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Target marketing is one of the keys to a successful sales marketing program. Starting your marketing efforts without first identifying your target market is like trying to hit a target with a bow and arrow blindfolded. A very small percentage of the arrows will hit the target.
Every product or service will be desirable to a definable group of people. To have greater success in less time with your marketing efforts, spend time identifying your target market.
The Three Best Ways To Target Market
The first is geographic. People who live in a certain area. If you need to see people in person, you must choose a market that’s within driving distance.
The second is demographic. Demographics are the basic qualities and characteristics of your target market. They include age, gender, culture, employment, industry, income level, marital status, etc.
The third is psycho graphics. These are made up of the emotional and behavioral qualities of your target market. They include the emotion, reasoning, psychology, logic and thought processes behind your target markets decision to buy your product.
Gather information on your target market
Take time to do the research to find your target market. Go through the list of your past clients. List the characteristics of the clients who’ve purchased from you. What do they have in common? Take a survey of your past and current clients. Ask them questions like:
Why did you buy my product or service? Why did you buy at that specific time? Why did you buy right away or take your time? What do you like best about my product or service? What do you like least? Would you refer others to me? If not, why not? What specific benefits do you see in my product or service?
I think you get the idea. Take your time with this marketing tip. Get as much information as you can to develop a profile of your target market. You want to know not only who buys from you (demographic) but, more important, why (psycho graphics).
Get specific and target your market
Now that you’ve found your target market, dominate it. When I sold real estate we called this “farming”. I visited my target market frequently knocking on doors to introduce myself as the expert in the area. I would send out a monthly newsletter. Delivered suckers, refrigerator magnets, pens, anything with my name on it. Some people hand out pumpkins at Halloween. There are many creative things you can do. Is it a lot of work? Of course, however it pays back huge dividends.
By utilizing these tips you concentrate your marketing efforts on prospects that will most likely do business with you. You’ll also increase your closing ratio, income and stop wasting time on low profitability prospects.
Getting past call reluctance is one of the keys to successful cold calling. Understand what’s causing the reluctance and work on a solution. The three main causes of cold calling reluctance are lack of a plan, attitude and fear of rejection.
Cold Calling Tip #1: Have A Plan.
Planning is a key to success in anything you do in sales. Know who you’re calling. Write a thumbnail sketch of the people you’re calling. What I mean is get specific about the group of prospects in your target market. How old are they, what kind of work do they do, where do they live, and what kind of challenges do they have. The better picture you get of who you’re calling the better you’ll understand and relate to them.
The second part of this cold calling tip is know what the big picture is for you. Why are you in sales and what benefit does your product or service bring to your target market? Decide what your objective is for the call, get the appointment, name, etc.
Plan out what you’re going to say. Have a written script that tells you exactly what you’ll say. Know what objections may arise during the conversation and how to handle each one. Understand how and when to close.
It’s not just picking up the phone and hoping for the best. Put your plan on paper so you can see it and internalize it and your cold calling success rate will increase.
Cold Calling Tip #2: What’s With Your Attitude?
Improve your attitude and you’ll improve your results. I’ve seen a dramatic difference in my phone success based on my attitude. When my attitude is bad, people are less receptive and my success rate goes down. When I’m feeling good, my success on the phone goes up. I guess it’s not that everyone else is having a bad day.
Work on your attitude everyday. Make a decision to have a good attitude. If you have a bad attitude don’t pick up the phone. Stop watching the news and start reading positive books. Have fun on the phone, make someone smile.
Cold Calling Tip #3: Don’t Take It Personal.
Remember, not everyone you call will be interested in what you have to offer. So be prepared for rejection and understand they aren’t rejecting you they’re only rejecting the offer you’re making them. Thank them and move on to the next.
Cold calling is time consuming and nerve racking for many sales people. If you expect and prepare for the best, you’ll have a better chance of the best happening.
A sales presentation doesn’t begin when you are telling and showing the prospect how you’ll solve their problems. It begins before you walk in the door to give the presentation. It begins with doing your homework on the company or person you’re presenting to and continues through the follow up after the sale.
Make sure you’ve done your homework on the company, the people you’re meeting with and as much as you can find out about their problems in advance. Customizing and practicing as much of the specific presentation you’ll give to them before you walk in the door is one of many sales presentation skills you must master.
Connect with your audience, make friends with them before you begin your presentation. If they don’t warm up to you or they aren’t friendly…leave. You’re not going to make the sale anyway so why waste your time?
If you have a fear of speaking or are nervous in a sales presentation, the prospects will spot that and loose confidence in you. Get over your fear of speaking. It’s not ok to be nervous. You need to come across as being extremely confident. An important sales presentation skill of top sales people is public speaking. Take a public speaking course, join Toastmasters, do what ever is necessary to feel comfortable and confident speaking to one or a hundred people.
A sales presentation should be perfect every time. So how do you make it perfect? Practice, Practice, Practice. When I started in real estate I carried a cassette recorder with me and when I gave a listing presentation I would ask the couple or person if they would mind if I recorded it. I told them it was for my benefit and would help me become better at what I do.
Then I listened to the recording and learned how I sounded, what I said, how I said it, how persuasive I was and in the end how successful I was. It helped me understand what I did right, what I did wrong and what I would do different the next time.
Develop the right attitude. Become so confident in your product or service and the benefits it provides that your shocked when someone doesn’t want to buy it. You need to have the attitude that someone would have to crazy not to buy your product.
Also, go in with the attitude that you don’t need the sale. If it’s the end of the month, it’s a big sale or you need the money, it’s likely your prospect will sense you urgency.
You spent the time finding the lead and making the appointment, don’t waste the sales opportunity by not mastering the sales presentation skills to give a great sales presentation.
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