The Designer’s Coach

The Marketing MakeoverCoaching System

The Marketing Makeover

Marketing & Sales System

• This is a simple system that works! It provides both a structure and a tool kit to turn your marketing goals and ideas into action!

The Marketing Makeover!

The Challenge• Marketing a custom business is different

then other types of marketing. Custom work is never seen until it is delivered.

• In the custom business we first sell an intangible-our service. When we install the service turns into a product.

• When we sell a service people buy trust, rapport and reputation.

Marketing Strategies for Design Professionals

We first sell based on Trust, Rapport and Reputation. This is the foundation of selling a service.

On the day of delivery or installation this transforms into a product.

This is why expectations are high.

Marketing Strategies

• Direct Contact & Follow-Up

• Networking and Referral Building

• Public Speaking• Event Marketing• Advertising

• Most Effective

• Least Effective

Outreach, Visibility, and Credibility.

• Strategies that focus on Outreach work better then those that focus only on Visibility.

The Strategies and their Impact• Direct Contact and Follow up is an

Outreach strategy.

• Networking and Referrals are both an Outreach and a Credibility strategy.

• Public Speaking, Event Marketing have the impact of both Visibility and Credibility.

• Advertising has only the Visibility impact.

Direct Contact and Follow-UpTactics:

• Warm Calling

• Lunch or Coffee

• In-Person or Phone Appointments

• Personal letters and E-Mail

• A Card or Note

• Newsletters

• Invitations to a seminar

Networking and Referral Building

Tactics:

• Attending Seminars and Meetings

• Developing Referral Partners

• Lunch or Coffee

• Staying in Contact with former Clients

• Volunteering

• Giving Referrals

Public SpeakingTactics:

• Free presentations to civic groups, religious organizations, public libraries

• Giving classes or workshops

• Open House presentations

Event Marketing Tactics:

• Home Shows

• Showhouse

• Workshops

• Open House or Reception

• Co-Sponsored Events

• Networking Event

AdvertisingTactics:

• Newspaper or Magazine

• Yellow Pages

• Website

• Pay-per-Click

• Direct Mail

• Flyers

• Cable TV

Who's Who?• Prospects are people you attract using any

of the Visibility strategies, like Publicity or Advertising.

• Contacts are people you meet through Outreach strategies like Networking or just in the course of business and life.

Who is Who?• Leads are people you identify through

research or hear about from your contacts.

• Referrals are people who are referred to you by referral partners, clients and others.

Marketing and Sales operate on a cycle:

• Creating Awareness

• Being Persistent

• Getting Appointments

• Closing Sales

Choosing where to Focus Creating Awareness-knowing enough

people to contact?

Being Persistent-contacting the people you already know?

Getting Appointments-getting from follow-up to presentation?

Closing Sales-getting from presentation to sale?

You need to Create Awareness if:

• You are new to the business

• If you have only a few leads

• You are not contacting your prospects because they don’t need you or can’t afford you.

You need to concentrate on Being Persistent if:

• You have a stack of business cards from people you met, but never called

• You don’t follow up on existing leads

• You have prospects who said no to you on the first contact.

You need to work on Getting Appointments if:

• You can’t get an initial meeting with a prospect

• People refuse to take your call, or brush you off quickly when you do get through to them.

• Your prospects are already working with another designer or decorator.

• Prospects think what you have to offer is too expensive.

You need to focus on Closing Sales if:

• You are getting to the presentation stage, but don’t seem to close enough sales.

• You go through the motions of making the presentation, but the prospect has no serious interest.

• You encounter endless objections that prevents the sale from going through

• You end a presentation and you don’t know where the client stands.

What Strategy should you use?

Where are you Stuck?

• Creating Awareness

• Being Persistent

• Getting Appointments

• Closing Sales

• If you are just starting out you might consider a goal to be based on a certain number of leads acquired, prospects contacted, or presentations given rather then sales closed.

What are the Missing Ingredients?

• What’s missing in order to reach your Marketing and Sales goals?

• If you are working on Creating Awareness, you may need to find some new Networking Events to attend.

• But if your focus is on Closing Sales you might work on your selling skills.

Focus on your immediate needs to choose the Success Ingredients?

• Why can’t I Create Awareness?

• Why can’t I consistently be Persistent?

• What tools, information, or skills are missing?

The Success Ingredients

Success Ingredients To Creating Awareness…

• Market Niche Definition

• 10-Second Introduction

• Business Cards

• Website

• Prospect List

• Lead Sources

• Networking Venues

Success Ingredients To Creating Awareness…

• Referral Partners• Networking Skills• Website Strategies• Speaking Venues • Speaking Topics• Event Marketing • Advertising Venues• Flyer Venues

Success Ingredients To Being Persistent:

• Brochure

• Marketing Kit

• Contact Management System

• 30-Second Commercial

Success Ingredients To Being Persistent:

• In-House Mailing List

• Postcard or Mailer

• E-Newsletter

• E-Mail

• Personal Connections

Success Ingredients To Turn more Contacts into Appointments:

• Telemarketing Skills

• Qualifying Questions

• Higher Quality Leads and Referrals

• Stickier Website

• Professional Visibility

Success Ingredients To Turn more Contacts into Appointments:

• Competitive Research

• Target Market Research

• New Positioning Statement

• Better Service Package

• Narrower Focus

of Services

Success Ingredients To Turn More Appointments into Sales:

• Better Qualified Prospects

• Stronger Relationships

• Presentation Skills

• Selling Skills

Success Ingredients To Turn More Appointments into Sales:

• Portfolio Strategy

• Leave Behind

• Professional Credibility

• Testimonials

You will decide which of the 4 areas you want to focus on.

• Creating Awareness• Being Persistent

• You will then order from the Action Menu.

• Getting Appointments• Closing Sales

The Main Course

The Main Course is divided into sections based on the Marketing Strategies each

activity uses.

1) Direct Contact and Follow Up

2) Networking and Referral Building

3) Public Speaking

4) Event Marketing

5) Advertising

How to Choose from the Main Course?

• Where do you need the most work?

• You already know which stage of the Marketing Cycle you need to focus on, so choose only Main Course items that pertain to that stage.

Which Marketing Strategy to Use?

• What will you actually do?

• What are you naturally drawn to?

• How much time do you have?

• How soon do you need to produce results?

Focus yes, but don’t neglect!• The key is to focus on the stage of the

Marketing Cycle that needs the most work.

• This doesn’t mean to ignore the other routine functions of marketing and sales.

• The intent of the Daily Actions is simply to focus more effort on the area of your marketing that needs it the most.

Creating Awareness

When you don’t know enough people to contactWhen you don’t know enough people to contact

When you don’t know enough people to contact

• Creating Awareness with prospects, contacts, leads and referrals is an ongoing process as long as you are in business.

• Those that belong in the pipeline are either people who may become your clients and the people who can refer you clients.

• If they don’t fall into either of these two groups, they don’t belong in your pipeline.

Success Ingredients for Creating Awareness

• Description of Services• Market Niche Definition• 10-Second Introduction• Business Cards• Website

The Success Ingredients are the tools, information, or skills that will address the area of marketing that needs the most work.

Action Plan Menu for Creating Awareness

To Create Awareness with Direct Contact and Follow-Up:

• Send letter or emails to 10 new people each week.

• Place warm calls to

3 Prospects per day.

• Spend 1 hour each

week researching leads.

To Create Awareness with Networking and Referral Building:

• Go to 1 networking event each week.• Contact 2 potential referral partners.• Have lunch or coffee with a “Center of

Influence”

To Create Awareness with Networking and Referral Building:

• Re-Contact 3 former clients each week.

• Volunteer in a visible position each week.

• Ask for a referral a day.

• Give a referral once per week.

To Create Awareness with Public Speaking

• Contact 3 groups each week about speaking.

• Speak in front of a group once per week.

• Spend 1 hour each week promoting my speaking events

To Create Awareness withEvent Marketing

• Do 3 things each week to make my next event successful.

• Spend 2 hours per week promoting my next event.

To Create Awareness withAdvertising:

• Distribute 30 flyers weekly

• Update my website weekly

• Evaluate 1 new place to advertise weekly

Being Persistent

When you Know Plenty of People but You’re not Contacting ThemWhen you Know Plenty of People but You’re not Contacting Them

Success Ingredients for Being Persistent

• Contact Management SystemA method of keeping track of your prospects

• Brochure

• 30-second CommercialA verbal summary of what

you do.

Being Persistent

In this stage you are using 2 strategies:

Direct Contact and Follow Up&

Networking and Referral Building

Calling & Mailing

• Call-Mail-Call

• Never assume someone will call you back just because you leave a message!

• Accept this as normal business practice.

Ways to Being Persistent:

• Follow-Up Meetings

• Follow-Up Mailingswww.sendoutcards.com/6726

Action Plan to Being Persistent more effectively:

• Call 3 prospects or referral sources

every day.

• Send an item of interest to 1 contact per day.

• Add 10 names to my contact management system daily.

• Send a mailing to 3 prospects per day

Being Persistent more effectively:

• Show up at a high-visibility event once per week.

• Invite a prospect or referral source to an event once per week.

• Have lunch or coffee with a prospect once per week.

• Make follow-up phone calls daily.

• Follow-up by email with 5 prospects daily.

Getting More Appointments

• When You’re Contacting People but

Not Getting Appointments

Why is this happening?

1) People are confused over your message.

2) Your phone skills are poor.

3) Unqualified prospects.

4) You aren’t well known enough.

5) Your competition is hurting you.

6) You’re not offering what they need.

7) You are offering too many services

Success Ingredients for Direct Contact and Follow-Up

• Phone Scripts/Skills• Qualifying Questions• Higher Quality Leads and Referrals• Stickier Website

Success Ingredients are the tools, information, or skills that will address the area of marketing that needs the most work.

Success Ingredients for Networking & Referral Building

• Professional Visibility

• Competitive Research

• Target Market Research

• New Market Position

• Better Service Package

• Narrower Focus of Services

Action Plan to get more Appointments:

• Ask for an appointment with 1 prospect per day.

• Practice my telemarketing script daily.

Action Plan to get more Appointments:

• Send 2 follow-up letters per day.

• Ask my networking contacts for 3 introductions per week.

• Solicit one testimonial per week

To get more Appointments:

• Spend 2 hours weekly researching the market.• Meet with 1 new referral partner each week.• Follow up with 3 potential referral partners

weekly.• Volunteer for a high-profile organization weekly.• Make 2 queries about speaking.

Closing More Sales

When You’re Making Appointments but Not Getting SalesWhen You’re Making Appointments but Not Getting Sales

Success Ingredients for Networking & Referral Building

• Professional CredibilityBuilding your credentials: work experience, publication credits, professional affiliations and achievements.

• Testimonials or ReferencesInclude these on your brochures, portfolio and website.

Success Ingredients Direct Contact, Follow-up,

Networking & Referral Building

• Better Qualified Prospects• Stronger Relationships• Presentation Scripts/Visuals/Skills• Portfolio• Leave Behind• Selling Script/Skills

Changing Who You Present to

• Find Better Qualified Prospects

• Focus more effort on professional visibility, and generating referrals.

• Spend more time on

building Stronger

Relationships.

Scripting your Presentation

Your talking points need to:

1) Establish Rapport

2) Determine their needs

3) Explain how you can meet their needs

4) Answer their questions

5) Ask for the business

6) Decide on a next step

Adding Tangibility to your Presentations

• The best way is to have a great portfolio

• Use programs such as Minutes Matter Studio

• Create a “leave-behind”.

Action Plan to Close More Sales• Follow up with all prospects within 7 days

• Get 10 no's each week.

• Make 1 challenging phone call every day.

• Reconnect with 3 former prospects or clients every week.

• Practice selling with a colleague or a mirror every day.

Action Plan to Close More Sales

• Find a personal connection with 1 prospect each week.

• Attend 1 high profile event weekly

• Have lunch or coffee with a center of influence once per week.

• Speak or volunteer for a group once per week.

Get ready to set Goals!

Setting your Sales and Marketing Goals

• Set a goal that will stretch you, but that you believe is realistic

• Try your best to meet it• When your goal becomes

unrealistic, change it.• Reward yourself for effort,

not just results.

Setting your goals for the program…Goals need to be something measurable, for

example:

• Dollar amount invoiced monthly

• Amount of Presentations

• Number of new leads

• 3 new speaking engagements

• Home Show planned

Reality CheckThe Straight Face Test

Can you really do this?

Prior Experience

If you did it before, can you do it again?

Numerical Analysis

To close 4 more sales this month, how many appointments do you need?

Peer Comparisons

What are other designers you know-achieving?

Use SMART to describe the 5 Characteristics of a Meaningful Goal:

• Specific-Your goal precisely spells out your desired result

• Measurable-The goal states your target in measurable terms so you will know when you have arrived, as well as where you are at any specific moment.

• Achievable-A goal is physically possible to accomplish within any defined limitations.

• Realistic-Your goal can be accomplished within the specified time and available resources.

• Timed-There is a calendar date by which you plan to achieve your goal.

Stick to it!

• To succeed in this program you must persist in pursuing what it takes to meet your goals.

Examples:

• 10 Calls a Day-Every Day

• One Networking Event

per week.

The Tracking WorksheetName: 28 Day Program with 2 Days off per week

Start Date: 1 2 3 4 5 8 9 10 11 12 15 16 17 18 19 22 23 24 25 26

Dates                                        

Success Ingredients (% done)  

1                                        

2                                        

3                                        

4                                        

5                                        

Daily/Weekly Actions (Y/N)

1                                        

2                                        

3                                        

4                                        

5                                        

6                                        

7                                        

8                                        

9                                        

10                                        

Total (# of 10)                                        

Program Goal (% of target)  

Success Ingredients

• For each of your 5 Success Ingredient projects, what percentage have you completed?

Daily/Weekly Actions

• For each of your 10 actions, did you do it today (Y) or not (N).

Program Goal

• What percentage of your goal have you achieved so far?

Example of Tracking Worksheet

The Marketing Makeover

Marketing & Sales System