As part of my new business development role, I often spend time with clients on new business development strategy. Most of our clients come to us because they need lead generation to grow their business. They have targets to reach. Yet, often, they are ill-equipped to generate new business. Mainly, that’s because they are missing some of the basic tools to do the job. They are found wanting when it comes to the ability to tell a good story to generate more business. What do I mean by that?
Tell a Compelling Story
It isn’t about their skills or the quality of their work. In some cases, it isn’t even that they lack focus. The main challenge is that regularly, we find that they struggle to articulate with conviction what they offer. They also fail to tell the story in a compelling way.
Buyers today are bombarded with commoditised messages that all sound the same. They generally have suppliers for most of what they need. And those suppliers are often contracted for 12 months or more. Purchasers are time-poor and have many competing priorities.
So, with that in mind, why would a buyer engage with your business? Why would they listen to you whether that’s on the phone, via an email, at an event or even when they receive a nice mailer? Too frequently, businesses trot out the same bland information that competitors offer and they fail to differentiate. They don’t understand why customers buy and they have no story to tell.
Being Unique is Tough
Now I appreciate that not every business has something unique. We have a new client that offers a pallet shrink wrap that is lighter and stronger than traditional alternatives. The cost per pallet therefore drops significantly for the customer but with greater security. That’s a great story to go in with, especially if they can back that up with testimonials. If they have supporting information, including videos and testimonials, even better.
A few years ago, I met a chap who was organising the Small Rugby Club World Cup to coincide with the real tournament. The idea was to get the smallest rugby clubs in the world together for a tournament at the same time. They were already speaking to the Rugby Football Union (who agreed to support them), as the concept was about grass roots. That’s a hot topic in all sport. What a great story! They received sponsorship and it was a brilliant PR story that gained exposure.
How to Make Your Business More Engaging
Now I’m not suggesting that a North London Accountant, or Manchester based Surveyor should organise a tournament, or wrap their customers up in cling film. What I am suggesting is that every business must find a way to differentiate itself. This is as much by its actions as by its services. People buy into what you stand for as much as what you offer. People buy people. Everyone loves a good story. So, what do you believe? What will engage your prospective clients? What story do you have to tell?
Work on Your Positioning
At GSA, we operate in a very commoditised marketplace. However, we ‘position’ ourselves as experts in lead generation and our website conveys that positioning through lots of content around the topic. We have over 400 blogs, videos, infographics, and podcasts on the subject of business development. On our Knowledge Bank, you can find Telemarketing Tips and other articles to help you grow your business. All of these things support our positioning, and our story.
We have a guide to telemarketing on our site that can be downloaded from our homepage. I have written a book on telemarketing techniques. And, we run telemarketing training for clients. It all adds to our story.
Whatever your business, people thankfully still buy people. And people want to hear about your story more than your products or services.
If you’d like to know how GSA Business Development can help generate growth for your business give us a call or use our contact form to make an enquiry
