Would you consider an underperforming sales force an asset?

Do you believe there are assets within your business that could be leveraged and optimized for more profits?

Would you consider an underperforming sales force an asset? How about advertising that doesn’t get results? How about your database of past and present customers, do you regard it as an asset?

There are many things that can make your company unique. Why was it that you went into business in the first place? Do you have a unique set of skills or experience? Does your staff have unique experience/skills? Do you have good relationships with vendors and suppliers? Do you have a high percentage of satisfied customers? Do you have comprehensive knowledge of your industry including your competitors? A great story to tell? A “leading edge” product or service?

Do your customers know why you went into business? Do they know what makes you unique and why they should continue to buy from you?

If they don’t, they probably won’t be customers for long.

If you don’t have a unique selling proposition (USP), or if it’s not clearly and consistently articulated, then you have probably reduced the buying decision down to price. If you’re set up to win a low-price battle, you might be alright for a while. If you’re not winning, or interested in winning the low-price battle, what do you do?

All of these questions, individually and collectively, represent marketing assets that are already within your business, that can be leveraged and optimized for more sales and profits.

Just knowing what your conversion ratio of prospects to paying customers could be considered an asset. Knowing how much your average first-time customer spends, and how often they return can also be an asset.

A great way to make sure your marketing is as efficient as possible is to focus “in-house” first. Make sure you have identified and leveraged all the “assets” you already have. This is what we help companies do. Before you spend money on advertising, or any efforts that get you in front of more prospects, make sure your closing ratio of prospects to paying customers is respectable. A small increase in closing ratio alone can bring about dramatic results. Also, make sure you understand the true lifetime value of a customer.

Make sure your USP is truly unique, and clearly and consistently communicated, and then your efforts to get in front of more prospects will be much more effective. Your underperforming sales team is an example of an asset you have already invested in! Now, without getting into the psychology of whether you have the right people in the right seats on the bus, your current team can be leveraged for more sales and profits. And it can be done without taking them out of their areas/away from their customers for expensive sales training. One way to do that is in the formation of a solid USP. Arming your underperforming sales force with a carefully crafted and clearly articulated USP, alone, can dramatically increase their results.

Forming a USP, the first step in our system, is often so successful, that the companies we work for don’t know if they can handle the growth!

I’d love to hear of other success stories in the formulation and communication of USP’s!

Best,

Get Beyond Cutting Costs and Start Building Your Business

“Position Yourself For Real Growth: 6 tips to help you get beyond cutting costs, and start building your business.”


A great article by Andrew Abend on Entrepreneur.com


http://bit.ly/5excNk


Tip # 3 is: Share your customers.


It doesn't mean you have to give up your hard-earned customers. You simply partner with non-competing, complimentary businesses that have similar client bases, giving you access to a huge number of potentially new customers at virtually no cost.

We have had incredible success doing this in the past, and at our recommendation many of our clients have experienced success with it as well.

Why do so many businesses refuse to even consider it?

The Best Industries for Starting a Business

According to Inc:

The nation's fastest-growing industry is niche business consulting! It’s workforce is expected to increase by 5.9 percent through 2016.

If this interests you, we can show you how!

One Lesson From the Crisis: It's Time to Create Your Own Economy

The following is a link to another great article by Tyler Cowen,

author of:

"Create Your Own Economy."

Enjoy!


http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/137/create-your-own-economy.html

How do you define marketing?

The traditional definition of marketing has been the introduction of your company’s products and services to prospective customers. By reason of this definition, business owners have pursued the “traditional” avenues of marketing. These include (but aren’t limited to): Advertising, hiring more sales people, prospecting, direct mail, referral programs, internet marketing, and many more.

All of these traditional marketing methods can work – but many times they don’t (don’t create a paying customer) and this leaves business owners frustrated. Sometimes they have invested thousands of dollars in these traditional methods only to find out they didn’t work or that in order to REALLY work, they need to invest thousands more.

The business owners then go back to the providers of these traditional marketing methods and ask for accountability. The reply is usually something like this:

“Did the (marketing method) bring in more prospects?” “Yes, but they didn’t buy anything” says the business owner. “Well, if they don’t become paying customers, we can’t control that – that is your responsibility” is the reply.

In other words traditional marketing method providers are not paid and do not concern themselves with what happens after a prospect is generated. Indeed there may be plenty of new prospects generated, but if they don’t become customers, it hasn’t helped the business owner! And, the frustration only grows.

The frustration grows partly because the definition of marketing is short-sided and inadequate. It is about time for a new one. Now granted, I have heard MANY vastly different definitions, and each will probably continue to change over time, but for our purposes:

21st Century Marketing Systems has redefined marketing to be:

The introduction AND SELLING of your company’s products and services to PAST, PRESENT, AND PROSPECTIVE customers by first leveraging and optimizing ALL of your company’s marketing assets.

Let me know what you think!

10 Biggest Marketing Wastes

The following list is essentially the table of contents of the FREE report available from our main website: http://www.21st-centurymarketing.com/ Follow the link, enter your email, confirm, and enjoy.

Waste #1: Failure to Define Marketing Correctly and Not Identifying Marketing Assets Already in the Business.

Waste #2: Failure to Execute Marketing Inside Before Going Outside!

Waste #3: Failure to Build a Marketing Plan Around the THREE WAYS TO GROW!

Waste #4: Failure to Have a USP - Unique Selling Proposition.

Waste #5: Failure to Communicate and Integrate the USP - Ongoing Sales Training

Waste #6: Failure to Understand the TRUE Lifetime Value of a Customer.

Waste #7: Failure to Make Advertising Direct Response.

Waste #8: Failure to Leverage Relationships: Inside and Outside the Business.

Waste #9: Failure to Implement Direct Marketing

Waste #10: Failure to Start Marketing the Web.


See our website: http://www.21st-centurymarketing.com/ for your free report. Include your email, confirm, and enjoy!

LEAN Marketing: Just for Manufacturers?

I have yet to meet a manufacturer who is not familiar with LEAN manufacturing principles. Aren’t they absolutely essential to surviving as a manufacturer in today’s competitive marketplace?!

LEAN Manufacturing and processes are all about reducing and eliminating waste and creating the most optimal “flow” in value production. “Value” could be defined here as any action or process that a customer would be willing to pay for. There are many companies and consultants who specialize in delivering supply chain and cost savings, helping manufacturers be as efficient as possible.

But with our current economic outlook, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to create the most efficient top line revenue growth resulting in the creation of more jobs, rather than simply cutting costs and ultimately jobs?!

Doesn’t it make sense to have a LEAN Marketing plan to go along with your cost savings and supply chain plans? Make sure you have eliminated marketing and sales waste and optimized your existing marketing assets!

THE NEW OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE US DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

The U.S. Commerce Secretary Locke announced a new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship within the Department of Commerce and the launch of a National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

What does this mean to you?!

The current economic challenges have lead many Americans to look at starting their own business and for many of these budding entrepreneurs, the need to know where and from whom they can get reliable advice.

According to a study by the Kauffman Foundation (the world's largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurism) "More than half of Fortune 500 companies were founded in recession or bear market."

According to Locke:

"The mission of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is to unleash and maximize the economic potential of new ideas by removing barriers to entrepreneurship and the development of high-growth and innovation-based businesses. One of its goals is to drive policies to help entreprenuers translate new ideas, products, and services into economic growth.

The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will advice the Secretary and the Administration on key issues relating to innovation and entrepreneurship. The Council will identify and recommend solutions to issues critical to the creation and development of entrepreneurship ecosystems that will spawn new businesses and jobs."

THEY PLAN TO MAKE entrepreneurship.gov A VIRTUAL ONE-STOP DESTINATION for government resources, programs, information, and data for entrepreneurs.

"The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will include successful entrepreneurs, innovators, angel investors, venture capitalists, non-profit leaders, and other experts on these issues. All meetings of this council will be open to the public."

So, all of this begs the questions, "Will these initiatives be any different than every other government initiative?" "Will we see any actual economic stimulation from these efforts?"

Only time will tell.

If this can make the navigation of complex federal systems easier, that alone could be a success.

Thoughts?

Excellent TeleSummit: Listen for FREE to 15 of the world's most successful consuting experts!

Follow the link below to the Consulting Masters Telesummit.

Each consulting expert has a 55 minute segment, and you can listen to as many or as few as you would like, FREE!

The link below will give you a breif bio on each of them, and how you can register to listen.



http://bit.ly/consultanttelesummit



I thought it was all great content!

Let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

There are THREE ways to grow your top line revenue; traditional marketing and advertising (including social media) focus on ONE.

Do you know, and work all three?



When thinking about growing their business, most think of getting their product or service in front of more potential customers. Even the online social networking and media, that is growing so quickly these days, is entirely focused on that ONE area!

For some businesses, it might be very difficult or very expensive to get in front of more prospects. Plus, if you are not sure what it is that you are truly offering to your customers, if your message is unclear, getting in front of more prospects will just be a waste of time and money.

Are there ways to increase your top line without spending more money on traditional advertising?

ABSOLUTELY!

And that’s what we’ve been helping small businesses do for over 15 years.

There are THREE ways to increase the top line revenue that your business is bringing in:


1. Increasing your prospects
2. Increasing the conversion ratio of prospect to paying customers
3. Increasing the value and worth of each individual customer

Traditional marketing and advertising focuses on just ONE area, why not focus on all three?! Are some ways more cost effective than others? Of course! DO NOT spend money on getting in front of more prospects without first identifying, leveraging, and optimizing the marketing assets you already have within your business.

First, make sure you know what it is that you are selling. Are you selling eye glasses like so many others, or, are you selling the fact that you can get it done in about an hour? Are you selling pizza like everyone else, or, are you selling 30 minutes or less?

ALL of your marketing efforts must be designed around what makes YOU unique. You must differentiate yourself. We could go on and on, there are many terms that can be applied here: branding, positioning, just to name a couple.

Doesn’t it make sense to start here first before spending any time and money in other areas? Anyone who answers your phones must be selling what makes you unique, your sales force needs to be selling it, your USP or unique selling proposition must be integrated thoroughly into your operations.

Before getting in front of more prospects, make sure you're getting the most value out of each customer, past, present and future. Make sure your conversion ratio of prospects to paying customers is respectable. Then and only then, after your house is in order, do you even think about spending money on getting your product or service in front of more prospects!

If you need to grow 20% as quickly as possible, don’t just focus on getting in front of 20% more prospects. How easy will it be to get in front of that many more customers? Rather, a small increase of just 5% or less in all THREE areas will create exponential growth with the potential of much more than 20%. Can you see the potential?!

Let me know what you think!

Finding your "Hidden Marketing Assets"

A great checklist, or marketing evaluation, to help you find the “hidden marketing assets” already INSIDE your business:

Using the following checklist, identify the marketing potential you think your business has:


_____ Past Customers

_____ Present Customers

_____ Special knowledge or expertise in your industry

_____ Unique product or service

_____ Underperforming salespeople, both inside and outside sales

_____ Advertising that doesn’t presently get results

_____ Good relationships with vendors and suppliers

_____ A high percentage of satisfied customers

_____ Knowledge of the average sale amount or average invoice

_____ Products or services that can be offered after the initial sale

_____ Good community relationships

_____ Prospective customers

_____ Good location

_____ High level of employee or staff expertise

_____ Knowledge of the competition’s strengths and weaknesses

_____ Unique packaging or combination of products and services

_____ Good relationships with complementary businesses

_____ A great story to tell about your business or products

_____ A clearly defined target market or demographic group

_____ Successful advertising or marketing in the past

_____ A product or service on the “leading edge” of your industry

_____ Unique efficiencies in the business operations or production of your product


The more of these possibilities you checked, the more leverage you can receive by better optimizing your assets. And this can be done without spending more money or making costly and time-consuming changes in your operations.

Good luck!

Check us out!

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www.21st-CenturyMarketing.com

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