The Educational Spectrum - Part 2 - Adult B2B Marketing Tip

The Educational Spectrum - Part 2

Yesterday we started a discussion of the educational spectrum. Here's more:

I was talking to a client some time ago that used telemarketing as a major source of driving in new business. He wanted to increase his telemarketers' closing ratio, so he came to me for ideas. After reviewing the pitch they were using, I concluded that it was fine...no major changes needed to happen. Frustrated, the client threw up his hands and said, "That's it, then? I'm getting all the possible sales? I sure thought that my product had a lot bigger market potential than the results we're seeing now."

So I asked him the same question I always ask every client: "What are you doing to follow up on the prospects that 1) don't buy now and 2) aren't interested?" The response was equally as familiar. He said they put those that don't buy now in a database and call them every 30 days for 3 months...at which point they get dropped if they don't buy.

As for those that just aren't interested..."Nothing. They're not interested! Why would I waste time on them? There's an old saying that you should spend time polishing cherries, not pits!" Let me add one comment: my client's average customer was worth thousands of dollars in profit per transaction. Just improving the telemarketer's pitch was not where the effort needed to be spent.

What my client needed to understand was why customers were not buying....why they were saying no. The answer is what we call the "educational spectrum." There is an educational process from the moment a prospect begins thinking about buying your product or service to the point when he actually puts out his hard earned cash.

Most marketers concentrate 99% of their efforts on finding and selling to prospects that are at the very end of the spectrum and ready to buy right now. These are what we call ripe cherries. You can attract them to your business by placing ads where hot prospects will be going to do their comparison shopping. Just remember that all of your competitors will also be there with their buckets looking for big, fat, red cherries.

More on Monday, enjoy your weekend!