There are times when each business must market to people from other businesses. That is just the way things are done. Yet doing it wisely is another issue. There are some common mistakes that small business people make when marketing to others. What are some of these mistakes and how can they be avoided? That is what we shall discuss right now as we look at five of them.
Not Defining What Makes Your Business Unique
The first mistake business representatives make when marketing to other businesses is not clarifying what makes theirs stand out. Out of all the similar businesses out there, why should this prospective customer choose yours? Sure, you know why your company is fantastic and what it has to offer; however, the person sitting in front of you does not. The best way to avoid this mistake is to explain all of the ways your company’s services or products can help his or her company. This is not a time to be modest.
You want to explain why you are better than similar companies. You may point out how in several different areas of need for them. However, DO NOT badmouth another company. This is not professional and nobody likes it. Therefore, talk about your company’s strengths without lambasting other companies.
Not Being Prepared
Be sure this does not happen to you. Marketing to another company takes work. You cannot just go into a prospective client meeting and flub your way through a presentation. You simply must be prepared. Construct an outline of the points you want to make, practice this in front of friends or co-workers, make sure you do it properly. If there are any relevant work samples you want to show the prospect, have them ready and make sure they look perfect. Remember the old scouting motto of always being prepared.
Another part of being prepared is to have a list of references or testimonials ready. Other people typically feel better about your company when they can see you have done a great job for your clients. This is a fact of business life, so accommodate their request. If they do not ask for this, then do not give them one.
Know Your Prospective Customers
This is another B2B marketing mistake some sales associates make. They do not take the time to learn anything about the company they are pitching to. If you are approaching a meeting without knowing about the company, how are you going to address their needs in your pitch? Better yet, the companies you try to sell to ought to be targeted in the first place. An example of that would be trying to sell pet products to a business that has nothing to do with pets. You are wasting everyone’s time. Instead, when you are searching for prospects, target those who, in some way, have a need for pet products.
This is what targeted marketing accomplishes. That goes back to knowing something about this company. How can you get to know this prospective client? Look them up on the Internet. Do a search on the search engines, on social media sites, on business review sites; there are so many ways to do this today. You can bet money that they will do the same in return. You do not want a scenario where they know all about your company, but you know nothing about theirs.
Not Describing All Benefits of All Your Services
In the beginning of this article, we spoke of telling the prospect what makes your company unique. Now we are going to take that a step further. At this point in your presentation, you want to describe ALL the ways your company can help the prospective company. Talk about everything you can do for them, as well as why and how your business’ personnel will accomplish these tasks. If you sell products, talk about how their business can use your products and help them reach THEIR customers.
A good thing to do at this time in your meeting is to talk about some of your services or products that you did NOT already discuss in the beginning. If you have a limited selection, then instead give the prospect more ways your selected services can help them succeed. After all, they want to increase their customer base too. Tell them how you can help them do that.
Do NOT Make Your Presentation Too Long
You know how busy your day can be. It is the same for the person you are meeting with. He or she also has commitments and deadlines. When you prepare your presentation, do be extremely mindful of its length. If it is too long, not only will you likely not get the sale, but you will notice your prospect checking their watch or looking glassy-eyed. There is no reason on Earth you cannot convey everything you want in 30 minutes or less. Get right to the point. Be descriptive, yet concise. You are more likely to win them over that way.
Remember that your prospect might have questions for you. When you are preparing your presentation, be certain to leave time for questions and answers while still being brief. When you demonstrate that you are considerate of their time, it will go a long way to getting them to say yes.
These are merely some examples of marketing mistakes made by small business representatives to their prospective clients. When you get right down to it, there are scores of them. This article is meant to get you thinking along those lines. Once you do that, you are bound to think of other examples on your own. Then you will be successful in your marketing efforts.
