Through our social media involvement, someone brought an article to my attention that I wrote a couple years ago. For years I presented this content in seminars at industry events around the country. I chose to stop traveling to focus on my family and other business endeavors, but it’s possible you may see me out there teaching in 2012. I’ll bring a fresh take on marketing that worked then incorporated with what will work now!
Those who follow my writings know that I’m all about new technology and change. Some things however are timeless and this article presents some of these award-winning business growth strategies that will be effective today. Enjoy.
Package Your Business for Success
When it comes to building things, I’m just not mechanically inclined. My best skill is finding the right person to do the job. Over the years, I’ve been grateful that I married well. My in-laws are smart, engineer types with nice, stable jobs. I’m an entrepreneur who made my wife’s parents very nervous when I asked to marry her. They wondered how I would support their daughter. It’s been 18 years, and they don’t worry anymore. Marrying into this family has been great for me because there’s always a brother- or sister-in-law to help when we need to build something or assemble toys.
While building and fixing things around the house is not my strength, my entrepreneurial and creative approach to business-building has served me well. Many years ago, our company adopted a business-building marketing and branding position, discovering that we could package our business for success by uniquely presenting our company. With this in mind, we developed the PPAI Pyramid and ASI Spirit Award winning Marketing Toolbox Package, which creatively demonstrates that we have the tools available to help our clients build their business.
You too, have the opportunity to package your business for success. The “package” you can create is a collection of marketing materials that enable you to present your company in a way your competition may not consider. It’s simple. We are in a fun, creative industry and there are so many ways we can stand apart from our competitors. Here are a few ideas to encourage you to think outside the box as you develop a package that reflects your company’s character:
Make the most of your printed collateral. If you haven’t already, make sure you have basic items such as quality business cards and letterhead to include with the items you send. Consider doing something creative with your business cards. Mine has the title, “Business Construction Foreman.” This designation often triggers a question about what we do. (We help clients build their businesses.) My industry colleague, Stephen L. Ropfogel, uses the title, “Findologist.” This is a great title that invariably begs the question: What is a findologist?
An innovative job title on your business card can help you stand apart from the crowd, says Jerry Shereshewsky, Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Madison Avenue for Yahoo!
Don’t tell someone what you do, show them. In our industry, we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase the power of our marketing medium. Your package should include branded items that tell your business story. At my company, we maintain our business-building theme by distributing screwdrivers imprinted with the phrase, “Let Us Fill Your Marketing Toolbox,” stress hammers, business building blocks to success and measuring tapes/levels with imprints asking, “Business Measuring Up? Let Us Take You to a New Level!” We also include T-shirts compressed into hammer shapes. All these branded products are packaged in a cardboard box printed with toolbox graphics, thus supporting our company’s “Marketing Toolbox” branding.
A marketing package makes a powerful statement and it doesn’t need to be expensive. The package is a high-impact way for your company to stand out from the crowd. When you meet people at a business event, let them know you want to send them information on your company that illustrates what you do. Send the package and follow up to make sure they received it. This gives you the opportunity to make another connection with prospects and gets you closer to earning their business.
During your initial meeting, ask them what shirt size they wear and then include one with your package. Market research shows that more than 200 people can view imprinted apparel when it’s worn around town. That’s great advertising value! After being in this industry for more than 20 years, I still love it when I see one of our All American Marketing Group T-shirts on someone at Home Depot or the mall, and I have no idea who the person is.
When you create a quote for new prospects, don’t just give them a price. Send them the pricing along with your marketing package illustrating why doing business with your company is a good choice. Chances are your competition doesn’t do this, giving you a competitive advantage. Through the years, we have seen the impact our package has had earning us the business and learned that just sending a quote without our innovative presentation takes a key business-building tool out of our hands.
There is not enough space here for the entire article and ALL the information we have to share. Click here for the full story, including information on the innovative “Business Relationship Blueprint.” Best selling author Dr. Stephen Covey called the “Blueprint” “tremendous and fantastic,” adding that it builds “intellectual and social capital.” This is good stuff!
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