I got a question from a new entrepreneur that’s relevant to all service businesses from new to old.  This particular entrepreneur is just finishing up a bookkeeping program of study.  The last module in her program is a marketing module that recommended she drive in a one mile radius and note all the businesses.

Next she is supposed to get the names of those business owners and send them a letter telling them about her services letting them know she will be calling them.

Her question… she was having trouble finding out who the owners were and wondered how to get that information.  To say getting the names of the business owners is the least of her worries is a gross understatement.

To think the marketing plan her school provided her would get her enough clients to earn a living is far from likely.

If that was all it took every business owner in any service business would have all the business they wanted.

Sadly, I got similar recommendations when I started out and so do attorneys, chiropractors, insurance agents, graphic designers…  You name the service and they probably get a similar recommendation.

So off you go thinking the world is your oyster and the skies the limit.

And then you find out…

1. Every prospect you approach seems to already have a bookkeeper (insert your industry)
2. They wouldn’t even considering using anyone who isn’t a CPA (insert any certification others in your industry have that you don’t)
3. They do their own bookkeeping and view you as an unnecessary expense (insert the excuses you get for not needing your services)

And that brings me to the most important element you must develop before you even start developing your sales marketing plan.  The most important element is defining, discovering, and planning how you will deal with the push back.  No matter what service you are in you will ALWAYS get push back unless you plan to avoid or remove it before it starts.

You can’t develop a sales marketing plan until you can…

1. Succinctly communicate what’s unique or special about what you do for your prospects.
2. Discuss the pros and cons of competitors versus your service.
3. Give prospects a reason to be interested in what you sell.

Rather than thinking of your service as an expense your prospects must view your service as the necessary investment required to get the solutions, outcomes, or results they are ALREADY looking to get.

Then and only then can you develop a sales and marketing plan to:

• get your message in front of the right people
• get those people to reach out to you
• develop a relationship with your prospects
• help your prospects identify what’s best for them
• help them buy what they want to buy the way they want to buy it

Properly armed you are then ready to get the names of the people most likely to buy your stuff.

An easy way for the bookkeeper to get those names is to simply call the business, ask who is responsible for daily operations, then ask for the correct spelling of their name so you can send them a note.

It’s so frustrating when you are just starting out because even when you think you are asking for the help you need more often than not you aren’t asking the most questions.  The questions that would get you headed in the right direction.

Coach Cheryl

Do it Yourself

Do it with a Little Help

Do it with Guidance

photo credit: Maco@Sky Walker