Are you a Messy Marketer?

by Michelle Hill-Smith
www.OnTaskAssistants.com

That's right! A messy marketer. What is that you ask? Well, first things first. Are you marketing your business? Are you even ready to market your business? Okay, final question, is your business MARKETING YOU?

I'm sure these questions can be answered honestly and thoroughly after this article. When I first began my journey in business, the one thing that put fear in my heart was the thought of having to market my business. I created an awesome venture that was sure to draw many customers my way without me having to do anything.  Yeah. I was a bit delusional. To make a very long story short, after a traumatizing 98% rejection rate, I learned the hard way that there were many things involve in not only running a business but also in marketing it as well.

Ask yourself the following questions. And in asking yourself, be honest and thorough. Don't be afraid of the outcome. Whether good or bad, there is no outcast plaque waiting for you at the end.

1) What is your message? Your message needs to entail your brand and purpose. What is it that you want to people to see and understand and soon as they see your logo?
2) What is your style of prospecting? Are you a "here's my card/flyer" type of prospector that doesn't provide any verbal communication? Are you the "I'd love to tell you more about what I do/sell" type of prospector?

If you were able to answer honestly to the above questions with 100% acceptance that you may not be doing all you can to win the hearts of your potential consumers, then you're already half way there. Being a messy marketer means that from head to toe, the image of your business (your brand, personal appearance, content/copy, etc) has taken the back burner. A typical example of a messy marketer is:

1) Someone who never has business cards on them;
2) Business cards with outdated/incorrect information;
3) Someone who pushes the price of a product and not the benefit of the product;
4) Someone who has a great marketing plan or product and does nothing to inform the world about it.

The list goes on and on. But, for the sake of time, I'll say this. Get determined to experience success within the next few months. Develop your product/service. Learn all the definitions, benefits and success stories of your product/service. Get equipped with all the necessary business collateral that goes with your product or service. TAKE THE TIME to Develop your social media sites, websites, flyers, postcards, business cards and most importantly...YOU! Become believable, genuine and authentic in your approach. You don't have to lie to make the sale. You don't have to be pushy to be a business person or sales person. You only need to be you. An Organized Marketer that is interested in a person's "possible" use for their product or service is always the winner. You're prepared and ready to respect the consumer with your approach as a business professional.

As an Organized Marketer, you know your product or service inside out. You know your prospect/target market inside and out. You respect their needs, space and time. An organized marketer always wins! 

Become the Icing on the Cake

by Michelle Hill-Smith
of www.OnTaskAssistants.com

Formulating a business endeavor that will without a doubt service your potential customer's need is like finding a dog that can undoubtedly replace your dog that you considered a family member for many years. It's a pretty tough task where you'll never get it just right. However, you can get it close enough with room to make it better with time.

You see, a consumer to your business is like icing to cake, it's something that's necessary. Even though you can create a cake without icing, you run the risk of everyone not liking your cake thus ending up with only a few slices eaten. In the end, you'll be wasting more time trying to convince everyone to eat the cake without icing just off of simple tactics alone. When someone's used to having something a certain way, it's takes too much time to get them to do otherwise. On the other hand, if you have an idea to create a cake with icing however, not covering the entire cake, you may have a better chance with convincing the customer to eat the cake. Sounds easy? Well, it's not that simple.

Many businesses, especially when starting out, forget to serve the customer. It's great to have ideas however, when your ideas are running wild and are implemented without the consumer's need in mind, you've failed and wasted a ton of time.  BECOME THE ICING ON THE CAKE! Keep in mind that as an effective business owner, you not only have to think like the customer, you must become the customer.

Ask yourself, if I were looking for this type of product (or service) what would I want it to do for me? As a sales person, you must learn how to sale the benefits of the product and not just the product itself.
Remember, a consumer can't use the branding, cost or packaging of your product or service. They are interested in knowing what the product or service will do for them.

So the next time you go to sell that cake without the icing, try examining your cake first and jot down all the reasons why they'll benefit from eating the cake without all the sugary icing. Be honest, authentic and genuine in your approach and you may be able to find a new market for your cake without icing.