Free Tips to Jazz Up Your Sales

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                                   When It’s Good to be In Your Face! 
                                                       By Zan Jones

Running a successful small or medium sized business requires a marketing budget of some amount. The budget could simply be the owner’s time networking in local groups or at local events. It could be an advertising campaign in the local newspaper, rear view vehicle ads, radio spots or even ads on the inside of a grocery cart.

As a business owner you know your target market. Networking and advertising to this market will bring you business. But sometimes it just helps to get in their face! That is, call on your target customers in the flesh, in person, face-to-face. “Nah….” You might say, “This would make me uncomfortable. I’m not a salesperson and I hate when people try to sell me something!” But it’s true – if you talk to a prospective customer face-to-face he has a better chance of remembering your business and consulting you in the future.

Here are tips for an “In Your Face” marketing campaign: ·

Identify your target customers. I once consulted for a psychologist on marketing AD/HD assessments. Many of her referrals came from physicians and her AD/HD assessments were performed on children. She decided that it would be best to get face-to-face with pediatricians about her AD/HD assessments. Identify 20+ prospective customers, by name and address, that you want to see face-to-face. 

Give away free information. This can be something as simple as a short article you have written highlighting interesting facts about your industry that your customer should know about. Let this be a “leave behind” after your face-to-face meeting.

Write a script. Never wing it when going face-to-face. Write out what you will say during the first 15 seconds of the meeting and memorize it. Some call this your “elevator speech” which is a short summary of what you do that will grab someone’s attention in the short period you might spend riding up on an elevator. For example, instead of introducing yourself as an accountant say, “I work with small businesses to help them manage their money and improve financial stability.”

Practice out loud! Practice your script in front of your spouse, friends, kids or even the mirror. You must practice out loud 3-4 times from memory so that you don’t get stricken by the “deer in headlights” syndrome when you are talking to a prospective customer.

Keep it short and simple. Plan to stay no more than 5 minutes when calling on someone face-to-face. Only give brief highlights of your business and stay longer only if they invite you.

Hire it out. A business owner or president will make the biggest impression on a prospective customer. It will make the customer feel important that you, as the business owner, wanted to talk to them. However, if this isn’t possible consider hiring a sales professional that can communicate your message for you to prospective clients.


Email me with a sales or marketing question that you would like answered at Zan@SalesJaZ.com.