How do you fill it?
Lou Sabo opened this week’s Marketing Minute with a familiar picture: the business sales funnel. Most everyone knows the funnel, but Lou put a simpler question to the room: how do you get people into it in the first place? Networking was the first answer and the room quickly added more: direct mail, websites, referrals, working your existing client list and calling, both warm and cold. Lou also pointed to the “bigger nets” like direct mail and billboards, which put your name in front of a much wider audience.
Lou shared a story that shows how name recognition can build almost by accident. He had a sign painted on the side of his building just so people could find his door. He soon found out the sign could be seen from all the way across the lot, where customers were heading into Chipotle and LA Fitness. A simple wayfinding sign turned into a billboard, building recognition with people who weren’t even looking for him. Looking down the list, Lou noted that NRG has a member covering nearly every one of these channels except calling; a business sales or calling professional would be a great addition to the group.
Rich Cavallaro then added a creative twist on calling. He’s made friends with the salespeople at larger IT companies, the same companies some would call his competitors. When those firms get a call from a business that’s too small for them, they tell the caller to call Rich. Brandon said he does the same thing: several large HVAC and plumbing companies now send him the small jobs they don’t want. The takeaway is that your competitors can be one of your best referral sources, as long as you build those relationships first.
Today’s Marketing Minute is brought to you by Lou Sabo of LRS IIImages.
Image created with Canva.