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	<title>The Pedestal Group</title>
	<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com</link>
	<description>Putting our clients where they belong</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:25:53 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<item>
		<title>The Word Process Needs More to Convey Your Message</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Use pictures, call outs and names to explain and highlight your process. Just saying you have one isn't enough anymore.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/the-word-process/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Fetch Is So Outdated</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The game of fetch is no longer what clients want - they don't have you throw out a product or service, catch it and bring back more business.  Today, there is a lot more interaction.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/fetch-is-so-outdated/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>A Good Defense Can Kill a Deal</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This weekend I watched Shark Tank.  I had avoided it because it sounded so goofy and so many other bloggers were on the band wagon.  But what I saw happens all the time in real life too so it was worth discussing.
Over and over people came in with their ideas that they held onto like [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/a-good-defense-can-kill-a-deal/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>When It Just Doesn&#8217;t Feel Right&#8230;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[When it doesn't feel right, the best thing to do is to walk away.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/when-it-just-doesnt-feel-right/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Working Together</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I belong to a chapter of BNI &#8211; Business Network International.  This group is a great source of business, friendship, ideas and a place to talk to other entrepreneurs.  Love that!  But what really hit home for me recently was talking to a competitor.  She asked how I can offer solutions in marketing and social [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/working-together/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>There Is No Pool To Jump In When Cold Calling</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cold calling isn't just diving in, it is knowing what to say when you "interrupt".]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/there-is-no-pool-in-cold-calling/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Gatherers Harvest the Rewards</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning I read an article by Clate Mask about Hunting vs. Harvesting.  In the article, Mask talks about businesses often going hunting for new business rather than harvesting what they have grown.  The idea is you choose what you want to grow, where you should grow it, and then you tend it until [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/gatherers-harvest-the-rewards/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>When Messages Aren&#8217;t Clear</title>
		<description><![CDATA[And now the lessons – first, know the exact problems your product solves. If you solve just a small piece of a bigger issue, know that up front and be ready to answer why you can’t address the rest (in this case, the Constitution is a great fall back for why his bill doesn’t address bigger issues). Second, DON’T BASH YOUR COMPETITION. It is just tacky! Not to mention you don’t know who knows whom, what they think of your competition or what they think of you. If a customer does it, they are welcome to do so and thank them for the information. But don’t jump on that bandwagon. It isn’t going anywhere good. Finally, know your audience. When you are talking to someone, know what their company does and how. Understand their industry. Don’t just go in and figure they’ll see the benefit without doing your research. And remember, everything can be a marketing opportunity!]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/when-messages-arent-clear/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Finalizing Your Marketing Plan</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We have now concluded our series on how to start a marketing plan.  So what did we accomplish?
Product or Service
Strong Company Brand
Strong Personal Brand
Established or Create the need
Long or Short Sales Cycle
Known Industry
Established vs. Startup
Tech Savvy Customers
At each step, we analyzed the company and the customers to make sure we understood who people think we [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/finalizing-marketing-plan/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Tech-Savvy Customers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is the final and part eight in our series on how to start thinking about marketing.  To see our previous articles, check out:
Product or Service
Strong Company Brand
Strong Personal Brand
Established or Create the need
Long or Short Sales Cycle
Known Industry
Established vs. Startup
The final, and yes, it is last on purpose, is to start looking at [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/tech-savvy-customers/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Established Company vs. Startup</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is part seven in our series on how to start thinking about marketing.  To see our previous articles, check out:
Product or Service
Strong Company Brand
Strong Personal Brand
Established or Create the need
Long or Short Sales Cycle
Known Industry
Both established companies and start ups have unique challenges when trying to build their marketing plans.  If an established [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/establishedco-vs-startup/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Are You In a Known Industry?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is part six in our series on how to start thinking about marketing. To see our previous articles, check out:

Product or Service
Strong Company Brand
Strong Personal Brand
Established or Create the need
Long or Short Sales Cycle

The next item to review in determining your marketing plan is if you are in a known industry or not.  For example, if someone says they do carpet cleaning, we all know what that means. But, if someone says they are the foremost expert in biophysics, there's a good chance only a few people know what that individual does on a daily basis.  It is important to understand that not everyone knows what you do every day.  And even if people think they know an industry, they may not truly understand what you do.

One industry that is interesting from this perspective is recruiting.  Recruiters are definitely misunderstood. Many people haven't dealt with recruiters and therefore don't have any idea what they actually do - they call them "head hunters" and generally assume the candidate pays them to find them a job.  This is absolutely the opposite of most recruiting offices.  Generally they are hired by the client to find a specific person and then have to employ many ways to find that perfect individual.  So in a case like this, a recruiter has a unique challenge to design a marketing plan as they not only have to get their personal message out there, but also educate the prospect on what they do.  Several industries share this challenge and Chiropractors are the first to come to mind.  

On the other hand, there are industries that people don't know exist.  We all understand the insurance industry but how many people have heard of long-term care insurance?  This isn't like life or car insurance of which we all have a basic understanding.  This is insurance that provides for a time when we can't take care of ourselves.  Not exactly something the average person wants to consider.  So the marketing plan to get the word out on that product is even more challenging as you have to educate, and then get over the concerns and emotional issues of the subject. 

In a known industry, one must differentiate.  Going back to our carpet cleaning example, if someone comes to your home or office to clean your carpets, you have a set of expectations.  Some are built on past experience and some based on the results you desire. As a carpet cleaner, you have to get the client to understand why you are the best, and may not be the cheapest.  That is a very different message.

So it is important to know if people you are selling to have an understanding of your industry, have an incorrect understanding of your industry, or if they have no understanding.  In each case, the message must be delivered to deal with that situation appropriately and effectively. ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/are-you-in-a-known-industry/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Long or Short Sales Cycle Makes a Difference</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The length of your sales cycle has a lot to do with your marketing.  A good marketer always has an eye to how to manage the workload when the marketing efforts pay off and it is a rare situation to have things pay off in a nice, orderly fashion. Generally everything comes in at once.  So understanding if you will have several large deals a year vs. a bunch of small ones means understanding how long a sales cycle you run.

Obviously most business owners can describe their sales cycle - it is a measure they pay attention to on a regular basis.  But how should that influence your marketing?  In a short sales cycle, you can get a lot of quick hits. A person makes a decision right away and there are no barriers or issues to hold them back.  That means your marketing needs to be targeted, to the point, and SHORT.  Don't bog me down in a bunch of details if I need to make a quick decision.  Let me ask for more info if I need it (or find it on your website).  Make the reasons to decide yes compelling - use testimonials, case studies, or examples of your work to show me how this will be a benefit.  Don't expect me to fill in the blanks myself - I didn't care until you said something so I'm not going to spend time on it. Make it as easy as possible. 

But if your sales cycle is long, then there are lots of opportunities for me to change my mind, look at other people, or generally stretch it out even more.  In these cases, it is critical to identify key points in the process and sell to those.  Prospecting?  Sell to getting an appointment to discuss your products - not the final sale.  If you are constantly pushing to get to the final sale, you may lose the person in the process. Instead, set up a series of smaller wins so that the end result is more assured.  Reviewing previous sales, if you have the data check and see what buying percentage there is as each prospect got through those milestones.  If 80% of prospects buy once they get through the on-site demo, then sell to that demo and get more people through that process.  If only 20% of people buy after the demo, then you know you need to retool your demo, change the mechanism or interview existing customers to see why that was valuable to them so you know where in the process to put it.  

In a long sales cycle, messages need to be more informative and detail-driven.  Rarely is a product or service with a long sales cycle considered by itself - it is generally being reviewed next to its competitors.  With that in mind, the easier it is for the client to get information about the product or service the more likely they will favor it.  If I am heading a purchasing committee to obtain a service and one company gives me all the information while the other makes me ask, I will naturally feel company A is more open, honest and willing to share information.  I will see them as strong communicators and be more inclined to give them the business. 

The sales cycle dictates a lot about the marketing message including content, intent and type of information.  But no matter what, your goal is always to make it easy for the client to decide to go with YOU.  So be sure your messages, marketing materials and website always make it EASY.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/sales-cycle/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Established or Create The Need</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is part four in our series on how to start thinking about marketing.  To see our previous articles, check out:
Product or Service
Strong Company Brand
Strong Personal Brand
When anyone is trying to sell something, the buyer has to recognize a reason to pay for it.  We refer to those reasons as needs.  For some businesses, the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/established-or-create-the-need/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Strong Personal Brands</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is the third installment in our continuing series on how I get started with a client. These questions help clients understand where they should target their marketing efforts.

The next area of focus is strong personal brand. There are some products that sell themselves. For the rest of us, we have to sell our products and services. When people buy, they buy us first, and then what we are selling. With that in mind, your prospect needs to consider you an expert in your field – someone who knows what they are talking about and can be trusted to produce. But you can’t be in every right place at every right time, right?

For some people, there is the added challenge of working for a large company with many people who do what you do. Insurance reps, realtors, financial service providers, etc. are often working the same area as their coworkers. So now, you have to work within your company brand and convince someone that you are the best choice at your firm without putting down anyone else at your firm. That is a pretty tall order!

The best way to manage both of these issues is to have a strong personal brand. If people can find you quickly, easily and in a way that shows you are an expert, you don’t have to sell as hard. The person can accept you as that expert.

So how do you get recognized as an expert? First, you have to know where your customers are looking. If they look on the web, you need to be sure your online presence reflects your expert status. LinkedIn is the first place to start as you get the opportunity to use your profile to explain how you got where you are. Nothing says “expert” like relevant experience!

In addition to LinkedIn, clients should be able to find you easily. Complete profiles and establish your online reputation so that you control it (See Own the Information About You for more information).

If your clients aren’t on line, think about where they will see your information and REMEMBER it. An ad in the local paper won’t work if people don’t read it and remember it when they need you. Sometimes you have to offer to speak, provide content or do something else to be seen as an expert in your field.

Building your personal brand is an important part of how to make sure people come to YOU when they need your help instead of you having to always find them. Our next installment will be about an Established Need vs. a Time-Based Need.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.thepedestalgroup.com/strong-personal-brands/</link>
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