I had a phone call this morning from a salesperson (I use the term loosely) offering to sell me advertising. I felt a desperate need to have 911 standing by in case she passed away on the phone. In a dialogue that was lacking in excitement or enthusiasm, it was almost painful to listen to.
The caller started by introducing themself and saying they were offering to sell me advertising. Woo hoo! Just what I wanted this morning, to be sold advertising. When I quizzed her about her publication and whether it was a good fit for business-to-business advertising, her response was “you’d be surprised”. I’m not sure if that meant I’d be surprised if I got any results, or if I’d be surprised at how many people blindly bought without knowing the effectiveness of the publication. Needless to say I was not impressed.
At one point during the conversation she said local businesses that need a website could call me and explain their problem, then I could go out to their house and take care of.
As an online marketing guy I typically don’t make house calls to fix a computer problem. Major hint: learn what your prospect does so you can talk halfway intelligently.
So this conversation got me thinking about how you communicate with prospects, whether on the phone, your website or your social media sites. Are you enthusiastic about your product or service? (If you’re not, I’m sure not going to be.) Do you talk about you, or do you talk about how you are the answer to my problem/pain/needs/prayers?
Take a trip outside your body and look at the message you are sending out. If you were considering doing business with you, would you or would you buy from your competition?
Gary Wagnon is the CMN (Chief Marketing Ninja) at 800biz Online Marketing Solutions. Using an integrated approach to online marketing (combining web site design, search engine optimization, social media and action driven content), 800biz specializes in helping businesses stand out above the competition and drive more traffic to their door.