i sell therefore i am (a marketer selling marketer marketing therefore i am i sell therefore i am sell i'm therefore marketers

Blogs

I Sell, Therefore I Am (A Marketer) Scott Abbate At its most basic, marketing is the act of selling or promoting products and services. If you consider yourself a part of the marketing tribe, this definition isn't news to you. But it’s time for a gut check: Promoting and selling are not mutually exclusive. As a marketer, your ability to promote depends on your ability to sell. Knowing how your products are sold connects you with buyers; connecting with buyers provides insight into the roadblocks they encounter as they research, purchase, and use your products and services. Failing to understand your customers' mindset and buying cycle can impact everything — from how you create and distribute marketing content to how you launch products and resolve customer service issues. Selling makes you a better marketer. If you're not currently a closer, you need to become one. The First Step Is Acceptance Repeat after me: "My name is [your name], and I have a selling problem." Rather, you have a problem from lack of selling. It's 2016. The silos between sales and marketing are melting away as we all drive towards the singular goal of generating revenue efficiently. It's imperative that marketers understand, support, and empower their sellers. All too often marketers focus much (if not all) of their energy and attention on creation and promotion. However, marketing is rooted in selling, and can be a significant enablement tool and sales generator. When Gutenberg invented movable type, he enabled businesses and individuals to economically deliver stories to the masses. This revolution helped launch advertising, which evolved into marketing. The end goal now is the same as it was at the beginning: Create visibility, generate engagement, and close revenue. Whether you're rebranding your company's image, externally connecting with prospects, internally encouraging adoption of a sales enablement tool, or emphasizing the importance of service level agreements, you're selling. The difference lies in the audience you're selling to, and how you're positioning and framing the conversations. You've been a seller since the day you embraced your role as a marketer. Learning how to be a better seller can help you become a better marketer. The (Sales) Struggle Is Real You can't know what your sellers experience in theory; you must experience their struggle first hand. Knowing the unique challenges your sellers face is a critical component in understanding how to support them and your customers. Engaging with prospective customers can be as simple as taking a few hours to call on leads, or as complex as initiating a lead qualification position on your marketing team. Regardless, it's imperative you (yes, you) spend time engaging leads. This will pay off figuratively – through knowledge you can use to hone your marketing content – and literally – since any deal you close is revenue that can be directly attributed to your marketing department. When Marketers and Buyers Meet, It's Magic Get in touch with your inner sales self. There are 5 critical steps to selling as a marketer: Make a connection. Connecting with buyers is the most difficult — and fruitful — aspect of the job. You can't create a sustainable, excellent experience for buyers if you never speak with them. Discuss the buyer's goals. Once you've successfully engaged a buyer, learn more about their needs by diving deeper into the end results they desire. Try to get as specific as possible and identify roadblocks that make those goals challenging to achieve. Work through the buyer's overall strategy. Discuss whether or not the strategies and tactics they're using are working. If their current tactics aren't working, recommend best practices and tools that will help them achieve success. If their tactics are working, discuss how you can help them create even more tangible returns. Pitch the value prop. You have a superior solution; guide the buyer to see how they can make the most of it. Illuminate the facets of your organization's solutions that will better position your buyer for success. Ask for the sale. There's nothing more harrowing – and rewarding – than the Ask. Close a deal and you'll gain respect from the sellers you support. Lose the deal and you'll better understand what it is to be a seller. Even top sellers rarely close more than a fraction of their prospects. Support Your Sellers and Close by Proxy Connecting directly with a large number of clients may not be as feasible as you'd like. Ensure you're gathering additional market intel by taking a more active role in supporting your organization's sellers. As your sellers become more familiar with you, you can prove yourself a trustworthy confidant and credible resource. Be present. Attend meetings and keep an open-cubicle policy. Be available. Everyone's busy and time is precious, but don't sacrifice valuable exposure with your sellers by constantly shirking questions or one-on-one meetings. Be open. The number and types of questions you receive indicates the type of resource you're seen as. Most marketers are closers by proxy, generating revenue through the support they provide sellers. Since the root of what marketers do is enabling sellers to better connect with buyers, live the values you preach. Provide sellers the guidance needed to position your brand effectively, expend sales calories efficiently, and nurture leads profitably. Ultimately your job is to bring in revenue. Do that by instilling confidence and empowering sellers. Now go forth, and close. Is your demand generation missing something? Step up your marketing game with the power of PR and content promotion. Download High-Impact PR Planning that Drives Demand Generation for more tips. Author Scott Abbate is a Marketo-certified program manager at PR Newswire who enables sellers to better connect with buyers. Scott's days are spent generating deliberate, meaningful actions with buyers, fostering sustainable relationships, creating loyal brand advocates, and travelling with his wife.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click on the following link: Unsubscribe

[New Post] How to Write a Press Release Introduction That Leaves a Lasting Impression

 

Blogs

How to Write a Press Release Introduction That Leaves a Lasting Impression Catherine Spicer "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." "It was a dark and stormy night." A great piece of fiction only needs one line to set the tone of a story. Similarly, press releases need a great introduction to engage readers. Because anyone can publish anything online, your audience must quickly decide whether or not your content is credible, meaningful, and relevant to them. Our downloadable guide to crafting press releases that drive earned media shows how to plan a compelling press release strategy. Once you develop this strategy, you need to employ the same considerations in executing a compelling final product. If you've persuaded your audience to read past your headline (which should include a trigger, keyword, adjective, and promise), the introduction is where you must seal the deal to keep them reading. When writing a press release to promote your company’s news or marketing content, follow these tips to create a strong introduction that will hook the reader and give you the edge on discoverability. 1. Get to the point. The introduction, or lead paragraph, is your chance to tell the 10-second version of your story. You'll have the remainder of your news release to expand on the salient points. 2. Don’t force the writing process. When do you write your introduction? Before you write the story or after? If you're struggling with your introduction, try writing your introduction last. Tell the story and then tie it together with your introduction. Otherwise, if you have an irresistible idea for your intro, write it and lay out the rest of the release in order. 3. Focus on the why. Tried and true practices of answering the five Ws (who, what, where, when, and why) in a news release are still solid practice. Lead with the why. You have a very short window to get the reader's attention. Why does this story matter to them? Start with the why, then move on to the how and the what (where and when). 4. Know your audience's informational needs. Do they need background? Are they more interested in context? Or would they prefer an emotionally moving story? Remember, you made your audience a promise in your headline. Deliver on that promise and they'll keep reading. 5. Set the scene for your call to action. Include a call to action in the first 300 words of your press release (which carries on far beyond your lead, but is still an important element). The call to action tells the reader what you want them to do next: go here, download, share, click. Once you identify what that next step will be, make sure your introduction establishes an immediate and related connection between your press release's purpose and audience. That way, readers will be motivated to take the next step when they reach your call to action. With everyone battling for attention, earned media is more difficult to get. However, if your press release is easy to read, clearly states the why, and gives readers a reason to keep reading, you will get greater visibility for your brand and for your message. For journalists and other influencers, you're giving them a clean story in a format that's easy to repurpose. Download Five Keys to Crafting Press Releases that Drive Earned Media for more press release writing and distribution tips. Author Catherine Spicer is a manager of customer content services with more than 20 years' experience counseling brands on their content. She also authors Beyond PR's long-running Grammar Hammer series. Follow Cathy on Twitter @cathyspicer and tweet her your #grammargripes.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click on the following link: Unsubscribe