When I sit down to write this newsletter each week, I ask myself two questions: How can I help the person on the other end of this newsletter with an idea that provides them with a new perspective on something that will help them produce better results and how do I make it actionable?
I’ll let you in on a secret. This is the heart of my content marketing strategy. But this isn’t what I feel from salespeople, marketers, entrepreneurs, and sales organization.
Instead, I receive email requests for meetings that are boilerplate, sometimes with the wrong name, and sometimes with mismatched fonts that give away the fact that they copied and pasted the text.
My inbox is also a magnet for offers to download content, like white papers, case studies, and other special reports. These companies already have my email address, they just want more information to know how they might sell me. I have used–and still use–this strategy myself. But with an important distinction: If I ask for more information, I hope that I have earned the right to ask by providing valuable, actionable ideas over a long period of time, that I have made the necessary deposits in the relationship.
Are You Creating Value Before Claiming Any
I want you to know me. I want you to know me as a value creator, someone with ideas and the ability to help. The unbreakable rule I follow is to create value before ever attempting to claim value. When I ask to explore opportunities to work together, it is easier and more natural for you to say “yes.”
Is this what you are doing? If you lead a sales team, is this what you have them doing, creating value before claiming any? Or are you simply spamming people with emails and phone calls to request that they listen to your pitch?
Let’s make this actionable for you right now.
- What do your dream clients need to know right now but probably aren’t aware of? How can you help them understand that issue and why it is important to them?
- What are your dream clients struggling to do? How can you best share your ideas about how they can achieve the results they want–even before they commit to buying from you and even if they don’t?
- How can you share your ideas with your client’s directly?
This is the value creator’s fear: If no one knows what you know and believe, they won’t hire you. But if you give your ideas away, they might do what you recommend themselves or share the ideas with your competitors. Those fears aren’t without some merit. But your greater fear should be that you aren’t known and that you aren’t known as someone who can help.
Right now, find some idea, some piece of killer content and email it to your dream client. Write a note that says something that sounds like this: “I just read this, and it made think that this idea might be useful to you. I downloaded it for you and it’s attached. Tell me what you think?” This is the difference between nurturing relationships and spamming your dream clients.
Let me know how you do. You can email me directly at iannarino@gmail.com. If you want to, go ahead and forward this to someone on your team.
I’ll see you back here next week! Until then, make yourself known, and make sure you are known as someone who creates value.
Contributor Anthony Iannarino is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and consultant. He writes daily at www.thesalesblog.com and you can subscribe to his newsletter at www.thesalesblog.com/newsletter.