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The Smart Marketing Newsletter (C)2001 Fulcrum

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I recently exchanged a series of emails with a newsletter member,
Nadeem. He owns a Dan Kennedy Magnetic Marketing Kit, and is working
to apply the ideas in the kit to a business that serves industrial
equipment and software customers.

This conversation is important because it shows the flexibility that
is necessary in marketing to different kinds of people.

You can't market to this crowd the same way you market to, say,
a business opportunity crowd!

In reference to my own marketing to a similar market, I wrote:

"We measure our marketing results as Dan Kennedy suggests and we try
different things. It works! The only thing I should mention is that
you have to recognize the difference between the underlying
principles of good marketing (understanding your audience, talking to
them the way they talk to each other, knowing their aches and pains)
vs. the STYLE of marketing - I do not really use Dan Kennedy's style,
I use his ideas in a very conservative style which matches my
customers. They are industrial equipment buyers and software /
hardware developers."

Nadeem replied:

"Can you share specific marketing tips/techniques that have worked for
you and as to how you deal with your customers since we are also
marketing (selling) equipments and software?"

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I think this is a good time to address this question. It's VERY
important.

To market successfully, you MUST understand what your prospects worry
about, what excites them, what drives them, what they love and what
they hate.

Dan Kennedy writes to an entrepreneurial audience, and one of the
things that his *chosen* (note: not arbitary) audience has in common
is that most of them are entrepreneurs who believe that it's possible
to achieve extraordinary results in their business.

Many own small or part time businesses, or have sales careers, and
want to grow those businesses dramatically. Dan always keys in on their
imagination and aspirations. He knows they're driven by optimism. And he
pushes those "buttons" with skill in his sales letters.

But that may not be what drives your audience. If it's an industrial
crowd, or a button-down corporate crowd, the motivations are much
different. Yes, there may be some aspirations, but they are a minor
part of what you're selling.

With this bunch, you cannot assume wild-eyed optimism at all. More than likely,
you're selling against RISK. You'll usually be most
successful if you can persuade them that the risk is LOW. And
talking about the things that are scary - like the ammonia leak in
their chemical plant going undetected for several hours - or losing ten thousand
barrels of oil production because a computer hard drive crashed - or putting
themselves at risk for a $10 million lawsuit - those are the things
that get their attention. A 3 month delay in their expensive project - they
worry a lot about things like that.

If you're talking to a guy about $10 million lawsuits or ammonia
leaks, or 3 month project delays, you can't afford to sound like a
used car salesman. You have to be serious, you have to slow down and
talk to him like he talks to himself and his co-workers, and you have
to talk about your risk alternatives that are PROVABLY better. Then
he will get excited. And yes, those kinds of people CAN get excited
and emotional. Who wouldn't, with risk like that?

And people in those situations will spend enormous amounts of their
company's money if you have sufficiently proven that your solution is
less risky.

When you talk to them, you will not talk to them the way Dan Kennedy
talks to people about going to a marketing seminar. You'll talk to
them with a neutral to slightly negative posture, emphasizing how
important it is for you to lower their exposure to disaster, delays
or expensive problems.

Bottom line is: Are you selling opportunity or risk management?
Maybe both, but you need to be sure. If you're selling opportunity, be SURE to
talk about risks too - because they most certainly exist. If your main message
is about risk, be sure to mention: "Oh, by the way, let me tell you about Roger
who minimized these risks - he conclusively proved the superiority of his
systems and got three new customers, who are worth over $1 million per year in
additional sales..."

Most importantly, the underlying PRINCIPLE of this is:

Enter the conversation that is going on inside your customer's head, not the
conversation you'd LIKE to go on in their head. Talk like they do, think like
they do, and live in their shoes.

Please email me about your projects and puzzles: newsletter@....
Maybe I'll tackle YOUR challenge in the next issue.

Yours,

Perry

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