| Jul. 18 2006 at 4:41 PM |
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First and foremost, you’ll need to study up on your target audience to develop a marketing message that will resonate with them.
There are so many great suggestions in Step 10. Studying your target audience is key. I make and design office chair slipcovers. Some of the fabrics that I buy are based on the age group that I am trying to target. I have done alot of research online to see what the various age groups tend to like. I think in the long run it will pay off. One age group that I think is overlooked is the over 50 group even though the baby boomers are the largest group.
Have you modified your product to gear it towards certain age groups or do you try to target generally all age groups?
Has anyone noticed a trend as far as who buys the most?
Looking forward to thoughts on this
......Navy Signal Flag Gifts....
Made to Order Navy Signal Flag Banners...
"Anything you can Spell we can Make!"......
Visit IB Designs Blog....
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| Jul. 18 2006 at 10:45 PM |
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Excellent article. It is certainly thorough enough for anyone, even marketing novices, to know what they need to deal with.
This section, however, is called Marketing & Sales. Your article, as good as it is, deals with only half the equation. Unfortunately, too many businesses think that marketing and sales are one in the same (I know you folks at StartupNation don't think this way). They are not, at least not in the traditional sense. Marketing's goal is to create awareness and generate qualified leads. This is both an art and science as much as anything else. Once those leads are acquired, it's up to the sales people to close the business.
Sales has a process unto itself, which is vastly different than marketing. There are three key ingredients that can help sales people and sales organizations succeed -- Sales Process ("What" steps need to be taken and in what order to move a lead through the sales cycle), Sales Training (selling skills such as cold calling, listening skills, handling objections, negotiating, closing, and other skills that tell the sales person "How" to execute each step in the process), and Sales Technology (CRM and Contact Management products such as GoldMine to help deploy the processes and help the sales person become more efficient with selling). These points are all covered in my latest book which should be released in August 2006 (go to www.CyberSellingBook.com for more info and to become a reviewer).
As a Sales & CRM consultant, trainer, speaker and author, I deal with sales people and organizations daily and it never ceases to amaze me how ill-equiped entire sales organizations, let alone individuals, really are. And they aren't even aware of it. Building and motivating a successful sales organization and sales individuals (even if there is only one) has to be a priority for every business. Yet, as the only revenue generating organization in the company, it is often treated like an outsider. I'm pleased to see that much of what StartupNation does helps to promote a more professional sales environment for its members. Keep up the good work.
Russ Lombardo
702-655-5652
russ@peaksalesconsulting.com
Sales Talk Radio Mondays 1:00pm PST Business.VoiceAmerica.com
Newsletter at www.peaksalesconsulting.com/newsletters.htm
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| Jul. 21 2006 at 10:07 AM |
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I'd also recommend http://bfleming98.reseller.clickbank.net. Clickbank has some great affiliate resources. Plus you can see what is selling for other people too. That might give you some ideas on other products to sell.
Bryan C. Fleming
http://www.BryanCFleming.com
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| Jul. 21 2006 at 10:41 AM |
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SalesGuru,
Thanks for your comments. I agree with you that there is a vast
difference between marketing and sales. You said: "Marketing's goal is
to create awareness and generate qualified leads.
This is both an art and science as much as anything else. Once those
leads are acquired, it's up to the sales people to close the
business." This is an area that I am trying to learn more in.
Your book looks great.
Bryan,
I tried to go to the site with the link but it said 'could not be found'. Thanks for the info
......Navy Signal Flag Gifts....
Made to Order Navy Signal Flag Banners...
"Anything you can Spell we can Make!"......
Visit IB Designs Blog....
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| Jul. 21 2006 at 3:49 PM |
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I tried to go to the site with the link but it said 'could not be found'.
Strange. I just clicked on that link and it worked. Did you try typing it in manually?
Russ Lombardo
702-655-5652
russ@peaksalesconsulting.com
Sales Talk Radio Mondays 1:00pm PST Business.VoiceAmerica.com
Newsletter at www.peaksalesconsulting.com/newsletters.htm
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| Jul. 21 2006 at 11:07 PM |
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SalesGuru,
Your link worked fine. The link Bryan posted is the one that I had trouble with. Sorry I should have specified.
......Navy Signal Flag Gifts....
Made to Order Navy Signal Flag Banners...
"Anything you can Spell we can Make!"......
Visit IB Designs Blog....
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| Oct. 16 2006 at 4:27 PM |
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Win prize package in StartupNation ‘10 Steps
Challenge’
Post your comments below
from October 16 through October 31, 2006 to be entered to win in the StartupNation
‘10 Steps Challenge’, sponsored by Southwest Airlines, PrintingForLess.com,
Atlas Business Solutions and LegalZoom.
Visit the StartupNation ‘10
Steps Challenge’ announcement post for all the details.
Go for it – you could
win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edited by: Joel - Oct. 18 2006 at 3:45 PMJoel Welsh
chief community officer
StartupNation
and
CEO
Showcase U
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| Oct. 20 2006 at 7:18 PM |
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Market, Market, Market..This is what we all learn after attaching so much to our dream product or service..But its true, as I'm learning via this post and many other Marketing Coaches, that "Marketing" is the final key to seperating your product or service from the crowd..
Really love couple of these resources - Spiritual Marketing (book) Joe Vitale; The Guru of All Marketing - Jay Abraham- www.abraham.com (Probably he's out of reach for a small business).
To your successful marketing strategy!
-S
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