Last we talked, we discussed organizational change and the change on the administrative side. Converting records from paper to electronic format, and taking that a step further and making your records electronic based. By doing this you make pertinent information available to remote employees any time they may need it. This can save hundreds of hours of staff time, and tens of thousands of dollars. So what are you waiting for? Contact a technology company today to find out how they can streamline your workflow and get rid of those stupid Microsoft Excel worksheets, and those three ring binders full of policies and procedures. You know this is already coming too, call my favorite web company for all your web technology needs; Terrostar Technology Solutions 563-355-7174.
Moving on…
The last thing I wanted to share with you about what I learned in 2011 was budgeting. When I started working for the company I work for now I was not given a budget. This was not something I was used to. There were always funds available whenever I needed them, and I just had to stay within budget. Here I was given a budget that really didn’t exist. Looking back on it I can’t say I would have changed a thing. I learned so much working on such a small budget. When I say small, I mean less than around $5,000 for Marketing and sponsorships. $2800 of which was committed to one pretty large sponsorship. So that pretty much left $2000 for any type of print marketing or advertising. So what did I do? I got creative! Coming up with unconventional ways to marketing was something that I had to do. Cold prospecting companies that desperately needed new websites was not easy. How do you approach someone and tell them their website sucks? Especially when they think its the best ting since bacon! By the way….nothing is better than bacon! I spent a lot of time writing letters that were catchy, funny, and gained trust. Pairing that up with a prospect cycle I was able to get into a few businesses that I never thought possible. Making people laugh was the key to getting that in person meeting.
The other thing I learned was touch points. On average, it takes 6-7 touch points to gain a sale. What is a touch point? A touch point is you reaching out to a prospect in one way or another i.e. letter, phone call, lumpy mail, etc.. Continuously dripping on prospects keeps you fresh in their mind. Until they tell you know, it’s an open invitation to continue contacting them. See an article relevant to your prospect? Mail it to them with a personalized note. See your prospect on the news about something great they did? Shoot them an email congratulating them. Another service I like is Send Out Cards. This service allows me to touch my customers through a personalized greeting card either right after a meeting, post proposal, or even just for the heck of it. You can even send gifts like cookies, brownies, or other cool things. Awesome service, and it works great.
The key to all of this is the follow-up. Continually reach out to your prospects until you get a meeting, and continue reaching out of them until you get an answer on the proposal you sent them. Bigger than all of this….get creative! You don’t need a $50,000 marketing budget to sell. All you need is great people skills, and a creative mind!
Moving on…
The last thing I wanted to share with you about what I learned in 2011 was budgeting. When I started working for the company I work for now I was not given a budget. This was not something I was used to. There were always funds available whenever I needed them, and I just had to stay within budget. Here I was given a budget that really didn’t exist. Looking back on it I can’t say I would have changed a thing. I learned so much working on such a small budget. When I say small, I mean less than around $5,000 for Marketing and sponsorships. $2800 of which was committed to one pretty large sponsorship. So that pretty much left $2000 for any type of print marketing or advertising. So what did I do? I got creative! Coming up with unconventional ways to marketing was something that I had to do. Cold prospecting companies that desperately needed new websites was not easy. How do you approach someone and tell them their website sucks? Especially when they think its the best ting since bacon! By the way….nothing is better than bacon! I spent a lot of time writing letters that were catchy, funny, and gained trust. Pairing that up with a prospect cycle I was able to get into a few businesses that I never thought possible. Making people laugh was the key to getting that in person meeting.
The other thing I learned was touch points. On average, it takes 6-7 touch points to gain a sale. What is a touch point? A touch point is you reaching out to a prospect in one way or another i.e. letter, phone call, lumpy mail, etc.. Continuously dripping on prospects keeps you fresh in their mind. Until they tell you know, it’s an open invitation to continue contacting them. See an article relevant to your prospect? Mail it to them with a personalized note. See your prospect on the news about something great they did? Shoot them an email congratulating them. Another service I like is Send Out Cards. This service allows me to touch my customers through a personalized greeting card either right after a meeting, post proposal, or even just for the heck of it. You can even send gifts like cookies, brownies, or other cool things. Awesome service, and it works great.
The key to all of this is the follow-up. Continually reach out to your prospects until you get a meeting, and continue reaching out of them until you get an answer on the proposal you sent them. Bigger than all of this….get creative! You don’t need a $50,000 marketing budget to sell. All you need is great people skills, and a creative mind!
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