Broad-Based Marketing Supports Prospecting | Sales Prospecting Training
Mass media (radio, TV, national publications) reach a large number of people, most of whom aren’t potential clients. Rather, you should be very targeted with your selection of media and try to achieve personal contact as soon as possible.
Advertising and Public Relations
Advertising and public relations are usually best when included in targeted trade or industry publications. Advertising is an expensive technique for attracting prospects. Only those firms whose marketing is sophisticated and mature will benefit from a significant advertising budget.
Smaller firms and professionals are better off focusing on public relations for media exposure. Writing articles for your trade journal or business newspaper is a good way to become known in a community of prospects. Readers generally perceive an article to be five times more believable than advertising.
Public relations can also be executed in the form of press releases, sponsorships of events, speaking opportunities, and other activities.
Newsletters
Targeted direct mail is usually very effective because the print media can be directed at your best prospects, clients, and referral sources. Newsletters are a form of direct mail that contains professional advice, observations, and comment. Regular newsletters keep your name in front of your prospects and re- mind them to contact you when a need arises. Specialty trade newsletters attract the serious reader to do more than recognize your name. Firms that write their own newsletters have excel- lent client responses. But the publication process can be daunting. So most firms use some form of pre-packaged newsletter program. There are some the leading publishers of newsletters for accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors that you can take advantage of it.
Websites
Most people in today’s modern world receive much of their information electronically through television, radio, and the Internet. It makes good sense to have a website. Your website can take the form of an electronic brochure, with articles and other credibility builders. People who are interested in you will check out your website. If it is good, a favorable impression can be made before meetings. If it is not good, you might have difficulty gaining serious interest.
Conclusion
Services are bought and sold by personal contact. Broad-based marketing should be designed to create it.
