Category: Marketing


What’s Your Value PrXpXsitiXn?

Filed Under: Customers, Marketing, Messaging, Sales by Prairie Sky Group — Leave a comment
February 22, 2012

Marketing and Lead Generation Minneapolis, St Paul, Minnesota, AtlantaHow many times have you had a sales person ask, “What’s our Value Proposition?”

The question I always ask next is, “Why do you ask?”  This is sort of a snotty response, and it doesn’t endear me to the sales team, but it has a purpose.

In my experience, too many sales people simply take the value proposition given by marketing and restate it to the prospect.  This is the worst use of a value proposition.  If you are in Marketing and you enable your sales team this way, then you are not helping.

A value proposition is a list of reasons why a prospect might benefit from buying your product or service, and it usually contains a number of elements.  The first is identifying a need, the second is some sort of differentiation, and the third is some sort of proof.

For example, “If you want fine flavor, then the smooth taste of Camel cigarettes is what nine out of ten doctors recommend.”   Parsed, the need is fine flavor and health, the differentiation is smooth taste, and the proof is that doctors recommend them.

While value propositions are good for internal dialogue and evaluation, as you know, simply stating the reasons why you should buy a product or service is bad sales form.  It’s also lazy.

When a prospect asks you, “What’s your value proposition?”  They are simply saying, “I don’t have time for this… just give me the Cliff’s Notes version, and I will decide.”

But the process they are going through is: 1) Do I really have this need? 2) Is this really any better? And 3) Do I really believe this, or do I trust you?  There is no way that a single “Statement” or “Value Proposition” will ever do justice to a prospect in answering these questions.  But if you fail to answer any of these, your sales and marketing efforts will falter.

So instead, slow down, and go back to basics.  Take your Value Proposition and turn it into a set of questions to determine whether the prospect has the need you believe your product or service can fill.  Then determine the prospect’s perception of the value to satisfying that need.  If it’s worth solving, then look at what their current vision is for solving that need.  Only then can you begin to explore an alternate vision and differentiation.  Your differentiation may be simply that you are not spouting a value proposition, but guiding the prospect through a process of discovery and helping them see things differently.  Proof doesn’t come until the prospect has a vision of capabilities they might need.

But please don’t just give your value proposition.  You might as well sit back, light up that Camel, and wait for good health to flow your way.

Do Great Things!

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

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Trigger Events and Five Steps to a Better First Impression

Filed Under: B2B Lead Generation, E-Marketing, Marketing, Messaging by Prairie Sky Group — Leave a comment
January 31, 2012

Marketing Lead Generation Minneapolis St Paul Minnesota AtlantaHow long do you think you have to make a good first impression?  Yes, the number may depress a few of the less confident out there.  Various studies say the number ranges from three seconds to thirty seconds.  These impressions then often guide other’s opinions of us regardless of how hard we work to change them.  As “they” say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Why?  The answer is simply that this is the way our brains are wired.  We make snap judgments because it has somehow helped us survive, pick a better mate, avoid a harmful conflict, or negotiate a better position.

Even in the digital world, many inbound and outbound marketers forget the axiom about first impressions.  It’s especially true when encountering trigger events, such as registering for a newsletter or webinar.  However, unlike your hunchback, there are things you can do to make a good first digital impression.  Here are five steps.

Step 1.   Be responsive

Marketing Sherpa data says that immediate response to a trigger event will get you double the response rate compared with waiting twenty-four hours.   Fall-off continues with more time.   If you are batch and blasting or filtering trigger events, you are losing traction and should consider an automated response.   Simple thank-you emails with a little personal touch (hope you enjoy the webinar, or let us know if you have specific questions) go a along way toward establishing trust.

Step 2.   Deliver value

Nothing pleases prospects more than getting something of value they didn’t expect. Sure they registered for a webinar, but what if you gave them a complementary whitepaper or assessment in your response?

Step 3.   Be explicit about your communications

Let them know how frequently you will communicate, what you will communicate, and how you will protect their information.

Step 4.   Open the door

It’s also important to make sure they’ll receive your communication.  A step to ask them to white-list you or test your communications guarantees that your email will get through.

Step 5.  Keep your communications short, sweet and relevant

Really.  Respect your prospects.  Just because you have their email doesn’t mean they want to see the latest photo of your new CEO.  Underscore relevant.

Do these things and soon you’ll have enough clients and customers to have that hump removed before face-to-face meetings.  What hump?

Do Great Things!

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

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My 100th Blog Post! Should You Blog?

Filed Under: B2B Lead Generation, Clients, Marketing, Personal Marketing Skills by Prairie Sky Group — 1 Comment
January 6, 2012

Marketing and Lead Generation Minneapolis MinnesotaA lot of marketers and companies ask themselves if they should start blogging in order to generate leads.  It’s the new conventional wisdom.  So there are millions of business blogs.  And there are thousands of marketing blogs, some great, but most very dusty.

I started the Prairie Sky blog as an experiment.  I had some grandiose ideas, a few ulterior and selfish motives.  I wanted to see if I could create 25 posts with a small investment of time.  I wanted to test the conventional wisdom that you need a blog to generate traffic and leads.  As goals, these turned out to be important, yet not as important as I thought they would, so I keep asking myself, why I blog?

I thought my blog would be about the technical aspects of how to create leads.  I have a few posts on these subjects such as how to create a name based gender-assigning algorithm, or 30 tips for running a webinar, or how to create an automated marketing campaign or great landing page criteria.  I will expand some of these because I’m involved in the technical details of tools and trade every day.

But rather, it is the soft subjects of sales and marketing management, messaging, motivation, understanding clients and culture that I have gravitated toward.

One reason is that I see such a poor understanding of the fundamentals amongst my clients, especially at the management level, that the tools and technical discussion seems wasted.  For example, it doesn’t matter if you have a competitive keyword analyzer or generator if you haven’t thought your story through and written for humans.  It doesn’t matter if you can run an automated campaign or create a landing page if you don’t understand your prospects.  So I have leaned toward the basics.

This doesn’t answer the question of whether you should blog.  But if you are thinking of starting a blog for your company because it will make you famous, create a jillion leads, sell more product, it is just one step.

In some ways, I am surprised at reaching the 100 mark.  This is small in comparison to many, though more than most.  I’m not sure what I expected… perhaps a band and fireworks.

I’ve learned a lot.  In the end, the reason I blog is because it’s simply the right thing to do.  It allows me to connect and help other people, dialogue (internally and externally), test ideas, and serve our marketing community.  I am compelled to do it.  I recommend it.

I’m excited to see where it will lead next.  Thanks for your support.

Do Great Things!

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
Lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

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Ten Topics for New Year’s Reflections

Filed Under: Management and Motivation, Marketing, Personal Marketing Skills, Sales Enablement by Prairie Sky Group — Leave a comment
December 30, 2011

Marketing and Lead Generation Minneapolis MinnesotaSo, if you don’t make New Year’s resolutions, here is a list of items from my posts during the year that might make good subjects for reflection.

1.     How can I support my sales team more?

2.     What is my real customer experience?

3.     What can I learn about my clients and customers?

4.     What core messages do I want to deliver internally and externally?

5.     What things about my business make me uncomfortable, why and what can I do about them?

6.     What three things will I spend less time doing?

7.     How can I keep my commitments?

8.     How can my team have more fun?

9.     Who will I mentor?

10.  What am I thankful for?

Thank you for your encouragement and comments throughout the year. Have a healthy and bountiful new year.

Do Great Things!

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

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New Year’s Resolutions?

Filed Under: Marketing, Personal Marketing Skills by Prairie Sky Group — Leave a comment
December 26, 2011

Marketing and Lead Generation Minneapolis MinnesotaI’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions.  The way I figure it, if you don’t have the discipline to decide to do something or not during the year, then a resolution is not going to help.  Resolutions are mostly about things that weren’t important enough to begin with or we would have done them.  Indeed, most of us abandon by February, what we resolved to do on January 1.

On the other hand, I do believe in spending time reflecting on your marketing, sales or personal plans.   Every year, I take a week off to do this.   Yes, really, a whole week. I do this in a one-room cabin in the north woods.  Removed from the distractions of emails, meetings, kids, or whatever other personal demons you may possess; the pace of life changes, and the mind calms.  I read, I hike, I sleep when I want, I listen to music, and eat simple meals.  I don’t use my cell phone or talk to others.  It’s a week of silence.   If I’m lucky, I may find out something about myself.  I may find out what I thought I wanted was not what I really wanted.  Or I may find myself, asking new a new question that leads me down another path.

It works for me.  It may not for you, but it’s worth trying to find our what allows you to gain perspective.  Otherwise, you can try making New Year’s resolutions.

Do Great Things!

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

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