by Howard Fireman
This is the first of an ongoing series of articles on marketing, which will explore the most important considerations business owners must take into account, when laying out and executing a marketing plan for their companies. Along the way, we will define marketing. We will also look at pricing and credit strategies and consider how to use business communications (advertising, sponsorships, special events, publicity) to put a company out before the public. We will also dedicate an article to going global and to e-commerce marketing.
To start off the series, we will focus on network marketing, which constitutes one of the most commonly used strategies to market one's company. The focus will be on the goals that individuals in business should set for themselves as they use network marketing to build their client/customer base.
This is the first of an ongoing series of articles on marketing, which will explore the most important considerations business owners must take into account, when laying out and executing a marketing plan for their companies. Along the way, we will define marketing. We will also look at pricing and credit strategies and consider how to use business communications (advertising, sponsorships, special events, publicity) to put a company out before the public. We will also dedicate an article to going global and to e-commerce marketing.
To start off the series, we will focus on network marketing, which constitutes one of the most commonly used strategies to market one's company. The focus will be on the goals that individuals in business should set for themselves as they use network marketing to build their client/customer base.
This article will not lay out 10 or 12 strategies for network marketing, which can easily be found in numerous articles out there on the internet. However, we would like to provide you with some useful management articles on network marketing. For a list of web pages with practical strategies for network marketing, click on the link below.
http://businessnewsarchive.blogspot.com/2010/06/online-sources-for-utilizing-network.html
Marketing. At the very heart and soul of any business are marketing activities. "Marketing management is one of the major components of business management." (Wikipedia - Marketing)
We need to be on the same page as to what the word, marketing, means. So let's start out with a very clear definition. Wikipedia provides a very thorough definition: "Marketing - Marketing is the process by which companies determine what products or services may be of interest to customers and clients,and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development..."(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing ) I encourage you to read through the entire definition, by clicking on this link. The full scope of information about what marketing entails and the strategies a company can pursue are complex and varied. This reality demands that a business owner has to fully understand the idea of marketing and to devote considerable thought about what goes into the marketing plan for his or her company, to be an effective marketing manager.
Please answer the following questions.
Question 1: Network Marketing should primarily focus on:
- Getting new customers and immediate sales
- Making new business connections
Question 2: If you meet a prospective client at a business mixer and you schedule an appointment with that person, you can expect to make a sale...
- At the first appointment with that person
- At the second appointment with that person
- After that person has gotten to know you and has determined that he or she wants to do business with you. This may take awhile to happen.
How did you answer these questions? The common wisdom about network marketing suggests that the best answer to Question 1 is Answer 2. Also that the best answer to Question 2 is Answer 3. Does this surprise you?
If you look at the numbers, studies show that on average, 70% of new business is gained through referrals or relationship marketing. Potential clients buy from people they know, like and trust. The refer their friends and acquaintances to service and product providers... you know what's coming... whom they know, like and trust. So it should be no particular surprise that the real objective of going to a business mixer is to make new business connections.
The reality is that at a networking event, you have three possible outcomes in connecting with other business people there:
If you look at the numbers, studies show that on average, 70% of new business is gained through referrals or relationship marketing. Potential clients buy from people they know, like and trust. The refer their friends and acquaintances to service and product providers... you know what's coming... whom they know, like and trust. So it should be no particular surprise that the real objective of going to a business mixer is to make new business connections.
The reality is that at a networking event, you have three possible outcomes in connecting with other business people there:
- You are looking to acquire a new client
- You are looking to connect with a potential referral partner
- You are looking for a potential deal partner.
Whatever the outcome, the connection is a win-win proposition for both parties.
This reality really shows that when we set out to establish new business connections, the goal is for these to become long-term connections. The hope is that these connections may become clients and/or repetitive residual business referral partners. So effectively each new connection becomes an investment asset. That means staying in contact with each new connection. Phone calls, emails, letters, holiday cards, meeting over coffee or lunch. It also means finding out something about that individual and personalizing those points of contact in the future. There is the implied expectation that you will have to invest time in building an enduring relationship, without any expectation of a return on your investment. Of course this seems absolutely counter-intuitive. Almost altruistic generosity? Yes. But the payoff comes in time, because the people with whom you connect, in time, will seek you out for services and goods because (here we go again) they know you, they like you and they trust you. Not very original, I know. But nevertheless, very true.
Ray Reid, a property assessor for Harris County here in Texas, tells a story about when he was in sales a few years back. He was trying to get business from a particular fellow. He got to know the fellow pretty well. Ray spent time at this businessman's home and Ray and his wife entertained this fellow and his wife as well. Nothing happened for over a year. One day Ray and this fellow were playing a round of golf. That day, Ray really wanted to pitch his product, but said nothing during the golf game, allowing his golfing partner to fully enjoy the afternoon. At the end of the match, as the man was putting away his clubs, he turned to Ray and said, "Ray. I really like you. Stop by my office tomorrow. I think we can do business together." It took over a year for Ray to get that account. But he did.
In reality, we do not need to be at a mixer to carry out network marketing. We can strike up a conversation with the person next to us on a business flight. We can be talking to family or friends. Possibilities for making business connections can take place wherever and whenever we happen to be. There are really effective strategies for turning an accidental encounter into a genuine business connection opportunity.
In reality, we do not need to be at a mixer to carry out network marketing. We can strike up a conversation with the person next to us on a business flight. We can be talking to family or friends. Possibilities for making business connections can take place wherever and whenever we happen to be. There are really effective strategies for turning an accidental encounter into a genuine business connection opportunity.
We know that sales is a numbers game. This is no less true with regard to network marketing. The object is to build as big a base of business connections as it is possible to do. We have marvelous tools and new strategies for doing just that. There is great new software that enables us to track and keep in contact with business connections today very efficiently. Online social networking enables us to let many of our contacts know what is going on with us and for us to know what is going on with them, without making a phone call or sending an email. The more connections we make and sustain, the greater the number of referrals we will get. And because this is a reciprocal arrangement, we are likewise sending referrals all the time to our trusted connections. We may even be carrying their business cards so that when someone says they are in the need of a CPA or an event planner, we can immediately hand out our connection's card. That way, we are holding up our end of the bargain.
Setting Working Goals as a Network Marketer
We understand the basic ground rules for networking. Now we must set practical goals for ourselves. We must also be aware of the pitfalls we face in attempting to be an effective network marketer.
For anyone in business, time is limited. So when we set out to increase our circle of business connections, we have to keep in mind that we will need to regularly keep in contact with everyone in our network of connections. That means we cannot realistically establish 100 connections a day. Or even 5-10 connections a day. But realistically as individuals, we can connect with 1 or 2 people every day, and over time build a working relationship with each of them.
So the first goal is to establish a manageable number of new business relationships everyday. For a factory rep or a sales rep, that may translate into 1 to 2 business connections a day. A company can set the goals to growing the base of business connections, according to the resources that it can dedicate to communicating on a regular basis with these connections.
But we are not in business only to build business relationships. Ultimately anyone in business has to get new clients. One must generate new sales to keep a company financially healthy and to enable the company to grow larger and stronger
As we build a network of connections, we need to convert the referrals we get into new clients and into new sales. We must take this new client base and employ marketing strategies that will deliver residual sales from these very same clients.
For any marketing representative or company, the second marketing goal is to add a manageable number of new clients to the client base every week. Also, once new clients are acquired, a critical goal is to generate a certain volume of sales from these clients within a set time frame.
Keep in mind, that once one gains a new client, one must be able to schedule the time to properly service that client's needs. A marketing rep or a company can grow the client base too quickly and subsequently the quality of the services he or she provides seriously deteriorates. No sales person can afford to lose a client or gain a reputation for providing poor or unresponsive service.
There is another possibility for a company which allows the client base to grow too quickly. That company can experience a cash flow shortfall that is severe enough to put the company out of business, if the marketing management does not make almost immediate strategy corrections.
The third goal is to make personal generosity the central quality of making and sustaining a business connection. What you give in terms of listening, caring and being attentive to the goals of a business connection are ultimately more important that what you receive in exchange. Forget about quid pro quo. Treat a new business connection as a long-term investment. Don't worry about what the quarterly ROI turns out to be. Focus more on the long-term ROI.
A special note about networking online through email, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Used properly, these sites and email can be very effective if you exercise good time management. However, unchecked, online networking can suck up huge amounts of time away from more important activities such as sales presentations, closing deals or developing important marketing strategy. In the case of self-employed providers of business services, marketing online can severely eat into billable time or face-to-face marketing opportunities.
A Summation
Setting Working Goals as a Network Marketer
We understand the basic ground rules for networking. Now we must set practical goals for ourselves. We must also be aware of the pitfalls we face in attempting to be an effective network marketer.
For anyone in business, time is limited. So when we set out to increase our circle of business connections, we have to keep in mind that we will need to regularly keep in contact with everyone in our network of connections. That means we cannot realistically establish 100 connections a day. Or even 5-10 connections a day. But realistically as individuals, we can connect with 1 or 2 people every day, and over time build a working relationship with each of them.
So the first goal is to establish a manageable number of new business relationships everyday. For a factory rep or a sales rep, that may translate into 1 to 2 business connections a day. A company can set the goals to growing the base of business connections, according to the resources that it can dedicate to communicating on a regular basis with these connections.
But we are not in business only to build business relationships. Ultimately anyone in business has to get new clients. One must generate new sales to keep a company financially healthy and to enable the company to grow larger and stronger
As we build a network of connections, we need to convert the referrals we get into new clients and into new sales. We must take this new client base and employ marketing strategies that will deliver residual sales from these very same clients.
For any marketing representative or company, the second marketing goal is to add a manageable number of new clients to the client base every week. Also, once new clients are acquired, a critical goal is to generate a certain volume of sales from these clients within a set time frame.
Keep in mind, that once one gains a new client, one must be able to schedule the time to properly service that client's needs. A marketing rep or a company can grow the client base too quickly and subsequently the quality of the services he or she provides seriously deteriorates. No sales person can afford to lose a client or gain a reputation for providing poor or unresponsive service.
There is another possibility for a company which allows the client base to grow too quickly. That company can experience a cash flow shortfall that is severe enough to put the company out of business, if the marketing management does not make almost immediate strategy corrections.
The third goal is to make personal generosity the central quality of making and sustaining a business connection. What you give in terms of listening, caring and being attentive to the goals of a business connection are ultimately more important that what you receive in exchange. Forget about quid pro quo. Treat a new business connection as a long-term investment. Don't worry about what the quarterly ROI turns out to be. Focus more on the long-term ROI.
A special note about networking online through email, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Used properly, these sites and email can be very effective if you exercise good time management. However, unchecked, online networking can suck up huge amounts of time away from more important activities such as sales presentations, closing deals or developing important marketing strategy. In the case of self-employed providers of business services, marketing online can severely eat into billable time or face-to-face marketing opportunities.
A Summation
By being generous, by focusing on how we can help our business connections to succeed in their endeavors, we gain allies, referral partners, partners in business deals and a few lifetime friends. We gain a good name for ourselves. We are able to make a difference in the world. And because we are looking out for the folks in our connection network, we gain an entire community of business associates who are looking out for us as well. Our success is always less dependent on how talented or clever we are than on the support, encouragement and business referrals that come from our network of business connections.
This is probably not what you expected to be reading in this column. You still need to develop the skills in presenting your products and services. You still need to be able to close the sale. But you would probably not have had as many opportunities to make your sales presentations if the prospective clients had not been referred to you in the first place. Those referrals came from the very people whom you cultivated as business connections and the clients whom you served in the past. So, you can now clearly see why the primary objective of network marketing is establishing solid and enduring business connections.
No comments:
Post a Comment