.

Outsourcing is all about bringing in the right person or people to do a job that you don’t have the skills to do effectively yourself. In my opinion, outsourcing is a positive step in business as it means that you have identified a possible weakness in your business plan and brought in someone who can turn it into a strength; adding value to the process.

What can be outsourced:

Accounting services
IT support
Marketing
Phone answering
Logo design + other graphic design projects
Website design
Search engine optimization
Copy writing
Producing audio or video
Surveys
PR + promotion

Whatever you outsource, you must find someone who is right for you and your business who cannot only do the job you need, but can do it at the right price. To start the ball rolling, right down exactly what you want and do some research. Maybe ask other people who they use, or use search engines to find what you want. For example, if you want “marketing advice Bath“, put that phrase into Google and see who comes up top – Bath Marketing Consultancy!

Your radio advertising check list

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From my Twitter post today. The 5 “i’s” that make up a successful radio campaign are:

  1. Involvement – will it draw in listeners?
  2. Identity – will listeners know who the ad is about?
  3. Impression – will listeners get the right impression of the brand?
  4. Information – will the listener understand what the ad is saying?
  5. Integration – if the ad is part of a wider campaign, will the listener make the connection?

 As with ads that run in the press, it may be possible to haggle on the price of radio advertising and my suggestion is to get a price based on the potential of long running campaign.

Don’t ignore ‘old’ media

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Don’t ignore traditional media

I think it is pretty evident that new media gets all the credit in marketing these days; after all, there is something very sexy about having a great website, having your own blog and being on top of social media. However, don’t forget the power of the old guard such as newspapers, trade press, radio, tv or even the really humble media such as posters and leaflets. These are extremely effective marketing tools and the fact that lots of businesses are ignoring them may well provide you and your business with a great opportunity.

In my opinion, employing a mix of old and new media can really boost your marketing and push you ahead of your competitors.

When you have decided on your image and USP, every message you send in any form must reflect these. This includes the way you communication on paper – for instance:

Letterhead
Business cards
Invoices
Mailing labels
Brochures & flyers
Catalogues
Press releases
Compliment slips
Signage

You may not automatically assume that some of the above are marketing tools, but each one creates an impression of your business. Sometimes, a business card can create a lasting impression (I am just re doing mine!) and the logo, style, font, etc must be consistent.

Even if you consider yourself creative, I would always suggest you get a marketing company to do it for you!

Blogs & how to use one

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Do you blog? As you probably know, a blog is an online site in diary form. The most typical blog is one that has articles that are posted periodically with the newest appearing at the top of the page; above the previous one. There are also static pages like the about us or profile pages that provide information about the site owner. A blog can also link to other blogs and/or websites, display a calendar of events & many other features. In fact, blogs are so versatile that they sometime replace actual websites.

There are millions of blogs out there in numerous formats and maintaining a blog requires considerable work and effort. However, if the content is relevant and interesting to read, blogs can rapidly become new business tools as well as a great PR tool for the owner.

I use my blog as a way of demonstrating my market (or marketing!) knowledge; a sort of reputation management tool that I hope helps my readers. I have installed analytics to my blog so I know where readers come from and how long they spend on the blog. I have also linked up both my blogs for link building purposes.

However you use your blog, here are some functions that it can perform:

1.keep customers up to date with your latest offerings
2.help establish a dialogue with customers, especially if you allow customers to leave comments
3.provide a platform for you to inform people of developments within your business – although a “news” section on your website can also perform this function
4.raise your profile as an expert in your field
5.list other sites with which you are associated – Twitter, Linkedin etc
6.it can even bring in revenue by allowing adverts to appear on it or by asking people to subscribe to it

As you have probably gathered, I love blogs, but don’t start one unless you can maintain it. If need be, enlist the help of someone who can help you write content and someone to help you optimise and link it. Every little helps!!

How to open doors

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Open that door!
In order for a business to grow, clients need to buy from you. Don’t expect many clients or prospects to buy straight away or to beat a path to your door in the early stages, but stick with it and you will reap the rewards. Similarly, most buyer surveys suggest that buying decisions are highly rational processes following elaborate scouting of the offers, the study of marketing material, the personal recommendations or even initiatives like social media.
Therefore, you must make sure that your company image is one that differentiates yourself from others and that your own marketing speaks volumes.

I write numerous posts on how to get your marketing ducks in a row – see this post for example – and how to give your business the best chance of success, but, what is it that attracts a prospect to stop, look and listen? Here are a few ideas you could use:

Offer a report on some original research – Who can resist free information? However, in order to be effective, the research must be original and new. Your prospect will most likely be in a better position than you regarding their knowledge of their sector so don’t tell him/her something they already know.

An in-depth analysis of his/her market – Similar to the above, but this is about having some sort of information that reveals your intellectual capacity. PR and literature are the most suitable vehicles to carry this.

Invitation to participate in research – This will depend on a number of factors, but, if the subject matter is relevant, the results made available and it brings him into contact with peers in his sector, it is likely that the prospect will participate. Flattery is quite key to this!

A critique of his activities – Obviously this can go straight to his heart! Be careful, but outline/highlight where the prospect could make improvements.  For example, in my  10 minute 121 meetings at networking, I concentrate very hard on adding value to peoples’ current marketing; giving them tips on how to get the most from areas like direct mail.

Are you a leader in your field? If you can truly substantiate that you are an expert, the prospect should be listening to you. You don’t need to be the biggest or even the best, but having extensive experience in his area will be of great value. Bath Marketing Consultancy does this in relation to the legal and retail sectors.

Exploit uncertainty – Deep down many clients fear exploitation i.e. “Am I being ripped off by Agency X?” “Am I the person paying for the MD’s new car and the businesses new swanky offices?” If you know information about their current supplier like a change in personnel or their costing structure, you can use it and it would take a very self assured client to turn a deaf ear to the information.

These are just a few of the techniques you could employ to open a door. Try one or try them all and then let me know how it went.

Spreading the word.

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There are numerous ways that you can get your message out to potential customers, but the main ones are advertising & PR. I know that online is a huge area, but, in this instance I am grouping advertising together as advertising encompasses TV, radio, magazines, local press, billboards, leaflets, Blogs, podcasts, social media, public speaking, networking etc etc.
In this post, let’s look at getting your message out via advertising. In my opinion, one of the key aims of advertising is to get word of mouth marketing. I posted on Twitter recently that 53% of online traffic at the moment comes via WOM. When your satisfied customers tell others how great you are and suggest that they also use your product or service, that’s pretty much the best kind of publicity you can get!

To get this process started and before anyone can talk about your business, they need to know about it and this is where the initiatives mentioned above come into play. Sometimes, this can come from a YouTube video, sometimes it can come from social media and/or traditional advertising in a local paper or it can even come from giving out samples in the high street. It almost doesn’t matter how it get’s started; it matters that it does get started.
Do you know when people are most motivated to tell others about you? This might shock you, but it is right after they have bought or made a purchase.
Here are just some suggestions on how to spread the word:
Offer customers a reward for doing so; maybe a coupon for the contact details of 3 friends who might have a similar need to them.
Add a ‘tell a friend’ or ‘share’ button to your website or Blog.
Create space for them to talk. i.e. adding some sort of forum to your website.
Maybe introduce some sort of limited edition label to what you do.
Create a club that gives benefits to members.

Whatever you decide to do, people will always talk about the outstanding or unusual!

You have a brand whether you like it or not!

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Whether you want them to or not, it is highly likely that your business is associated with certain characteristics. It is therefore, up to you to ensure that your customers remember these characteristics for the right reasons. 

They must remember your quality as a business and/or the range of benefits that sets you apart from the competition. If people do not associate you with

anything memorable or particular, your business will be part of the sea or mediocrity where a high amount of other businesses can be found.When you or what you are doing is outstanding or different, the media will pick up on it; sometimes without any effort from you.

Don’t forget that placing loads of emphasis, resources, money and energy on your logo will not make your business stand out. You need to have a distinctive product or service. Logos and slogans can help, but are no substitute for a genuine USP. Once you have done this, you can even “own” your colour or slogan such as the red in Coca-Cola!With the foundations laid, it is time to reach out to your customers…….

Leads – where are they and who are they?

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Just where do you start looking for leads?! How do you qualify them? How to quantify them? Try and use the Qx2 method – Qualify = ensure that they are in the target group to buy from you; Quantify = has their organisation the budget i.e is the suspect you are looking at an actual prospect?

Not these leads!
This all might sound a bit over the top and scientific, but there is no point in tapping a potential piece of business and allocating time and energy to the sales and marketing process if they do not follow the Qx2 rule.
So……where to start? Constructing a wish list is not difficult in the early stages of business. After all, you know your market, you read the trade press and/or papers etc. But remember, the list must be reasonably long so as to give yourself a broad target to aim at and to allow for the probable high volume of non effective contacts that you are bound to face on your first attempt. In my opinion quality is better than quantity, but you can never have too many leads.
From bitter experience the early fear of the prospecting process can quickly be replaced by the need for more leads as your initial list shrinks! Therefore, do not discount purchasing a list/database from a reputable company. In addition, many leads are available from directories like Free Index or UK Small Business Directory (are you listed on these directories?!). In addition, use networking (4Networking preferably!) and keep your eyes open as you travel around – good prospects are everywhere!

Once you have got your list, dedicate real quality time to your own marketing. Get your brand right; get your website right and get your marketing material right and there will be no stopping you!