Use Your Celebrity to Build VIRTUAL CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
During the course of a conversation with one of my customers discussing the ways to reach customers in the current climate, we coined the word Virtual Customer Relationship.
As a sales professional, you are only able to manage about 200 accounts. Of those you might have 20 "A" accounts, 50 "B" accounts, and 130 that send you a fig now and again. What if you were able to magically double that number or even end up with 100 "A" accounts and 1000 others. I'm betting a bunch of my time and effort that it can be done.
You see, it is impossible for the supplier in the Promotional Products Industry to know 60,000 sales people. It is even impossible for suppliers to "know" all 17,000 distributors. It would take 50 Customer service people on staff for us to know half of the distributors and a fraction of the sale forces of those distributors.
It's a bit like that in your neighborhood. I'm guessing that there are at least 10,000 potential clients within easy driving distance of your office. Moreover, there is really no territory by geographical boundary in this business anymore. I talk to distributor sales people all the time who have clients throughout the USA and even some in foreign countries.
How can you get to "know" 1000 or more customers? The key to this is a slightly different question. How can you "be known" by 1000 or more customers?
When I was in the bicycle business, doing those books and trade show seminars, I would be walking back to my booth at the show, when perfect strangers would wave at me. They knew me through my "minor celebrity." They hopefully also respected me for my position and/or my knowledge. If that respect could turn into orders, the job was complete.
I believe you can do this through blogging, e-mail newsletter, seminars, and other such almost free marketing. Here are the steps:
1. Get busy doing good work in the community that you hope to sell. That community might be a city, a region, a hobby, a profession, a non-profit, an industry, etc. Take jobs, get elected to office, seek the presidency.
2. Establish some communication form (blogs, e-mail, etc.) where you are invited by your customer base to visit them weekly or more frequently by a "free means." These contacts must be exciting, informative, useful, or mention the name of the client once in a while. (Sorry about that last one, but it is true.)
3. Build your reputation. It might take 6 months. It might take 3 years. It shouldn't take much more than that. Seek speaking opportunities at service club breakfasts or lunches. Set up events that will help the cause (and yours.) Send out PR releases in trades and local papers.
4. Develop an expertise in some aspect of what you do. Two or three expertises would be even better. Learn everything there is to know on the subject. Use this information to write articles or do interviews in trade rags or in local papers.
5. Potentially, aggregate articles you write into a book (at least 120 pages.) Get a publisher if possible. If not, self publish. Sell the book or give it away when you speak. Get book stores in your area to carry the book (on consignment, if necessary.) Offer the book on your blog or website. Try to get others to offer the book.
6. Now, when you write or call, you are "known." Some folks will call you or send orders through your website because they know you. When you send out a mass mailing, faxing, e-mail, or product sampling, your picture should be part of the headline.
7. Don't let this stuff go to your head. Keep it in perspective. Remember how easy it was to do. Your success has less to do with your skill than with the fact that 999 out of 1000 never tried it.
As a sales professional, you are only able to manage about 200 accounts. Of those you might have 20 "A" accounts, 50 "B" accounts, and 130 that send you a fig now and again. What if you were able to magically double that number or even end up with 100 "A" accounts and 1000 others. I'm betting a bunch of my time and effort that it can be done.
You see, it is impossible for the supplier in the Promotional Products Industry to know 60,000 sales people. It is even impossible for suppliers to "know" all 17,000 distributors. It would take 50 Customer service people on staff for us to know half of the distributors and a fraction of the sale forces of those distributors.
It's a bit like that in your neighborhood. I'm guessing that there are at least 10,000 potential clients within easy driving distance of your office. Moreover, there is really no territory by geographical boundary in this business anymore. I talk to distributor sales people all the time who have clients throughout the USA and even some in foreign countries.
How can you get to "know" 1000 or more customers? The key to this is a slightly different question. How can you "be known" by 1000 or more customers?
When I was in the bicycle business, doing those books and trade show seminars, I would be walking back to my booth at the show, when perfect strangers would wave at me. They knew me through my "minor celebrity." They hopefully also respected me for my position and/or my knowledge. If that respect could turn into orders, the job was complete.
I believe you can do this through blogging, e-mail newsletter, seminars, and other such almost free marketing. Here are the steps:
1. Get busy doing good work in the community that you hope to sell. That community might be a city, a region, a hobby, a profession, a non-profit, an industry, etc. Take jobs, get elected to office, seek the presidency.
2. Establish some communication form (blogs, e-mail, etc.) where you are invited by your customer base to visit them weekly or more frequently by a "free means." These contacts must be exciting, informative, useful, or mention the name of the client once in a while. (Sorry about that last one, but it is true.)
3. Build your reputation. It might take 6 months. It might take 3 years. It shouldn't take much more than that. Seek speaking opportunities at service club breakfasts or lunches. Set up events that will help the cause (and yours.) Send out PR releases in trades and local papers.
4. Develop an expertise in some aspect of what you do. Two or three expertises would be even better. Learn everything there is to know on the subject. Use this information to write articles or do interviews in trade rags or in local papers.
5. Potentially, aggregate articles you write into a book (at least 120 pages.) Get a publisher if possible. If not, self publish. Sell the book or give it away when you speak. Get book stores in your area to carry the book (on consignment, if necessary.) Offer the book on your blog or website. Try to get others to offer the book.
6. Now, when you write or call, you are "known." Some folks will call you or send orders through your website because they know you. When you send out a mass mailing, faxing, e-mail, or product sampling, your picture should be part of the headline.
7. Don't let this stuff go to your head. Keep it in perspective. Remember how easy it was to do. Your success has less to do with your skill than with the fact that 999 out of 1000 never tried it.
posted by Randy W. Kirk at 9:14 AM
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