Consultants on line news feed

Is Marketing Evil?

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Marketing is Evil and manipulative. Are we all sheep, easily herded into buying things we don't really need. Or is marketing a tool for research and development - bringing innovative products that make life easier, or more fun? We all use marketing techniques in our own lives - at interviews for example.

See how the 4 Principles of marketing have changed over the years.

It was author Douglas Adams in his Hitchhiker books who put all the marketing executives on a space ship:
“Apparently the Earth was going to crash into the sun. So what everyone thought was, - let's pack the whole population into three giant spaceships and go and settle on another planet.

The idea was that into the first ship, the 'A' ship, would go all the brilliant leaders, the scientists, the great artists, you know, all the achievers; and into the third, or 'C' ship, would go all the people who did the actual work, who made things and did things, and then into the `B' ship - that's us - would go everyone else, the middlemen you see."
"And they made sure they sent you lot off first did they?" inquired Arthur.

“And the other ships, er ... they followed on after you did they?"

"Ah. Well it's funny you should say that," he said and allowed himself a slight frown at Ford Prefect, "because curiously enough we haven't heard a peep out of them since we left five years ago ...

But in reality - a business enterprise has two -- and only two -- basic functions: marketing and innovation. See how Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs

Leadership, Power or Influence - which do you want?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

You may be able to do things using your "power of authority" if you are a judge, a general or a managing director - but there are other types of power you can use:

Maybe these will be useful ...

Influence is when you change someone's views and their actions. You need to know how people think, and get on their wavelength. Here are some popular styles:

Get emotional - blow your top, make people cringe
Be rational - present facts and logic
Mental torture - pester until they give in
Coalitions - gang up on people

See all the different approaches....

Get More of the Right Customers

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The best customers are a pleasure to work with. They bring you good profit margins, are appreciative of your service, pay you on time, and collaborate with you to produce a perfect customer experience.

But you can’t just sit there and wait for people to buy from you - You have to make it happen.
People do business with people they know, like and trust – if your potential clients know, like and trust you, there is a good chance they will buy from you.
There are several steps you need to take to make this process happen:

1. Decide your target market

Choose which group of people want to buy your product or service the most. It is unlikely this niche will include everyone – start with the type of client you really want. Be careful with your definition and ask yourself – “could I find these people in a directory?” because you need to be able to make contact with this group, describe them to referral partners and have an idea where they do their networking. It’s fine if someone outside this niche comes along, but the objective at this stage is to fill the sales pipeline, so first of all decide how you customers can be grouped together.

Here are some ways to define your customer group:

Classification
Industry Sector
Size
Geographical location
Department
Decision makers

Age
Gender
Occupation
Family status
Income
Education
Interests and hobbies

2. Build your sales pipeline

Building up a prospective client list is an ongoing process. Make a list of the names, phone numbers and email address of people who might become customers, and a seperate list for people who could refer the right customers to you. The best contacts are decision makers – people who have the money, the authority and the need (MAN).

3. Be specific about what you do

Describe clearly the product or service that you offer – focus on benefits to the customer, not features. Tell people why you are unique and why they should buy from you and not someone else. Use words that people in your customer group will relate to, and describe the problems you can help them solve.

3. Make contact

There are six main ways to make contact with prospective clients:

3.1. Contact them directly
By phone, face to face, or email. Make this as personal as possible by mentioning something that gets your contact’s attention.

3.2. Referrals
You can network by phone, online or in person. Get to know people who are in contact with your target market.

3.3. Presentations and Workshops
Find an organised group and give a talk to them. Most conferences need speakers.

3.4. Publicity and writing articles
Many blogs and websites are a good place to start – This is a great way to build up credibility rather than the Know, Like and trust requirements. Get some help if you are not a good writer.

3.5. Promotional events
Participating in a trade show can be expensive – but at least your audience is coming to you. The smaller, more local exhibitions can be better value. You can also give demonstrations and workshops via the Web.

3.6. Advertising
Advertisements do not allow clients to get to know, like or trust you, but sometimes a website or brochure can be a good source of leads. You need to follow-up to make this work.

4. Follow-Up

If you don’t follow-up you will have a huge pipeline but no sales. Contacting prospective clients directly is the beat method of following up – it moves the relationship forward. Remember to add value in your follow up call, it’s another chance to demonstrate your expertise. This is the most important step in the sales cycle.

5. Make a proposal

You have a full pipeline and are regularly following up on your contacts – so you are talking to the right people. Next you need to find out what your prospect is concerned about and how you can solve their problem. But before describing what you can do – ask them about their situation. You need to establish rapport and ask open questions rather than those that can be answered with a yes or a no.
Show that you fully understand the specific problem by summarising and paraphrasing what they have said – ask the prospect to describe the implications of not getting the problem solved quickly – what impact does it have on the business? By building up the weight of the problem you make your proposed solution an important priority.

6. Close the Sale

Now you have lots of contacts. You are spending your time talking to the right people about their specific problems. They are telling you what will happen if they do not find a solution.

They know, like and trust you and you have told them how you can help - for example by using specific examples of how you have helped others.

Ask for the business.
Don’t say anything.

Whatever your prospective client says next will tell you how close you are to making a sale.

If you don’t get the order now (there's usually a 1 in 3 chance) - agree completely with what your prospect says. This is an unsatisfied need – so explain how you can meet it.

Then ask for the business again.

When you know you have made contact with a prospect who needs your service, knows what you can do and trusts you to do it – keep following up.

Be friendly, considerate and professional.

Be persistent.

Have you ever had a great idea and wondered what to do with it?

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

How do inventors get rich?

Unfortunately not many of them do. Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers – they were all world famous inventors, but none of them made any money. They didn't take the right steps.

Only a small percentage of inventions are successful - 9 out of 10 never reach the market. You can learn how to pick winners...

Here's how to get started:

1. Keep a notebook about your invention from the time you had the idea.

You should start a diary from the first moment you think of an idea. Then you have proof of the date of the invention, just in case someone else is also working on the same idea. Keep rough notes of the design, research you did, test results, and other background information.

2. Build a prototype

It’s not easy to sell an idea – People like to see things and touch them. Build a prototype or working model if you can – no matter how basic it is. Even better if you can test it out or demonstrate it.

3. Get the right help at the right time.

It is unlikely you will find anyone to build, test, patent, manufacture, and sell your invention and then send you a big fat check for a million pounds. Your idea needs to be developed through several stages of the invention process. It’s helpful if you can get an independent and objective opinion about your invention before you spend too much time and money on it. We can provide this service at Consultants Online

4. Estimate your invention’s chances of success

You have to be positive and determined about how great your invention is, but keep your grip on reality. We have a simple Idea Tester at Consultants Online to help you decide if the invention has a chance of success << Click Here >>. Don’t remortgage your house to generate cash for your invention until you’ve done a simple return on investment calculation. What is the size of the market? How many can you sell and at what price?

5. Keep your invention secret

Do not disclose your idea to anyone if you want to take out a patent otherwise it cannot be patented. Your invention must not have been: Made public, demonstrated, sold, talked about with friends or tested where someone has seen it.
When you show or talk about your invention, it is important that you make sure the person you are dealing with treats it with confidentiality. It might be worth drawing up a confidentiality agreement with the people you are planning to talk to.

6. It’s already been done!

You don't want to end up infringing somebody else's patent. Your invention must be "novel" over the "prior art" to be protected by a patent. "Novel" means "new" and "prior art" means other patents, published research or white papers, articles, or other publications. If something similar to your invention has previously been described by someone else, anywhere in the world, you might have problems patenting it. You can do a search << Here >>

7. Do I need a patent?

There are arguments for and against getting a patent. Some experts suggest not spending the time or money on a patent, but instead taking your invention straight to the marketplace. Only a fraction of patents make money. If your invention is a very simple item you might want to consider that approach. Keep in mind that it is not easy to enforce your patent once you do it get it. There are no patent police, so it's up to you to find out if anyone has copied your invention. You may have a legal battle to prove that you really were the first with such an idea and that someone is infringing on it. Unless you have plenty of cash to spare, this is often not practical. See Protecting Your Idea

8. You don't have to exploit the invention yourself

You could make money by licensing somebody else to commercialise your invention. This gives them the legal right to manufacture, use, sell or import your patented invention. Licensing a patent could be the easiest way to generate extra income for your business.
Some products can be protected and then licensed with a combination of a patent, a trade mark and a registered design.

9. Who is interested in your invention?

Create a list of potential manufacturers or customers who may be interested in your product. Aim for a list of at least 50 or more. If you want to license your invention find manufacturers by looking trade journals for similar products used in similar applications. Visit product related exhibitions. Use Google and online manufacturer databases to search for companies that make products that do the same thing as yours.

10. Start Marketing

Once you have decided you can protect your invention, send a marketing letter to each company on your target list. Say that you are willing to consider selling or licensing the patent rights to your invention. Try to include a professional looking brochure and a website address connected to your product. A short one-page promotional data sheet with photos, that describes your invention and its benefits, should be included with the letter.

Welcome to Consultants Online

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We like to think we're a bit different from the average consultant. For a start we know how to communicate well with business owner - managers, to understand their needs and deliver practical advice.

We also feel you might not want to hear fancy management speak, you just want to know how to apply best practice to your individual situation. That's what sets us apart from our competitors: we listen, we advise and then we help you implement a solution.

Consultants Online is based in Cardiff; we have customers all over the world who take advantage of our services and expertise. Not only do we create bespoke solutions but we have five pools of knowledge which have helped hundreds of companies transform old and rusty business processes into easily managed systems straight from our web pages. Over the past seven years we've learnt one company can't be the best at everything, so to make sure you get the best of the best we work with some of the top rated consultants in the area to deliver advice which you couldn't get anywhere else at this level of value.

Thank you for visiting our site please take a look at some of the case studies we’ve delivered over past few years. If you're still unsure about what Consultants Online can do for you then click “Get Our Free Newsletter” at the top of this page or ask a question in the search box on the homepage and see if we can provide the right answer.