I remember years ago when I was just starting my business that one of my mentors, a seasoned business professional who was well known across Northwest Ohio, taught me a very valuable lesson. “Jeanne,” he said, “You’ll be more successful and win more clients when you keep your ears open and your mouth shut.”
That one statement has guided me throughout the years. Yes–picture that, me… mouth shut, ears open.
2019 started off with another reminder of just how important it is to listen to our clients and let them tell us what they care about. Our company belongs to an industry peer group, and in January we had a chance to, once again, connect with these like-minded professionals for two days of intense learning and fellowship.
We made the journey down from Ohio to Atlanta where it was very much warmer there. With temperatures in the high 20’s here, we were happy to make the journey to Peach Country.
What happened next was eye-opening…
Our group made up mostly of companies just like ours, discussed the importance of listening to our clients. Yes – our clients are a wealth of information and knowledge. Time after time, we attend conferences and trade shows and listen to some speaker talk about things we should be doing as IT professionals. But rarely do any of them have the feet-on-the-street experience to know what’s happening here at home. Our clients do, and we should be listening to them and not talking to them.
When Clients Ask–We Should Listen
One of our peer group members discussed a game-changing book he was reading called “They Ask, You Answer” by Marcus Sheridan. Marcus, now a famous, sales trainer is also involved with a pool company in Virginia. Ten short years ago, during the height of the recession and facing bankruptcy, Marcus changed the way he marketed River Pool & Spas.
Marcus didn’t know it at the time, but he was onto something. During the following years, Marcus sold more and more pools, found more and more qualified buyers and eventually (not that long really) had more business than he knew what to do with and more profits than ever before.
After Listening–We Should Answer In Our Marketing Materials
What was Marcus’ secret? Just like my mentor taught me it was to listen to your clients and answer their questions. Marcus just beat them to the punch by producing guides, blog posts and website content that attracted qualified buyers.
What did we learn from our two-day meeting and reading Marcus’ book? Our marketing is going to change. We’ll use videos, blogs and other forms of content to answer your questions about the Cloud.
And, if you approach your marketing in the same fashion, I’m almost certain that your business will be a smashing success as well. Together, we’ll soar to success.