Differentiators that don’t work

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Marie

When you explain why a client should use your services, make sure you don’t roll-off the following “differentiators”.  Why?  Because they are trite, overused and ineffective.  My next blog post will cover the differentiators that you should use. Continue reading →

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Differentiators that do work

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Marie

Following on from last week’s post Differentiators that don’t work I wanted to talk today about those that do.  You need to distinguish yourself by focusing on how you will provide benefits and insights for clients.

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The customer is the boss

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Elite Edge

“There is only one boss: the customer.  And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”  Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart

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How viral marketing works online

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Marie

Many companies do some form of viral marketing without being aware they are doing so!  If your email has a link to your website or a promotional message as part of your signature then you already have the basics in place.

Viral marketing = a low-cost and effective strategy

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Getting customer service right

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Elite Edge

Customer service can be the difference between you and your competitors winning the business

As a business you need to embrace the core principles of customer service before you can expect your clients to take your claims seriously.  You have to understand why you are committing to customer service and what that means before you drill down to the mechanics of how you deliver your customer service principles.

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“Sorry they don’t work here anymore, in fact they left two years ago…”

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Elite Edge

How embarrassing would this be when you are making a sales call?

Your list is THE most important tool you own for prospecting.  If this isn’t up to date then everything else will fall apart around it.

List fundamentals are easy.

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Business Networking Events – get the most out of them

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Marie

Whether you are a natural networker or you attend events and mingle with strangers under duress, have a read of this post to help you to get the most out of your business (and personal) networking events.

We are frequently helping a professional services firm develop their fee earners’ networking skills and thought it would make a useful blog post.

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Using your networks properly

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Marie

Be genuine and honest when networking and make sure you follow up – you’ll be amazed at the results of a methodical approach.

It’s not uncommon these days for a business owner / manager to be a member of 20+ networks – the question is whether they are passive members (one that gets email updates of activity but does not participate) or an active member (one who is involved in discussions, contacting other members, passing information on etc)?

If you ever hope to get any work done, you cannot participate as an active member in all these networks so you have to choose the ones that are most beneficial to your business objectives and get a strategy in place to make sure you are making the most out of your involvement.

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How current is your market knowledge?

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Marie

Think about the type of people you are trying to sell to.  Do you know what is going on in their world?  Do you understand what is important to them and what worries they have right now?  Are you familiar with the key developments in their industry, legislative changes that could affect business and opportunities available to them?

By becoming familiar with the environment in which your prospects operate – being committed and not just paying lip service to doing so – it allows you to not only empathise with them, but more importantly, positions you to pitch your services to their actual needs.

If you are blanket-mailing your database with an offer that may only appeal to a small percentage of them you will not make yourself popular, and you may even border on being a nuisance!  This also means that the communications that you send which are relevant may be overlooked.  In order to maximise the effectiveness of your communications you have to target the right message / offer to the right people – at the right time.

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Fight Smarter not Harder

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Elite Edge

Sun Tzu said, ‘The best strategy in war is to win without a fight.’ Deciding to go where your competitors aren’t could be a potentially rewarding strategy. By focusing on markets, products or services your competitors have avoided could be one way to carve out your own individual niche. Just be sure they weren’t avoided for very good reasons. Continue reading →

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