“Life is a transaction.” You’ve heard me say that before, and it’s true.
No matter what you sell, you need compelling marketing in order to get to the sales conversation. I often say that marketing is the foreplay to sales. And when your marketing is done right, you’ll get yes, yes, yes, every time!
Believe it or not, an election is a sales conversation. In elections, you just have a much longer “sales cycle” before you see how all of the marketing a candidate has done shows up and pays off. I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad that the election is over. I’m not here to discuss the candidates per se, but I do want to share some of the key nuggets that any business owner can take away and use to grow his or her business.
No matter whom you voted for in this election, if you’re a business owner, I hope you caught some of the key takeaways that when well executed can lead to growth in your business:
1. People buy when they know, like and trust you. While I likely don’t have to say anymore based on the turn of events, I will say this: trust, credibility and believability is everything. If your ideal clients don’t trust what you say and believe in your ability to solve their problem, it will be challenging for them to hire you. There’s very little comeback from a situation where you’re not trusted as a business owner/service provider. Your assignment: Ask 3 previous clients why they trusted you to help them solve their problem. A little trust goes a long way. And, as they are reminded, ask them who they know that could also benefit from working with you.
2. People are programmed to notice what’s different. One candidate for President took this truism to heart and made sure that being different was a key message throughout the campaign. It paid off. Whether you like Trump or not, you definitely dealt with his differences – they were speaking louder than he was (at times) and for many they were a refreshing distraction. As consumers your ideal clients are also looking for someone who is different. If they’ve tried others who technically do what you do and didn’t get results, if you show up differently in your marketing you will not only get their attention, you will likely also get their business.
3. Consistency is key. Your message must be consistent. The moment you shift your position, you lose credibility. In both local and national races you may have noticed this truism play out. I teach my clients to create a key messages document. A key messages document basically houses all of the “sound bites” and clear succinct messages that you want to be known for and commit to disseminating consistently. The key is to be consistent. If you say the same thing every time you’re speaking, you’ll become known for that thing. And that, Incredible One, is the key to getting found by those you want to serve.
4. Take the time to get to know your Audience of One™ . When you are a business owner, who you are speaking to with your messaging and marketing is extremely important – it’s the difference between welcoming a new client and not. In this election, there was so much startling data about the demographic mix of voters who voted one way or another. In business, the same is true, but the best business owners/marketers don’t just look at the demographics, they also look at the psychographics. With greater attention and focus placed on psychographics, you can get a competitive edge in your business. Psychographics takes into consideration a potential client’s interests, aspirations, attitudes, habits, spending habits, hobbies and values. The more you know about your potential client, the better your chances of getting their attention with your marketing.
As a business owner, taking these four quick lessons to heart (regardless of your stage of development or political standing) can be the key to grow your business. While marketing alone won’t grow your business, it’s definitely safe to say that if you don’t market, your business will certainly not grow.
Now I want to hear from you: What are your marketing takeaways from the election? Let me know in the comments!
©2016 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, The Incredible Factor Business Optimization Coach and Mentor, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises®, Incredible Factor University® and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System®, a proven step-by-step program so you experience financial and spiritual abundance in your life because of your business. For more information and a FREE audio CD “7 Critical Mistakes Even Smart Entrepreneurs Must Avoid for Clients, Connection and Cash Flow!” just fill out the form below.
