As entrepreneurs, we often purchase from other small business owners. Let’s say you need to hire a bookkeeper …. perhaps you go to your pile of business cards on your desk and shuffle them until you find 2 or 3 bookkeepers; you call them; and end up hiring the least expensive one!
Or perhaps, you are ready to sell your house (and buy another) so you ask a friend for a referral for a real estate agent.
And If you sell your home, you’ll need a lawyer so you google a lawyer in your near by town and hire one that you like what you see on their website.
Three different people you hired. You based your hiring on 3 different criteria – price, referral, website.
Let me ask you …. Why do people hire YOU? On what basis do they make their decision?
Are people hiring you based on price?
Are they hiring you because you were referred to them?
Are they hiring you because they went to your website?
What made them take the decision to hire you?
GOOD QUESTION right?
Here’s today’s Aha ….. instead of allowing people to make their decision to hire us based on a preconceived idea (of pricing, referral or something else)– what if, in our marketing, we GAVE them the reason to hire us?
What if, we could easily communicate to them
- Why we were different
- Why we are the only solution to their problem
- Why we are THE expert
- How we are different
- How we can solve their problem better than anyone else?
As we create our brand and our marketing strategy, we must provide our dream clients with those reasons in a message that is crystal clear and compelling.
In earlier blogs this month, I talked about ‘marketing that converts’ and if you missed one or 2 articles, I’ve listed them below for you.
But CONSISTENCY is one big factor to help people make the decision to purchase from us because consistency builds the know, like and trust factor!
Consistency means:
- Showing up at the same place & time (i.e. regularly on social media; regular blogs; regular videos, etc.) versus throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping that something will stick
- Providing outstanding value each and every time to your dream client
- Having the same overall message/theme each time so your client resonates with your content
- And yes, repeating the same information over and over again because not everyone reads/listens to ALL of your content the first time you put it out there!
Consistency is a major element in building the KLT (know-like-trust) factor! People only purchase from those they trust.
I’ll share a story about consistency that might demonstrate what I mean. After moving from Montreal to Brockville, I began networking in the local Brockville-Kingston areas building my network. One day I received a call from a real estate agent in Montreal who was looking to refer a client to a Kingston based real estate agent and she didn’t know anyone. She asked me for a referral. Initially I was hesitant because I had not used any of the local agents. But then I remembered one particular real estate agent. She showed up at networking events consistently. She consistently was seen by others as professional. Her social media platforms were consistently visible. This was the agent I referred. I realized that if she was consistent & professional in her presence; then she would also be consistent & professional in how she treated clients. Her consistency gained her a new client.
How are you consistently building trust with your followers? With your prospects?
With clients in the ACHIEVER’s CLUB, I recommend that they create their own Simplified Marketing Schedule (SMS). This ‘schedule’ establishes where and how are they going to show up consistently. Is it going to be one networking meeting a month or two? Is it one blog post monthly or two? Of course, for each person the frequency may be different and so would the marketing strategy but it’s about consistency.
Want a copy of Simplified Marketing Schedule …. Click here for a template that you can modify to create your own consistency! Remember, it’s important to make your own schedule depending on your personal Entrepreneurial DNA, and your stage of business growth! Happy Marketing!
If you’d like your marketing to actually convert into clients, and if you’re having trouble creating marketing with a clear and compelling message, then may I suggest Marketing Magic. This hybrid course has helped so many entrepreneurs just like you transform their businesses! Check it out here – https://dianalidstone.com/
