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Developing a public reputation in your field allows you to compete with the experts prospects are increasingly looking to for information and guidance.
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And according to . . .
By Paul McCord
Would you like to have the power and the authority of the press proclaim
you as the leading personal financial planning, architect, environmental
engineer, or IT consulting expert in your local area? Who wouldn't? Having
the newspaper, radio or TV news, or a local magazine inform their readers or
listeners that you are the authority in your industry is worth more to your
business than any amount of advertising you could ever purchase.
Salespeople, professionals and business owners try to find the most effective
methods of finding and influencing prospects. Yet, the reality is that most
are using the same methods, with the same message as their competition.
Differentiation is the objective of every marketer--whether the marketing
director of a financial services company or the owner of a small consulting
company.
Everyone is fighting to set themselves apart from the crowd. Unfortunately,
being seen as unique or different is extremely difficult. For the past few
decades, everyone has been encouraged to develop their own Unique Selling
Proposition--a short phrase that succinctly describes what they do and what
sets them apart, not what they sell. The problem is that every other
competitior has their own version of the same USP. The USP is effectively
dead, not because it didn't produce results, but because it is no longer
unique.
Most rely exclusively on massive advertising, direct mail, cold calling, or
other forms of marketing. Although marketing is a key to success, prospects
are still wary of it. They are fully aware they are being sold, and many
assume, being manipulated in some form. In addition, marketing doesn't
give ample opportunity to differentiate. Seldom will you find an ad, a direct
mail piece, a cold call approach, or other marketing that effectively sets one
salesperson or company apart from their competition.
Nevertheless, there are ways to stand far above the crowd. You can
outdistance your competition--not by outspending them on advertising, out
cold calling them, or out pricing them. Outdistancing your competition,
involves out positioning them in the marketplace by making yourself the
sought after advisor because of your perceived expertise. And best of all,
your program to out position the competition costs little to nothing.Pick up your local newspaper or business magazine and you'll notice almost
every article has quotes by people within the industry the reporter is
discussing. A few articles have extensive interviews with "leaders" within
that industry. These individuals are quoted and interviewed as the experts
within the industry.
Nothing you can do can give you the expert image and the authority that
being quoted or interviewed in the news media can provide. Your marketing
is recognized by prospects and clients as marketing. They understand
you're trying to sell something. Publishing articles and giving speeches,
although far more influential than "marketing," is still viewed by prospects
as a subtle attempt at positioning yourself. However, when quoted and
interviewed by the news media, all suspicion and questioning of your agenda
disappears. You've gone from marketer or quasi-marketer to unadulterated
expert.
Despite the current consumer cynicism about bias in the press, business
news is still viewed as unbiased. Only the experts within the subject
industry are quoted and interviewed. A knowledgeable person can disagree
with the expert, but the person quoted is still viewed as an expert.
You simply cannot buy that kind of exposure. In reputable news
publications, that type of coverage simply isn't for sale.
Nevertheless, you can earn it. The individuals quoted and interviewed didn't
just get lucky. They worked hard to get the exposure by developing a
relationship with the reporter or freelance writer. They developed the
contacts over time. You can do the same.
The fact of the matter is most of the individuals quoted are not the
innovators in their industry, nor are they necessarily the absolute best at
what they do. They are, however, the ones who have made it part of their
marketing plan to become the recognized local expert. They have worked to
get the quotes and the interviews.
How can you do the same? You do it by instituting a plan of action that
gradually leads to being recognized as the authority. Although it takes time,
you can have established your reputation and begin seeing results within as
little as a year.
Get Expert Credibility: Begin writing and publishing articles and giving
speeches. You need to give reporters and freelance writers something they
recognize as being from an expert. A list of articles you have published,along with the names of the publications, and the speeches you have given
is the basis for this recognition.
Get Noticed: Create a media kit and get it in the hands of anyone in the
news media who might be interested in and cover your industry. A basic
media kit need only have a one-page biography, a reproducible photograph,
a list of articles published and speeches given, one or two samples of
published articles, and a list of the topics that the reporter can rely on you
for comment, interviews, and information. Send a hardcopy or electronic kit
to every reporter, freelance writer, and editor that may have reason to cover
any aspect of the industry.
Get Connected: Follow-up with each reporter, freelancer, and editor to
make sure they received your kit and see if they have any questions or
current information needs. Let them know you are highly accessible. Many
will be working on very tight deadlines and will need access to you on very
short notice. Give them a cell number where you can be reached virtually
anytime, day or night.
Keep Them Updated: During your initial conversation, ask for their
permission to keep them informed of your activities. Then keep them
informed by sending them updates to your article and speech lists,
important press releases about yourself and your business--and especially
anything occurring in the industry or the economy that should be of interest
to them. Become their eyes and ears.
Marketing is more than simply putting an ad in the paper, sending a direct
mail piece, or writing a quality cold calling script. Marketing is developing
and implementing a plan to out-maneuver your competition. You may not
be able to outspend your competition. You may not be able to or want to
out price them. However, you can out "expert" them. And, by the way, not
only does becoming the recognized expert push aside your competition, it
can virtually eliminate cost as an issue.
Paul McCord is a leading authority on prospecting, referral selling, and personal marketing.
He is president of McCord Training, a Midland, Texas based sales training, coaching, and
consulting company. His first book, Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales
Success through Client Referrals (John Wiley and Sons, 2007), is an Amazon and Barnes
and Noble best-seller and is quickly becoming recognized as the authoritative work on
referral selling. His second book, SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales
SuperStar has just been released. He may be reached at
pmccord@mccordandassociates.com or visit his sales training website at
mccordandassociates.com or either of his highly popular blogs:
http://salesandmanagementblog.com and http://themanagementcurve.com.Copyright 2007, Paul McCord. May be reproduced without change, with proper attribution
and brief bio. Notice of when and where article is to appear to
pmccord@mccordandassociates.com
By Paul McCord
Would you like to have the power and the authority of the press proclaim
you as the leading personal financial planning, architect, environmental
engineer, or IT consulting expert in your local area? Who wouldn't? Having
the newspaper, radio or TV news, or a local magazine inform their readers or
listeners that you are the authority in your industry is worth more to your
business than any amount of advertising you could ever purchase.
Salespeople, professionals and business owners try to find the most effective
methods of finding and influencing prospects. Yet, the reality is that most
are using the same methods, with the same message as their competition.
Differentiation is the objective of every marketer--whether the marketing
director of a financial services company or the owner of a small consulting
company.
Everyone is fighting to set themselves apart from the crowd. Unfortunately,
being seen as unique or different is extremely difficult. For the past few
decades, everyone has been encouraged to develop their own Unique Selling
Proposition--a short phrase that succinctly describes what they do and what
sets them apart, not what they sell. The problem is that every other
competitior has their own version of the same USP. The USP is effectively
dead, not because it didn't produce results, but because it is no longer
unique.
Most rely exclusively on massive advertising, direct mail, cold calling, or
other forms of marketing. Although marketing is a key to success, prospects
are still wary of it. They are fully aware they are being sold, and many
assume, being manipulated in some form. In addition, marketing doesn't
give ample opportunity to differentiate. Seldom will you find an ad, a direct
mail piece, a cold call approach, or other marketing that effectively sets one
salesperson or company apart from their competition.
Nevertheless, there are ways to stand far above the crowd. You can
outdistance your competition--not by outspending them on advertising, out
cold calling them, or out pricing them. Outdistancing your competition,
involves out positioning them in the marketplace by making yourself the
sought after advisor because of your perceived expertise. And best of all,
your program to out position the competition costs little to nothing.Pick up your local newspaper or business magazine and you'll notice almost
every article has quotes by people within the industry the reporter is
discussing. A few articles have extensive interviews with "leaders" within
that industry. These individuals are quoted and interviewed as the experts
within the industry.
Nothing you can do can give you the expert image and the authority that
being quoted or interviewed in the news media can provide. Your marketing
is recognized by prospects and clients as marketing. They understand
you're trying to sell something. Publishing articles and giving speeches,
although far more influential than "marketing," is still viewed by prospects
as a subtle attempt at positioning yourself. However, when quoted and
interviewed by the news media, all suspicion and questioning of your agenda
disappears. You've gone from marketer or quasi-marketer to unadulterated
expert.
Despite the current consumer cynicism about bias in the press, business
news is still viewed as unbiased. Only the experts within the subject
industry are quoted and interviewed. A knowledgeable person can disagree
with the expert, but the person quoted is still viewed as an expert.
You simply cannot buy that kind of exposure. In reputable news
publications, that type of coverage simply isn't for sale.
Nevertheless, you can earn it. The individuals quoted and interviewed didn't
just get lucky. They worked hard to get the exposure by developing a
relationship with the reporter or freelance writer. They developed the
contacts over time. You can do the same.
The fact of the matter is most of the individuals quoted are not the
innovators in their industry, nor are they necessarily the absolute best at
what they do. They are, however, the ones who have made it part of their
marketing plan to become the recognized local expert. They have worked to
get the quotes and the interviews.
How can you do the same? You do it by instituting a plan of action that
gradually leads to being recognized as the authority. Although it takes time,
you can have established your reputation and begin seeing results within as
little as a year.
Get Expert Credibility: Begin writing and publishing articles and giving
speeches. You need to give reporters and freelance writers something they
recognize as being from an expert. A list of articles you have published,along with the names of the publications, and the speeches you have given
is the basis for this recognition.
Get Noticed: Create a media kit and get it in the hands of anyone in the
news media who might be interested in and cover your industry. A basic
media kit need only have a one-page biography, a reproducible photograph,
a list of articles published and speeches given, one or two samples of
published articles, and a list of the topics that the reporter can rely on you
for comment, interviews, and information. Send a hardcopy or electronic kit
to every reporter, freelance writer, and editor that may have reason to cover
any aspect of the industry.
Get Connected: Follow-up with each reporter, freelancer, and editor to
make sure they received your kit and see if they have any questions or
current information needs. Let them know you are highly accessible. Many
will be working on very tight deadlines and will need access to you on very
short notice. Give them a cell number where you can be reached virtually
anytime, day or night.
Keep Them Updated: During your initial conversation, ask for their
permission to keep them informed of your activities. Then keep them
informed by sending them updates to your article and speech lists,
important press releases about yourself and your business--and especially
anything occurring in the industry or the economy that should be of interest
to them. Become their eyes and ears.
Marketing is more than simply putting an ad in the paper, sending a direct
mail piece, or writing a quality cold calling script. Marketing is developing
and implementing a plan to out-maneuver your competition. You may not
be able to outspend your competition. You may not be able to or want to
out price them. However, you can out "expert" them. And, by the way, not
only does becoming the recognized expert push aside your competition, it
can virtually eliminate cost as an issue.
Paul McCord is a leading authority on prospecting, referral selling, and personal marketing.
He is president of McCord Training, a Midland, Texas based sales training, coaching, and
consulting company. His first book, Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales
Success through Client Referrals (John Wiley and Sons, 2007), is an Amazon and Barnes
and Noble best-seller and is quickly becoming recognized as the authoritative work on
referral selling. His second book, SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales
SuperStar has just been released. He may be reached at
pmccord@mccordandassociates.com or visit his sales training website at
mccordandassociates.com or either of his highly popular blogs:
http://salesandmanagementblog.com and http://themanagementcurve.com.Copyright 2007, Paul McCord. May be reproduced without change, with proper attribution
and brief bio. Notice of when and where article is to appear to
pmccord@mccordandassociates.com
