Get The Picture - Get More Clients
Frank Traditi
Have you sat down and mapped out who your best clients are?
Who needs your service the most?
What are their biggest challenges?
Developed a marketing strategy to fit these important factors?
We see numbers and facts all day long. Demographic information about cities.
Political polls about what people think. Surveys about where we think the
world is headed. People on the street asking you for your opinion on some
product or world event. The recent census is a mountain of information about
the population statistics in the U.S.
What happens to all this information?
Some of it is shelved. Some of it is used for planning. Some is used for
gauging strategies for political maneuvering. Some of it is used for, ah
yes, marketing.
In your business, information on your prospects and clients is key to making
swift decisions about products, services and marketing strategies. Good
information or a profile on your prospects and clients affords you the ability
to exercise your intuition.
Intuition in marketing is an absolute necessity. Without it, it’s
extremely difficult to know what your clients want and how they will use
your services.
To help with your intuitive marketing strategy, the first step you can take
is to "take a picture" or profile your current prospect and client
base. You do this through a series of questions and profile metrics that
help you and your team understand the triggers that make them become life-long
clients and excellent prospects.
NOTE - you can do this with every kind of client or prospect.
Small, medium or large, it doesn't matter.
We'll look at this in 4 areas:
1. General Information
2. Business Profile
3. Their Business Environment
4. Opportunities
General Information
Basic information such as name, contacts, business their in, etc. This information gets you started by knowing who the players are, for instance the four people you need to know in every account. Find out who they are in the chapter titled, "The Fab Four". It's absolutely imperative to know who these people are in the account so you can plan out your marketing and account strategies.
Business Profile
Some key questions that give you the insight to their business:
• Number of employees, locations, annual revenues
• What is/are their product line(s)? Target market?
• Who are their customers? What and how do they buy?
• Their mission/vision/values?
• What are their goals/objectives and strategies?
• Describe their corporate or business culture.
• Who are their competitors?
Their Business Environment
Here are some "meaty" type questions in your profile that will
really get you thinking about how you can become a partner and provide your
services:
• What are their current industry challenges?
• What are their current internal business issues or challenges?
• What is their history with your competitors?
• How is the current economic situation impacting them?
• Is their business shrinking, growing or stable?
• What organizational challenges will impact your business with this
client or prospect?
• How do they value consultants, service providers, etc?
• How far away are they from "exploding" or "imploding"?
• Name their three biggest problems and what they are doing to fix
them.
Opportunities
Let's look at what's on the table and how can you capture new business:
• What issues, areas, or departments of the company do you plan to
address during the next 30-60 days?
• What opportunities exist with all of your services?
• Who are you positioned with in the company and can they say yes?
• What are the top three priorities for your client or prospect?
• What other departments, areas or issues haven't you addressed? How
do these other areas connect with who you have been working with?
• What changes are occurring (management, moving, new office, new
products) that could lead to more business?
• How creative can you be to help this company out?
And one final BIG question:
What do you do that is different from EVERYONE ELSE?
Your challenge is easy. Take ONE client or prospect and
put them through this profile. See what you come up with.
Snap the picture – it will tell a thousand words.
Copyright © 2006, Frank Traditi
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