Sales | Teik Oh

How To Network

Feb 19 2019

Whatever type of business you are in today, networking is a skill you must develop.

Yup, sorry – for all the shrinking violets out there (and I count myself as one) there is no avoiding the need to meet new contacts. Even if you run an entirely online business and you think that all you have to do is to market through Facebook or some other social media, you will still find that you need to move around people, whether you are marketing at a live event and then meeting people afterwards or if you are meeting people via the screen.

As for any bricks and mortar business, whether you are in retail, hospitality, professional services, construction or anything else – in order to expand the pool of people you can market to, in order to attract that top level of interest that you can introduce into your sales funnel and qualify and attract to your business, you will need to network in some form or other.

However, as a self-declared introvert, I can tell you the good news is that networking is a learned art. You don’t need a large personality – you just need a system.

Comment 13

Make Sure Your Sales Prospects “Hear” You

Nov 06 2018

I was recently reminded that people take in information in different ways.

This has a critical impact on sales conversations you are having with sales prospects.

Have you ever been in a position where you have been trying to explain to a sales prospect how your service or product could really help them, laying out all the benefits in the way you should – and their eyes glaze over? If you have, you will know that sinking feeling that you are losing them, no matter how well you prepared your pitch, nor how well you got on with them and how you warmed them up at the beginning.

The fact that people have different preferences on how they receive information is crucial to whether or not they “hear” what you are telling them, so what can you do to make sure you give them information in the way they want it? Read More

Comment 13

Are You Trying To Reach Too Many Customers?

Oct 02 2018

There is a very important marketing principle – “Sell to everyone and you sell to no-one.”

What this means is that if you try to appeal too broadly to all types of customers, the customers who you really want, those who actually need your specific product, get lost in the noise.

Imagine if you are in the market for a product, let’s say you are a lawyer trying to find a software app to organise who works on what cases. If I wrote you a marketing email that said I had a project management app, would you be interested? What if I wrote to you and said that I had an app specially designed for lawyers and it matched the milestones for each case to specific lawyers? Which of those two letters would you follow up first?

What this marketing principle means is that you must get to know your exact target market, and your marketing tools, from website to language to logo must be measured by that specific target market. Will the corporate colours appeal to the target market? Is your messaging specific to their needs and problems?

But sometimes that market is so crowded that it is difficult to define your differentiation. The legal space is like this. So might the accounting industry or even car repair workshops. How do you drill down so that you suit a specific target market when everyone else is gunning for that market? Read More

Comment 13

Are you marketing to your customers’ needs – not yours?

Jul 03 2018

In small business marketing campaigns, I often find that the business talks about them and what their product is all about.

Think about it – whether it’s an advertisement or a brochure, or on their website, the messages are:

“This is how long we’ve been in business”

“This is what we do”

“This is what our product is made of”

But let me ask you – do those messages interest you? More often than not – unless you have already made up your mind you want to buy what they are selling and you are in the stage of researching who to buy it from – those messages don’t interest you.

How much better would it be if they spoke about you?

Comment 13

Can You Spin Your Elevator Speech?

Jun 26 2018

We all know what is an elevator speech, right?

In fact, if you go to teikoh.com and scroll through the blog archives you’ll see that I’ve even made a video showing you how to structure your elevator speech and how to say it.

The premise is simple, you’re in an elevator with a prospect and in the two minutes you are in there for the ride, you need to be able to quickly introduce yourself, explain what you do, and entice him with what you could do for them. The idea is that in your elevator speech you pack enough of your unique selling proposition to be able to make them sit up and ask you for your business card.

But really, how’s that working out for you?

The averages say that about 20% of the people you are able to say an elevator speech to, actually show an interest and of these maybe 20% do actually follow up.

So, your elevator speech itself has to be quite unique – to make them really go: “Huh? Tell me more!”

Comment 13

Increase your sales through a highly focused marketing plan!

SMART Marketing: In this book, the owners of a small business are led through the SMART Marketing 7 Step Process to produce a marketing plan targeted at their most desirable customers. Any business can use these principles and in 4 to 6 weeks implement a plan to get them through the door! Find out how...

The SMART Marketing Workbook: Companion to “SMART Marketing”, this workbook sets out the SMART Marketing process in 7 workshops for you and your staff to complete questionnaires and templates that at the end, form the marketing plan you need to sell your REAL product to your REAL customer! View now...

Category - Sales

Get FREE weekly ideas to grow your business

How To Network

Make Sure Your Sales Prospects “Hear” You

Are You Trying To Reach Too Many Customers?

Are you marketing to your customers’ needs – not yours?

Can You Spin Your Elevator Speech?