How to Impress Prospects Immediately
• Don’t insist on a long message on your voice mail. Just say, “Thanks for calling, we’ll be back to you promptly, please repeat your number twice when you hear the tone.” No one cares where you are, that you believe their call is important, or what your “thought for the day” is.
• Your home page should provide two things prominently: What’s in it for the buyer (typical client results) and who says so (testimonials, including video). You don’t need half your home page taken up with subscription offers, three photos of you, or your calendar.
• Reply rapidly. There is no earthly reason, no matter where you are on that earth, not to return email messages within a day. If you’re not overseas, there’s no reason not to return phone calls within three hours (I do so within 90 minutes).
• Your signature file shouldn’t contain 12 different fonts, 9 different colors, and 4 different sizes. It should professionally promote your value, not explode like a dynamited finger painting.
• Blog frequently if you choose to blog at all. When the last posting is two weeks old the visitor concludes that you don’t have much to say, have amnesia, or have passed on.
• Don’t confuse social media for business media. If you’re a consultant in the corporate marketplace (as opposed to retail, individual sales, such as real estate) understand that every intelligent survey and piece of literature points our that corporate buyers base their decisions on referrals and recommendations from peers who have used the resource.
• In person, act like a peer. Dress well, use professional and sophisticated language, don’t arrive as a pack horse with six bags, don’t use technology in someone’s office when a discussion would suffice, and offer value not a “pitch.”
• Cite the results you’ve generated for others with examples, and stay far away from methodology.
© Alan Weiss 2013
kevin waldron
Alan,
Not being a smart ass, but how do you get any focused client work done if you have a 90 min guarantee on call backs? …
Alan Weiss
You’re not being a smart ass. On site, I’m never occupied for 90 minutes continually without some kind of break, even in meetings. At home, it’s not an issue, of course. People who tell me they can’t market while they deliver, or can’t do anything but focus on the client in front of them are either limited in ability or have primitive work habits. With cell phones, it’s easier than ever.
Be clear: We happen to be consultants, but this is the marketing business.
Lisa Bing
Alan,
This post raises a question about how you organize your breaks when on-site. I’m assuming you initiate the break if the client does not- yes (not referring to workshops that you run)? How long is your typical break?
Thanks.
Alan Weiss
I take a 15-minute break in workshops every 90 minutes, but I also have breaks when everyone is doing an exercise. With client work, I break whenever I please.