THE 2nd BIGGEST MARKETING WASTE
Written by Richard Johnson
The traditional definition of marketing as discussed has forced business owners to always be looking OUTSIDE their business for growth.
What I mean by “outside” is working with traditional marketing resources for the generation of new prospective customers. This means going outside to find new prospects with advertising, tradeshows, web marketing, direct mail, salespeople prospecting, etc.
Because of this tendency to focus on MORE PROSPECTS with marketing, waste begins to creep “inside” the company.
The minute a prospect is introduced or inquires about a company’s products or services, they become “inside” the company. Now the real marketing should take over.
This is where “hidden” new sources of cash, sales and profits can be found.
These prospects are having conversations, sales pitches, etc. directed at them by people, staff inside the company. The prospects have entered the sales process inside the company.
Every business in the world has the same sales process:
Prospect - Created - Qualified – Presented - Closed
There could be tremendous sources of “waste” along this process. It could be that the wrong prospects are being created in the first place. Waste. It could be that the prospect is not being qualified. Waste.
It could be that the presentation made (either on-line or off-line, in person, on the phone, in an ad, etc.) is not being done well. Waste. It may mean the prospects are not being closed as well as they could be. Waste. It could mean that after they are closed, there is no on-going process of marketing. Waste.
It is everything that happens to a prospect AFTER being introduced that contains the hidden sources of new sales. It is what’s happening “inside” the company that is as or more important than what is going on “outside” to generate more customers.
This approach to marketing is more “non-traditional.”
Most clients of the 7 STEPS TO A LOT MORE SALES system started out thinking the answers for more sales were in the creation of more prospects. But, soon, the system helped them uncover serious areas of waste and it was discovered that more sales and profits WITHOUT SPENDING MORE MONEY TO CREATE NEW PROSPECTS could be had FIRST by fixing and eliminating areas of waste (Core Four Steps).
Then, more resources could be devoted to generating more prospects because systems were in place to make certain there was no waste in the managing of the new prospect’s experience. So, all resources devoted to the creation of new prospects (Big Four) were maximized, leveraged to their fullest, creating maximum profit opportunities.
Article author
About the Author
As an international marketing/sales training and consulting firm, Richard Johnson, President and CEO of 21st Century Marketing, and his team have helped thousands of small businesses in all industries and of all sizes, on-line or off-line, achieve exponential growth without spending more money on traditional advertising since 1990. Visit him online at www.21st-CenturyMarketing.com
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