There?s coming a colossal shift in advertising. The good news is?it?s good news. I could go on and on about how the internet has completely changed the way we do business. But you already know all of that. The transparency factor, the ability to plainly see what is good vs. what is bad, is the most important development that will ever come from internet.
The Small Business Sales Pitch that Never Fails
Traditionally, advertising involved quite a bit of inherent risk. Let?s walk through the sales cycle. Someone, out of the blue, calls you up from Company X. Don?t worry, they were handed your number from a list generated by their tech guy of local small businesses. But of course, you?re told you?re ?qualified? or ?special.? Anyway, I digress.
If they?re new to sales or have an ethical fiber within them, they flat out tell you who they are and stick to the fact that they?re success rate will always be lower than those other ?snake oil salesmen.? So be it. At least they?re honest. So maybe you had a good week, the future looks fairly promising and you drank your morning coffee ? all signs point to at least showing interest in this anonymous voice.
He begins his pitch about how everyone knows about the Yellowpages. Sure, it?s slowed down a bit which is why, for just a few dollars a month, you could get your company name front and center on the search engines for cheap! Here?s where your mind tricks you. Throughout my tenure in sales and working with small businesses, this is the mistake we all make:??It?s cheap and he/she sounds good so I?ll give it a try.?
If you?d been ?wooed? properly, your mind has been trained to say yes. Positivity, confidence, word placement ? this is what sells small businesses. Simply insert product X and proceed. And if you don?t think advertising companies know you?re like this, you?re low-hanging fruit ripe for the picking. When you think back over your advertising decisions, did you throw your company in the local paper or directory or even in some cheap SEO, only to find that it was priced so low for a reason? Hind-sight?s a killer.
Base Future Success on Historic Results Above All
This is my point: advertising for your business should be less based on price and rhetoric and more focused on past results. The successful businesses know this. That?s why they?re not afraid to shell out $10,000 for a results-driven SEO company; or cough up a 4-figure bill toward showing up in the industry?s leading publications. You?d be astonished at how willing these contractors are to take a calculated risk, no matter the cost. They can see the difference between advertising $100/month in a bad marketing company vs. investing $1,000/month in a winning campaign. In my internet sales experience, this is not the majority of contractors.
With that said, it?doesn?t?take money to make money. It takes a bit more research and straightforward questions to pry the facts out of the advertiser du jour.
I ALWAYS recommend asking for success rates and references: does your service work and what are other people that have tried your product saying? Past this, there really?isn?t?too much else to consider. Whether it?s $10 or $10,000, if it?s going to work,?you?ve?eliminated the bulk of the inherit risk. Why do you think Yelp and Angie?s List are so successful? Whether it?s a new restaurant in town or a search for local painters, they help to eliminate the risk of a bad experience because other people have eaten there or got their house painted and saw a positive return.
Of course, for all those skeptics out there, I realize there?s always going to be folks trying to scam the system. But overall, this is the transparency I?m referring to. The internet has allowed us to?share information?and experiences like never before. In the past, you surveyed 2, maybe 3 other buddies or companies about how their experience with Company X was. Although it?s better than nothing, you do realize that they collectively represent .02% of the possible pool you could ask? Advertising Exposed, Angie?s List, Yelp ? let them find 50, maybe 100?s of people that have dealt with Company X. You increase your sample size and decrease your inherit risk.
The transparency, the ability to save money and never have a bad experience ? it gets me so pumped to think about the future of business.
That?s the good news. The better news? It?s only the beginning.
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