March 28, 2024

Sales and Marketing Advice for Florida business

A trusted relationship will seal the deal

When businesses share their expertise, it draws prospects to them and builds relationships.

Ron Stein | 2/3/2013

The sales manger in the play and film Glengarry Glen Ross famously declared, “Always be closing.” He went on to say, “Cause only one thing counts in this world: get them to sign on the line which is dotted.”

There’s nothing wrong with an always be closing attitude, as long as it’s supported by a healthy conversation that builds credibility and provides value to your prospect.

Seriously, how can you always be in closing mode if you haven’t laid the groundwork first? Furiously pushing for more sales without first doing this takes on an air of desperation, or worse, risks irritating potential customers. The result is missed opportunities and flat lining revenue.

After all, creating an opening to take a prospect to the next step in the selling cycle takes a marketing strategy and a starting point. That’s how you get to “yes” by closing the deal before it happens!

How? You and your company are experts in your industry -- heads and shoulders above your competition. Take action with your marketing and act like the expert you are.

You have valuable information to share. Your company’s expertise and experience is one of the big differentiators, so use it. Show that you are genuinely open and helpful by sharing important information. Make it a habit to constantly help the people who need what you have the most by using your vast knowledge of the issues that perplex them. It’s a wonderful way to earn trust and establish solid relationships."

Create a lead magnet with content marketing. Your audience is looking for you, well at least what you offer -- expertise to solve their problems. Put all of that valuable information to work and help them find you. Relevant content -- just for your target audience -- is one of the best ways for businesses to connect without trying to “sell”. Think beyond your website, and integrate your online and offline effort -- most of what you produce for offline consumption can be posted online. There is no shortage of tactics here -- blogs, white papers, webinars, case studies, video tutorials, guidebooks, recordings of live seminars, infographics, and much more. Simply provide valuable information to draw people to you.

Let your audience know you exist.  Most people think of search engine marketing as something that is primarily done for a website. Well yes, but here’s where integrating your online and offline efforts will really pay off. Aside from using best practices for your website’s meta tags and keyword densities -- for each page -- think about how you can drive traffic back to your page, online and offline. Writing a column for a magazine, directory listings, guest articles, and brochures all work in both the online and offline world. And don’t forget to put your website or promotional landing page URL on any printed material, from business cards to trade show booths. By the way, I’ve noticed that lots of companies fail to include their URL on their social media pages, particularly Linkedin.

The missing ingredient for even the most tactically oriented business is a marketing mindset.  It’s the rocket fuel behind the revenue and the fastest path to profitability invented yet!

Ultimately, the information you share must work towards business goals. Yet an immediate benefit of having a content marketing strategy is building trusting relationships. And when that happens, you earn the right to “get them to sign on the line which is dotted.”


Read earlier columns from Florida Trend's business coach, Ron Stein
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Ron Stein is the founder and President of FastPath Marketing (www.marketing-strategies-guide.com). He has more than 20 years experience in sales, marketing, and business development, working positions ranging from salesman to vice president of sales and marketing to CEO of startups with industry leaders such as Motorola, VideoServer, Paradyne, and SercoNet. Ron is a member of the advisory team at the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a nationally recognized entrepreneurial and startup accelerator for the state of Florida. He can be reached at 727-398-1855 or Ron@FastPathMarketing.com

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