Get attention first, sales later

Businesses which sell services, solutions, or products to other businesses share a common challenge — gaining the interest of potential clients and customers.

Here's what I hear business people saying:

"Once they are interested in our service/ solution/ product (the speaker inserts whichever applies in their case), I can pretty much handle the sales process from there."

"But I can't get them to give any attention to what we have to offer. How can I get them interested?"

I have lost count of how many times I have heard that, or something very similar. It's a re-run of the AIDA abbreviation preached by sales trainers – get Attention, gain Interest, create a Desire, and prompt Action.

There is logic in the AIDA process, but the approach most people take in the business-to-business area has a fundamental flaw. They base their approach around themselves, their company, and their service, solution or product.

Trouble is, that's not what potential clients or customers are interested in. They are interested in themselves and their own problems, as we all are.

Recognising this fact is a first step in getting attention. The next steps become a process to ensure response only from pre-qualified, interested prospects. This reduces the volume of inquiries you need to deal with while increasing conversion-to-sale ratios several-fold (i.e. more sales for less work).

But what do we do? The exact opposite.

If you don't believe me, take a hard look at your marketing collateral and the basis of whatever strategy you use to generate sales leads.

Does it talk about client or customer problems or the symptoms of those problems? Or does it wax lyrical about you, your company, your service, your solution, or your product?

If it's the latter, don't throw the material away. It will be useful when prospective clients or customers become interested in that detail. But right now, their attention is on themselves and their problems.

So what is it that you need in order to engage them? That's right — just talk about their problems. You'll find you have the floor.

Not only that, if they are interested or likely to be in the market they'll let you know. You will be asked questions about the problem. They will want to pick your brains. You will be asked for advice. You may even be asked if you can help solve the problem.

You don't have to be salesperson-of-the-year to handle the situation from there.

I call this approach Pull Marketing because that's what it does (and it's not "pushy"). However, there are some important requirements, like resisting the temptation to be promotional in the initial stages.

How can you put such an approach into practice in your business? How can you use it to segment and target different markets? What sort of content will work in your situation?

How can you structure your marketing strategy around problem-based customer-focused communication which will generate qualified inquiries?

How can you sell without first getting attention?

How can you get attention when they don't want to know about what you're selling?

If you sell higher value products or services (including professional services), or your market is other businesses (especially large businesses), you will find this free report particularly relevant.

It includes 4 important differences between Pull and Push marketing, and the 5 essentials for it to work effectively.

Click here to request the free report