Relationship Marketing is about Providing Knowledge and Developing Business Friends

Prospects want to know that you have knowledge and are willing to share. Even more important, they want to know if you value their welfare more than your own agenda.

You have to be smart and likable. Just like meeting someone at a party. After all, once they hire you, they have to work with you.

What do Prospects appreciate first? Brevity. They want you to respect their time and at least treat them as though they are busy. They will engage you if they have more time; brevity in written materials and in phone calls.

Secondly; Trust. They will trust you if you trust them. When you give information or knowledge, give it freely without strings and requirements. Getting an email is acceptable, but don’t make them sign up on a trial first or worry about whether you will be paid for your time.

Thirdly; Use conversational tones. You know when your friends are conversing to have fun or when they enter their business mode.  People are more comfortable when you use conversational vocabulary.

Fourthly, don’t push an agenda. If they are interested, they won’t let you escape. Every service has a Buying Cycle and your service may not be a priority today.

How to Build Relationships not just Traffic

We can be responsible for results. We have to understand and accept that this world is different than three years ago. No one is the same. Not even Warren Buffet.

There is more pressure to perform and less time to complete our tasks.

I participated in a Forum of Consultants where they were querying whether they should give away information to build customers.

This is probably the most fundamental change in marketing in the last three years. Trust has been eroded and avoiding risk has reached a new plateau.

The more you tell someone, the more they will realize they need you. There will always be a few that take advantage, but most of your new customers will come as a result of you openly sharing your expertise.

They are not just writing down information to steal your knowledge. They are listening to the depth of your knowledge and the manner in which you work. They are measuring your alignment with theirs.  They are looking for a match.

Care is an important element in all relationships. You hear it in athletics, the work place, and it is important online. People will go the extra mile for bosses and companies that care.

You can also get away with occasional missteps if your constituents know that you care.

Brian Solis, author of the Edge found that a high percentage of followers do so out of affinity and allegiance. They follow to support a Brand that stands for what they believe in and they want to support it anyway they can.

What does it take to get this kind of allegiance? Think of others before you think of yourself. The difference between Traditional Marketing and Relationship Marketing is that the former is a one way street. Traditional Marketing is all about the Sell.

Relationship Marketing might spend a lot of time giving away information and seeking involvement before getting into the company’s own agenda. A Face Book page involves the Customers and Company in an equal relationship creating transparency and sharing.

White Papers and Free Reports are about selfless sharing. Of course, there is a sales agenda, but the Information is given freely without strings. The provider is willing to risk their time in helping others solve problems thinking that it might come back.

It is a leap of faith. It is the new age of Marketing. It is the Provider on his back exposing his throat to show that he is fully committed to a successful relationship. The Provider is allowing the Consumer to see if there is Alignment before they both engage.

Relationship Marketing is About Building a Bridge to Trust

The gap in a Prospect’s expectations and what they perceive you provide is the reason a relationship doesn’t form.  But maybe there isn’t a gap, just a lack of clear communication.  Does it require a “You Show me yours and I’ll show you mine” exchange? How does that occur?

If the Visitor comes to you first, you have to show yours. The website is not enough. It doesn’t say what you are and most sites don’t even tell who runs the company.

At the essence of a relationship you are going to agree on some core values, align in your objectives and trust each other. Getting to the bottom line is the essence of Relationship Marketing.

Giving the Prospect Free Information on what he needs to solve his problem and who you are is a good start. Invite him to step out.  A lot of times they won’t do it on the first touch so you have to follow up; maybe 10 or 12 times.

If you are providing information and giving the Prospect a feel for your expertise and your desire to have a relationship, this may build the Trust he needs to meet you half way.  This is the way Prospects want to build their relationships.

Think of it as dating someone that is not very open.

From all the Providers they encounter they will select the one with which they feel best aligns with their organization and objectives.

So you can aggressively provide your Knowledge as a Free Trial for your Prospects to learn more about you.

I recently got a hot and cold water dispenser from Sparkletts because with hot drinks it saves time and water instead of boiling. The dispenser costs $5.95 a month.

One evening I got a call from Sparkletts asking if I had enough water and if everything was all right. I would expect this from Jaguar, but from Sparkletts?

I didn’t really want to take their survey at 6:30 p.m. but I respected their commitment.

When was the last time you surveyed your customers, not just to see how they are doing, but to let them know you care?

See, and here I am telling you about Sparkletts.

The new media is all about getting customers to talk about you. Most small businesses credit over 63% of their growth to word of mouth.

The two biggest challenges for Marketing are doing them together.

Using websites, traditional marketing, emails, sales teams, cold calling, and pay per click, you might attract Prospects.

They may not be your ideal Prospect because you may not be delivering exactly what they are seeking. They are difficult to Convert to Customers because you know nothing about them or their problem.

On the other hand, if you are broadcasting you Unique Selling Proposition, you will attract Prospects interested in solving problems that require your expertise. You are willing to give away all the Free Information they need to make a wise decision.

You can deliver it in Free Reports, White Papers, Studies, Webinars, Private “Go to Meetings” and even one on one conversations. Most Prospects want to get a feel for you before they personally engage.

After you have their email, you begin sending everything they need plus regular messages about how you uniquely help them achieve their objectives.

We can accomplish that for you by incorporating 5 Software Systems into one marketing program for a low monthly fee with no contracts.

We help you build and convert customers automatically while you tend t business.

We call it ‘Hole in One Marketing”

Get our Free 6 page report on   Attracting and Converting Prospects Automatically

See our   5 Software Systems

See   Our Plan

Or call 1-800-646-0717    Mark Kaplan   or Email

GRAVITY VS STATUS QUO.

Gravity tends to make everything in motion come to a stop.

Status quo means that a body will continue moving at its continuous speed until some force causes it to change.  Business often leaves things moving at a status quo pace because there is no time to risk differently.

It takes great force to change the status quo pace when it is surrounded by bodies in an over whelmed state.  Try to tell a hysterical person to calm down.

When fighting inertia, physics defines how much force will create how much speed or change of direction. Ever try to give a great idea to a person with too much of a work load.

When fighting the status quo, there is no easy formula. People are reluctant to change even if they know they should. Knowing they should is not the problem. Fear of more over load is the problem.

A truck pulling all the oranges it can haul is not helped by throwing more oranges on the load, even if they are better oranges. You had better start by offering a second truck to help with the load or a tractor with a bigger engine. You have to get into their head and understand their problems before you can offer your solution.

Until you understand what is going on in their business, they will not be very open to hear what you have to offer. The last thing they need is more oranges.

Risk-The devil we know is better than the devil we don’t know.

Humans will spend more time fleeing pain than pursuing pleasure. That is a real psychological barrier to seeing solutions.

Three things can certainly cause a change in the inertia; fear, competition, and the breaking point.

Fear is a realization that everything will end if they don’t change. Competition opens their eyes to the need for change. At the breaking point, it all comes to a grinding halt.

You can do like the Kia Soul commercial says, “You can either have this or you can have that.” You can spend your days trying to change the inertia of a company in motion or you can be there when they need information on how to change.

You can row against the river or you can go with the flow.

Get a Free 6 page Report on How to Be There When They Need You.

See our Easy Solution to Change Hole in One Marketing

Call with Questions     1-800-646-0717  Mark Kaplan or Email

Everyone is goal oriented, has numbers to meet, and is driving hard.

Why would organizations be so resistant to change?

The biggest obstacle for someone in sales is to get the Target to listen to something new.

The lack of Change is only the manifestation of the real obstacle-Time.

How difficult is it to learn something new? They say that when we buy something, we learn 70% of everything we will know about it on the first day. We don’t spend the time in more investigation.

When you approach someone with an idea of change, they will make their decision about it in a few seconds.

Jill Konrath in “Snap Selling” says if your value proposition doesn’t begin by explaining the gap in where the target is and where they would be with your service, they will have no time to listen.

Secondly, if it is not in alignment how they plan to meet their objectives, it will not get consideration.

And thirdly, if it is not presently a priority, it is unlikely to get consideration.

One way to get into the Buying Cycle is to provide information or have information available on your expertise and how you solve a given problem. Let the Buyer choose in through Permission Based systems to learn more about you and your solutions.

These systems can be working automatically even while you or your sales force is trying to get the Buyers attention. The difference in closing ratios between Calling on Prospects and Following Up with those that have asked for more information is greater efficiency.

It is not a strange question.

It is amazing how often “crazy-busy executives”, as Jill Konrath would say do not have the time to invest in making things better even though they know they could be.

How much stress would be created if sales suddenly increased by 50%? That’s a good thing, but it is amazing how much stress is created for people when they are already in overwhelm. There is a lot of investment in not creating changes.

People will go farther to avoid pain than they will to seek pleasure.

I like the post office commercial where the post man tries to explain that if a parcel weighs less than 70 pounds, if it fits it ships.

You can tell by the reaction of all the workers that there is real culture shock to something that simple making life so much better. The commercial is clearly making the point that people are skeptical about something too simple making life so much better.

And yet if that were a phone solicitation or an email, how many layers of bureaucracy would that proposal have to survive to become a reality?

I understand the risk of venturing into the unknown in terms of both time and money, but is there a way to venture without risk? Without risk, things may never improve.

Most B2B businesses are learning to create new services without terminating the old ones, creating low cost or trial starts, and giving customers the opportunity to opt out. This may be the type of questions or service to pursue if you know something needs to change, but you are afraid of the risk or shock to your culture.

If your approach involves one, you will be moved to the Dead Zone, as well illustrated by Jill Konrath in “Snap Selling”

They won’t allow it. If you want their time, understand their problems. But more important, you have to understand their business because they don’t want to take the time to educate you. And if you don’t know their business the likelihood of you not being in alignment with their objectives increases dramatically.

And if you are not in alignment with their objectives, you might take them on the wrong path; a big risk for them; an unacceptable risk.

The other opportunity you have to increase your customer funnel is to invite Prospects to view Free Information about your expertise and services. If you can show how they can solve their problems with your personal knowledge they may stay for an encore.

There are automatic responder systems that invite Prospects to view your knowledge and pursue further contact. By providing the information they may need to solve their problem and following up on a regular basis, you may enter your Prospects’ buying cycle and remain until they are ready to seek providers or proposals.

Automatic and  regular follow ups with questionnaires or invitations to talk, keep you in their resource pool and hopefully in alignment with their objectives. These systems run congruently with existing systems.

See a Free Report on How to Build Customers Automatically

Build New Customers With Easily Accessible Methods

Building a funnel with constant customer flow is the business of very successful companies. Constant Contact, Aweber, Hostgator, and Ithemes service millions of customers in developing their pipelines and utilizing your website

The core of converting prospects to customers is giving away free information. If you were asked to do a documentary on your business, what would you say?  You would explain the problems people have and your solutions. You would explain your Unique Selling Proposition which is why you have an advantage over competitors.

Because executives listening to your message are busier than ever and have more choice, getting their attention is more difficult than ever.  Because of these circumstances they have time to investigate solutions before they talk to someone.

Surveys show 8 out of 10 executives or committees seek their own solutions and providers. The secret then becomes getting noticed early in the buying cycle by providing the information they are seeking.

We harness the existing successful information delivery systems to attract Prospects to your message.

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See Our Plan

Jill Konrath in “Snap Selling” and “Selling to Big Business” summarizes some of the problems in the modern era of trying to increase revenues.

Existing accounts are often affected by the recession and our revenues drop with theirs. The logical progression would be to get more customers. The second phenomenon that we face is companies have reduced personnel.

That makes everyone busier and time more precious. Throw in our natural feeling that a sales call is self serving and generally a waste of time and we see why traditional methods of cold calling new customers or trying to approach them with traditional processes returns less than it used to.

Now, surveys show that 8 out of 10 executives or committees find their own solutions and then select the provider. This means that your companyshould be present in the early stages of information gathering.

Your company has to be prepared to give away massive amounts of free information on problem solutions. It would be appropriately self serving that you are also the expert in providing these solutions.

Permission based information providers include your website, Social Media publishing, emails triggered by requests for information and reports.

Get our Free white paper on solving customer building today with automatic technologies.

Very Few Websites Have Incoming Links. What is a Second Strategy?

Search engines promote popular sites. Incoming links create targeted traffic which is great for a business. Other sites are referring people who want to know more about the business they are visiting.

Getting traffic does not always mean Visitors are converted to Customers. That is another whole strategy in this era.

There are four other good strategies to build traffic. The other ways to get traffic are to

• Optimize the website so that search engines hold it in high regard
• Create a key word strategy that identifies your main business
• Publish in Social Media to attract targeted traffic
• Use Email to respond to requests for Free Information and send Emails to offer Free Information

The important strategy usually ignored by websites with lots of incoming links is to work on capturing Visitors and converting them to customers by supplying the information they are seeking.

The email component of capture and Supplying Reports and White Papers solves this short coming.

Get our Free White Paper on how to use the three best modern media tools to attract and convert more customers.

Getting New Customers for Busy Executive