Know What You Sell
BY STEVEN POWELL

Planning on doing a little marketing for your business? Then you need a unique marketing concept that catches people’s attention long enough to slip a particular sales message or call to action past their over-burdened, everwary
consumer defenses.

The BIG IDEA sold more VCRs than its far superior competitor, Betamax. The BIG IDEA turned a little-known, cheap German import car into an American icon with the unflattering nickname of “The Beetle”. The BIG IDEA is what made H&R Block – well – H&R Block.

Gee, with the right, clever headline you could be on the next cover of Entrepreneur Magazine! But, before you order that private jet... Have you done the “due diligence” necessary to the success of any great idea? The research? The planning? You know, the hard stuff. Ask yourself the following questions: What are you selling, specifically? Who are you selling to? Why should They
buy your product or service? Why should They buy it from you instead of somebody else? What are you trying to accomplish with this particular effort? And lastly, what’s your message?

What are you selling?
You live and breathe this stuff – but do you really “know” your product or service offering(s)? Maybe not. Assumably, you really do know your service or product, but that’s probably not what your targeted consumer is really buying. Selling is an intellectual process—buying is an emotional one. Think not? A Lexus is a nice, dependable, attractive vehicle with a great warrantee. So is a Hyundai. So, at 3 or 4 times the price, why do people buy the Lexus? Is it because it lasts 3 or 4 times longer? Or is it the special feeling they get driving
down the street in that shiny, expensive vehicle? Or both?

Who are you selling to?
For most small businesses, the first answer is obvious; anyone! But that’s rarely the case. Are you selling shampoo? Okay, for men or women? Price conscious or extravagant? Oily hair or dry? Translate those same thought processes for professional services and the answers are usually even more complex. Know your market and you’re much closer to that sale.

Why should they buy this product or service?
There are the obvious benefits. For example, a dentist might say his/her patients need dental health. Nobody wants all their teeth to fall out. Or to be in pain.
Explore your product benefits and be ready at a moment’s notice to explain them.

Why should they buy it from you?
Ah, now we’re getting to it. People need a good dentist, or financial adviser, or mortgage broker. But, even if they know that – why you? What makes YOU so special? Depth of experience? Customer service? Price point? Trust? There are dozens of competitors out there. Know them and what they offer, then find ways to separate yourself from the herd and stick to it.

What are you trying to accomplish?
Is your goal to actually make sales? To Generate leads? To Soften the way for future sales efforts by getting your name/brand out there? Are your goals realistic or pie in the sky ambitions? As any agency rep can attest to, managing a client’s expectations is often the most difficult part of the job.

Now, finally, what’s your message?
If you’ve truly thought through the above questions, the answer will probably become obvious. It might be based on price benefits, quality, convenience, problem solving or any of dozens of other possibilities. This is the whole reason
you’re here in the first place, remember? Don’t treat this lightly or you’ll regret it down the road.

Do your homework and do it well and the only criteria remaining is potential impact on your targeted market and the practicality of an idea’s execution. Remember, you want to grab Their attention. You don’t want to offend, but you do want to disturb Their sense of normalcy and force Them to pay attention to what you’re saying.

If you can do that – in print ads, radio spots, flyers, or sales calls – then you have a chance at closing the sale. That is the point of this whole exercise, right? To grab Their attention long enough to accomplish Your goals.

That’s the Biggest Idea of all.