Marketing often gets confused with sales when there is a lack of understanding around their correct definition. For this reason, expectations of ROI (return on investment) from a sales and marketing spend can be way out. Imagine trebling your website traffic, growing a database of emails creating more engagement with your brand than ever before and then not making any more sales…
Let’s dive into why this might happen. Imagine it’s you and you’ve done all the above and you aren’t sure why there has been no increase in sales. This is how the conversation might continue…
- Did you answer the phone when it rang…?
- Not always. We did miss a few calls, but we were busy.
- Have you emailed anyone who downloaded your guide other than the automated email?
- No, I thought that was the job of the marketeer.
- Do you look at the analytics to see who has been looking at your website, when and where?
- I didn’t know I could.
I could write a book about how sales and marketing need to work together to turn a lead into a client. Essentially, marketing can find the people you want to engage with and even knock on their door, but sales need to have the conversation to close the deal.
Agencies need to help clients understand the difference between sales and marketing and what it takes from them to secure the close. That’s how expectations can be set as to ROI. So, here are a few tips to help you close:
Respond quickly:
Think about your buying behaviour. When you want answers you normally need them quickly. Making the final decision to buy might take another call, so be ready for that call when it comes in! Don’t worry about appearing too keen, the lead reached out to you as a result of your marketing.
Be proposal prepared:
To close, have a decent proposal to show on the first connection and a tailored one ready for follow-up. We have a .pdf with a price list and an online proposal with the choices highlighted from our first conversation. It helps people to understand what they are buying more easily.
Set expectations:
The quickest route to success is being clear on deliveries. Mapping out a project with timelines helps to improve the project flow and doesn’t leave anyone guessing. Always be clear on dependencies, and what will slow the project down.
These three things seem simple enough but they grease the wheels for the buying journey. You’ll be prepared to close.
Marketing gets people to the door, but sales have to answer the knock! It’s like playing golf. As a marketing agency, we’ll get the ball from tee to green but your sales team will put the ball into the hole.
Here are three more things you will need to prepare for on any marketing journey.
Trust the process.
The process will need testing and measuring. That means we start with our experience and expertise but remain open to the behaviour of a client in any part of the process.
For example, a content strategy will take time but will slowly build your reach. There may be subjects that you’ll want to write about that won’t resonate as much with your readers and people may even unsubscribe. Don’t worry, you are refining your market and your voice. Don’t see it as a negative, because if you support Liverpool, Manchester United fans probably won’t like you. If you stand for something, you won’t be liked by everyone and equally, nobody does their best work for everyone.
Make changes.
When it comes to SEO, be prepared to change. There is always a balance when trying to stick to a brand and still be findable. What makes it all worse is that the algorithms change all the time. That’s why our team continually look at what works best.
Being website builders as well as understanding content and SEO helps websites work harder than simple brochure sites do. The key thing is to add value in exchange for engagement (no “pitch-slapping”).
Be consistent.
I cannot emphasise this enough. Whether you invest with an agency or write your content, being consistent is key to converting followers into fans. The focus here is to continually offer value with all that you do and show rather than sell.
Start with a blog once a month, then every two weeks, then every week. Learn to re-purpose the content on LinkedIn Newsletters and website and post snippets on social media! We love podcasts because they generate so much content on many fronts, including written content. Lack of consistency is often a lack of content and podcasts work for video, copy, social, emails, and even podcast spaces such as Apple/Spotify/Amazon and Google.
The key thing to address in marketing is we have to learn to show not sell. Show how we have made a difference and inspire others to do the same. Selling is then about how I can help you to achieve your goals and flourish.
As a brand marketing agency, we help you become an authority in your space by adding enough value to give you confidence.
We have helped schools and business networks become the number one choice! In the meantime, why not take our Purpose Questionnaire as a first step and see how aligned you are with your goals…
Watch the latest episode of the Purpose People Podcast now via the link below…
