The goal of any professional marketing campaign should be to grow a customer base, and no small business owner can do this in a vacuum. The most successful marketers in any industry are those that are social and get out into their communities to meet people, particularly targeting those that make the big business decisions for potential clients, or are the gatekeepers to connecting with these key individuals. There are of course two main challenges involved in this process: figuring out where to find the people that are decision makers or can get to them directly; using the right tactics to speak meaningfully to these people with a strong, relevant marketing message.
Where Do the Gatekeepers and Decision Makers Hide Themselves?
For small business owners providing goods or services that are trying to build their client base, successfully marketing to those that will make decisions means knowing where they hang out, both during and after work hours. Many business owners only get these marketing tricks “sort of” right by failing to completely fine-tune their search. They throw out a huge net and say, “I want to find anyone that makes a decision about anything important within my target market.” For example, the owner of a small accounting firm that provides services to small medical offices might decide to attend networking events with hospital administrators or pharmaceutical reps. These events might connect this person to a lot of people that do make decisions for large hospitals and may have connections to smaller offices, but ultimately do not provide direct connections to the right decision makers and gatekeepers. Being able to accurately find the places those that make purchase and contract decisions and delivering a marketing message that resonates in an appropriate setting where the target customer or client will be receptive is one of the best small business marketing strengths anyone can have.
The Gatekeeper or Decision Maker Is Not Instantly Interested.
The harsh truth is, no matter what industry a small business owner is in or what product or service he provides, his/her target clients don’t have to and will likely not care about the average – and even above average – sales pitch that comes across his/her desk.
Everyone from administrative assistants – the standard “gatekeeper” at most companies – to company presidents, CEOs, CIOs, staff accountants or human resources directors get overwhelmed by hundreds if not thousands of people trying to sell their products and services on a daily basis. They are also typically pretty hip to age-old tactics of “tricking” them into standing at attention.
Two Marketing Tips that Most Often Work with Gatekeepers and Decision Makers:
- Insisting on a “No Cold Calls” Policy. Cold calls are very difficult, and even more ineffectual than ever before in the Digital Age, with so many different ways to communicate and market. The likely result of most cold calls for small business owners selling their services is getting through to an administrative assistant or secretary who will take their number, but in the same breath express a lack of interest. Why should they be interested when they don’t know or trust the caller, and when they have likely received 50 other calls that month from competitors, who are providing services they also do not need that they see as indistinguishable from the caller's? Those that insist on cold calling cannot take rejection personally; but they are better served by building relationships with the gatekeepers and decision makers directly before asking them to buy, or establishing relationships with those that have relationships with these people and can give very high-quality referrals and recommendations that will be less likely to be ignored.
- Building a Real Professional Reputation and Real Relationships. People in power respond most to known quantities with proven track records. They also will more likely buy products and services from people that have made the effort of establishing personal relationships with them and have gotten to know their real business problems before trying to blindly sell solutions they may or may not need. The Number One way to grow a customer base is to become a “known quantity” in the community by getting out there. Small business owners will have great success identifying the gatekeepers and decision makers at their ideal prospective customers’ company sites, shaking hands with them, speaking at events they will attend and investing real time building a solid professional network.
Julia Rogers - Julia Rogers is a freelance writer and musician based in New York City. She writes for a variety of companies and individuals with ...
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