Check-ins4Growth

Business routines are backwards these days. It used to be I’d build a relationship with someone, then they would become a client. Now, clients decide to trust us to help them and then at some point afterward we begin to build a deeper connection.

The pandemic shrank the new business world.

We had always done commerce in a pretty wide geographical range, but in 2020 we saw an even more pronounced variety of zip codes in our business development efforts. In one week, we were talking to prospects in Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Michigan, Kansas, California, and Salem, Virginia. (That last place is about eight miles from our office as the crow flies.)

As the winter weather broke in 2021, I started scheduling meetings with our newer clients on our front porch at the “new” office we moved into the day the Governor locked down Virginia. I’d sit on the porch with business owners whom I had been working with for months, but had never met and it was great.

We remarked how odd it was, got to know each other, and learned about our businesses. All of that was after we had been working together. These conversations always led to new opportunities, deeper connections, and affirmation. It was a reminder of the power of in-person meetings.

DecideYouWant2DoItYourself

I’m encouraging my clients to (safely) meet with their clients as soon as they are comfortable doing so.  Some never stopped in-person sales calls, and others are just now beginning to meet with clients, but for me there was no denying the power of the front porch.

Meanwhile, a smart person close to me remarked how this same approach could pack a lot of power with the team with whom I work.  After some discussion and conversation, I decided to start scheduling a weekly meeting with each 5Pointer – one at a time.  After all, the connection to your clients is certainly important, but the focused attention on each person you work with also packs a strong punch.  Not surprisingly, meeting with my own crew yielded the same type of results.  It’s pretty straightforward really – relationships will always matter.

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What Does it Take4a Client to Buy?

Late last year something happened in my business’ sales cycle and it got me thinking.

To support another organization, I placed a call to a friend of mine whom I had known for about a dozen years.  In the course of the conversation about this other topic, he asked me about marketing and advertising.  He wondered how we help clients and what we do.  Before long, we were into an actual sales process.

I didn’t call to talk with him about my company, but for his company the time was right and the need was evident. His company was situated for a fast decision and a fresh start in the new calendar year.  While I cannot recall the exact number of meetings we had, or the length of time it took this prospective client to decide to work with us, I know it went fast.

Sometimes situations like that happen, but that doesn’t present the whole picture.

Decide Not2Rush It

In consulting with companies one of the things we evaluate is how clients buy and when they buy.  It’s a popular topic about which many papers and books have been written.  The interesting thing about this particular new client was the peculiar circumstances.  On one hand you could make the case it was a two week sales cycle and that closed deal was brilliantly accomplished.  You could also argue it took over a dozen years and that more direct and clear communication at various points over the past decade could have led to a much quicker close.

In some ways both perspectives are right.

It probably took years for this friend to realize my firm was substantial, able to help his company, and when he needed us, we were right there and prepared to help.  Conversely, my December call unrelated to his marketing needs jolted a conversation he may well have recently been thinking about having.

The lesson is related to the value of mixing the long-term regimented and ongoing marketing approach with the keen eye for current and open opportunities.  It fits into one of the primary pieces of advice for others in business.  Keep your head down grinding while lifting your eyes looking for opportunities.

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Not2Terribly Far Back

The year was 2003 and sequels were all the rage – The Lord of the Rings, Matrix, and Terminator movie series were topping the box office.  Speaking of Terminators, it was that year that Arnold Schwarzenegger became California’s Governor too.  The government was expanding too (isn’t that what governments do regardless?) with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.  The world was dealing with a scary escalating pandemic called SARS, and Steve Jobs rolled out iTunes with a booming amount of success.

It was also the year WordPress was launched.

WordPress was a radical departure from the way people built websites over the past decade or so.  A few members of a community of interested bloggers picked up some source code and decided to start something.  It became a bit of a movement and then it was a force.  Now WordPress is the dominate Content Management Software platform in the world.  Even casually interested marketers and C-suite executives have heard of it.

Let’s remember though it was started as a way to post and share blogs.  Everything after that came as an addition to that initial use.

Yet Somehow4ever Ago

Though I own a company that designs and builds award-winning websites and have guided the creative process with nearly a hundred companies large and small, I would be the last person you’d want actually doing the creation part of the project.  That is the work for the real pros.

Despite my lack of knowledge of specifically how to build a website, I can absolutely communicate the sites we build are on the Webflow platform.  The team at 5Points Creative prefers Webflow because it is built for designers to use with a blank canvas.  That means our team can produce sites we believe are even more visually appealing.  According to the Founder and CEO who was quoted in an article earlier this year, “We’re in an entirely different professional league,” Vlad Magdalin told VentureBeat. “Webflow doesn’t rely on templates, but rather allows any kind of professional website to be designed from the ground up.”

So many people have been asking me lately why we build our sites in Webflow I thought it would be a good time to address this in an issue of the B2Seed.  My goal isn’t to put WordPress down – just to say that was the way things were done – for quite some time.  Now, there are better ways to design and build websites.  Being unfamiliar with this particular platform shouldn’t be the reason your company doesn’t adapt it.  Like I’ve written so many times through the years, we must embrace new ways of doing old things.

Webflow’s platform is one such opportunity.

Beyond the design flexibility, Webflow’s site touts its reliable and scalable hosting network, integrated and easy to use marketing tools, and all of it is done without any need for coding.  The $2.1 billion dollar company is likely a small competitor in the CMS platform website world, but they are steady, growing, and a modern way to approach website design and build work.  They are also the company we’ve aligned with at 5Points Creative and rarely does a week go by when I don’t hear someone on our digital team tell me how much they like working in it.

It hasn’t been around since 2003, but in the nine years Webflow has been building and in the 3 1/2 years since we discovered it, I can say I’m as happy with it as I was with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

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Asked4Specific Help

It’s fascinating when a client says something to me that I’ve already thought or said myself many times. As if hearing the idea for the first time, their comment hits my head (or my heart) and drives home a concept chock full of value. That’s exactly what happened to me during a recent Zoom call with a client.

We were talking about their media plans and how they suggested we approach their strategy for the coming season. We were working through their goals, their budget, previous success, and some new ideas to consider. We were looking at some expansion to new markets for them when they said to us, “just treat it exactly as you would if it were your company to market or advertise.”

Interestingly, that is exactly what my media buyer and I already do at our agency.

Translating it2Your Situation

Early in the development of our marketing firm, I used to say to clients – “if this were my company, here is exactly what I would do.” With that caveat, I felt even better about sharing my recommendations.

A few years back, my son (and our media buyer at 5Points) considered purchasing a franchise in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ultimately, he decided it wasn’t the right time.  However, through an odd turn of events, the gentleman who did purchase the franchise became a client of ours. What did we do?

Right away, we shared with our new client the plans my son had put together as the new owner prepared to open the business.

When the pandemic first became real to many Americans, our agency did the very thing we encouraged our clients to do. We invested in additional advertising and shored up our marketing and outreach approach. It is far easier to make strong recommendations when the advice you give is the advice you follow. That seamless approach over time is simply the way you do business. You practice what you preach. Then, you treat your clients’ business just like you would if it were your own.

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Plan4The Future

This fall, out on a walk, I noticed a house in my neighborhood that provided the perfect picture for what we tell our clients. It was so appropriate I decided to snap a picture. Hopefully it isn’t your home. I’m hoping it can illustrate an important point about your business. Think ahead.

Thinking ahead is good advice for business and especially true for marketing. My guess is that Nike founder Phil Knight was initially looking for the best approach to nudge his way into the competitive sneaker business back in the 70’s. He probably didn’t realize the company would eventually own apparel and equipment too.

When evaluating your marketing plans, don’t just focus on who you are now. Spend an appropriate amount of time thinking about who you want to be when you grow up. Then use your marketing and advertising to get you there.

These folks built a shed presumably because they wanted a place to store things. Then they built another shed, but why? Did they have that much more they wanted to keep or did their priorities change? Maybe they could have just torn down the original building and built a newer, bigger one to meet their needs.

Advertise and Market2Grow

Where you want to be in the future is the decision you should make before you start and as you grow. Long-term goals are the types of things that need to be discussed with your marketing and advertising leadership. Where do you hope to end up? Once you map that out, you can use the proper marketing tools to get you there.

Too often our agency inherits websites that lock companies into where they are now and are not built for the ways they want to grow. That’s a mistake and it’s unfortunately a lot like the house with two sheds. Maybe there are some things you need to tear down and rebuild.  Or perhaps there are some things you need to eliminate. It isn’t just your website – it’s how you approach your clients and prospects. The important work is often done before that splashy new marketing piece or commercial is released. Plan for where you want to be and then use your goals to inform the marketing plan to move you forward.

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The Power2Think on the Fly

Someone makes a move, then the opposing side responds and makes a change. It's the way the sports world has worked for centuries. It's also how business functions.

Football teams played the Single Wing and the option. Then, someone decided it might be a good idea to pass the ball forward. Before long, there was a "pro set" with two running backs and the quarterback almost always handing the ball off or passing on each play. It was quite predictable, and it led to NFL defenses getting pretty good at stopping offenses from scoring.

In the last decade, a few teams started switching things up. In the past, athletic quarterbacks mixed up the defense with their ability to run. I remember Colin Kaepernick and the “Read and React” approach was one of them. Now there was a plan in the NFL for the athletically gifted quarterbacks who could both run and pass well to decide what to do based on the defense's setup and their initial moves. For a while, it really changed the game.

Think about how that relates to business. For so long, there were "canned pitches" in the sales world – the IBM way, pharmaceutical sales demos, and even real estate spiels. Just follow these seven steps, and you'll undoubtedly close deals and increase your revenue. Everything was cookie-cutter, and there was no room for variation or adaptation.

The Impact4Business

Thank goodness those days are gone in sales and marketing.

It may be that you walk prospective clients through a standard process. Still, even with automation and managed pricing models, no two deals or situations are exactly alike. That means that to separate yourself from competitors pitching their wares or selling their services, you must simply listen, better.

You have to uncover the pain point to determine the best way to help that prospect achieve their goal. When they win, that means you win too.

It's a read and react approach.

And not to overplay that sports analogy, but there's no doubt in my mind that those who can see the play developing and customize a strategy to take advantage of the gaps will ultimately succeed the fastest and win the most.

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