“Touch 12” was a concept I was introduced to by my mentor at Transwestern Commercial Services this summer, Randy Garrett. Touch 12 is based on a study that indicated that the average customer bought only after being “touched” a total of 12 times.
A “touch” is any form of contact with a prospect. So, a personal visit, voicemail, e-mail, tweet, snail mail, brochure, marketing piece, etc. all are classified as a touch.
These Touch 12 programs succeed with 3 basic criteria: useful information, consistency, and timeliness. It’s important to note that whatever you use as the subject of the interaction must be of interest to your audience (article pertaining to their industry, thought provoking blog, construction updates on major highways located near them, anything… get creative!). Consistency is key in a successful Touch 12 program since it helps maintain TMA, top of mind awareness, with that customer. Lastly, timeliness is a major factor. You can’t just call someone 12 times in one week and expect them to buy. Spread your communicative efforts over the course of months, maybe a year, to achieve top success.
Think about ways to use a Touch 12 where you are right now. A consistent approach like this would be great throughout the interview process.
Author: Will May
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Personal Branding
There’s an old axiom in sales, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” But in today’s market, knowing someone is rarely enough to make the sale. So the axiom has shifted to be, “it’s not who you know, it’s who knows you!”
So, to be known by your customers is a key driver of success. This familiarity is best achieved through personal branding. Personal branding is a #gamechanger in our business climate since customers buy the salesperson first, and then the p/s (product or service). So what is personal branding?
Personal branding = process of how we market ourselves to others. Dan Schwabel who spearheads a PB blog says that your self-impression = how people perceive you. This is what PB can do for you:
- Create demand for your p/s indirectly (remember pull marketing from last week.. bingo)
- Establish yourself as an expert in your field
- Be seen and known as a though leader
- Separate yourself from the nameless masses through innovation
All sound good? Good. So how do we build / develop / promote our PB?
- Do everything with a creative flair. Memorability is a vital link to building brand awareness.
- Be willing to give of yourself first. Do this by becoming a resource. To be a resource you must be an expert, so study up (Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hour rule!).
- Basics: develop an online presence, create consistency, Google alerts, blog, join associations.
There was a sales person one time who routinely called on a co-worker of mine, and on their first conversation he asked for my co-worker’s shoe size. Weird, right? Then he said something to the extent of “I’m always going to remember you wear a size 11 shoe.” So the salesperson inputted that size 11 into his CRM database, and each time he calls he mentions the size 11 feet. Now he’s forever known as the “shoe guy.”
Now, is my co-worker every going to buy? Depends on a lot of factors. But, is he ever going to forget who this guy is? Not a chance.
Take some time to develop and promote your brand! You can figure out something better than remembering a prospect’s shoe size, right?
Source: Will May
So, to be known by your customers is a key driver of success. This familiarity is best achieved through personal branding. Personal branding is a #gamechanger in our business climate since customers buy the salesperson first, and then the p/s (product or service). So what is personal branding?
Personal branding = process of how we market ourselves to others. Dan Schwabel who spearheads a PB blog says that your self-impression = how people perceive you. This is what PB can do for you:
- Create demand for your p/s indirectly (remember pull marketing from last week.. bingo)
- Establish yourself as an expert in your field
- Be seen and known as a though leader
- Separate yourself from the nameless masses through innovation
All sound good? Good. So how do we build / develop / promote our PB?
- Do everything with a creative flair. Memorability is a vital link to building brand awareness.
- Be willing to give of yourself first. Do this by becoming a resource. To be a resource you must be an expert, so study up (Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hour rule!).
- Basics: develop an online presence, create consistency, Google alerts, blog, join associations.
There was a sales person one time who routinely called on a co-worker of mine, and on their first conversation he asked for my co-worker’s shoe size. Weird, right? Then he said something to the extent of “I’m always going to remember you wear a size 11 shoe.” So the salesperson inputted that size 11 into his CRM database, and each time he calls he mentions the size 11 feet. Now he’s forever known as the “shoe guy.”
Now, is my co-worker every going to buy? Depends on a lot of factors. But, is he ever going to forget who this guy is? Not a chance.
Take some time to develop and promote your brand! You can figure out something better than remembering a prospect’s shoe size, right?
Source: Will May
Purple Cow
Purple Cow is a marketing concept originally written about by Seth Godin. The theory starts with the presumption that marketing as we know it is broken, and that the only way now to gain attention in a market is to not only market a product in a remarkable manner, but also to have a remarkable product to market.
Marketing should begin with a differentiated product or service that gets attention (like a purple cow does among a field of brown ones). Be sure that those who care deeply about that differentiation learn about your product or service (as Krispy Kreme does by providing free donuts when it opens a new store). Those who care will e-mail and tell everyone they know (an idea virus). Keep adding new differentiated enhancements to your product or service (pretty soon you don't find a purple cow so interesting). Start looking for totally new business models that provide a breakthrough like your first purple cow did. Don't waste your time and money on advertising. Alternatively, it's dangerous not to do this because your product or service will be lost among all of the other brown cows (undifferentiated offerings).
Source: Donald Mitchell
Marketing should begin with a differentiated product or service that gets attention (like a purple cow does among a field of brown ones). Be sure that those who care deeply about that differentiation learn about your product or service (as Krispy Kreme does by providing free donuts when it opens a new store). Those who care will e-mail and tell everyone they know (an idea virus). Keep adding new differentiated enhancements to your product or service (pretty soon you don't find a purple cow so interesting). Start looking for totally new business models that provide a breakthrough like your first purple cow did. Don't waste your time and money on advertising. Alternatively, it's dangerous not to do this because your product or service will be lost among all of the other brown cows (undifferentiated offerings).
Source: Donald Mitchell
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