Do you find it hard to close business? I do. With the economy, the last couple of years have been nearly impossible to close jobs. That is why I found How To Give Your Business an Extreme Marketing Makeover by Gil Effron intriguing.
There are so many makeovers these days between home decorating reality TV shows to fashion reality TV shows on how to dress. Mr. Effron’s book delves into how a company can change their marketing efforts to accommodate the changing world in which we now live.
The book focuses on marketing and sales. Interestingly, Gil Effron says that most sales and marketing departments don’t get along but they need to work together in order for there to be transparency.
The first chapter discusses what the signs are for a marketing makeover. Some of the signs include: your web site being outdated, leads are slower than usual, too many brick walls in your sales process and you are not retaining clients for life.
Through the use of case studies, Gil Effron talks about taking a marketing inventory by going into your closet and seeing exactly what you have, what worked, what didn’t work and more. At the same time, he looks at the sales process and what the brick walls are.
When taking a marketing inventory, Mr. Effron says to look for three things:
- Description of what you are doing;
- Cost associated with the tactic;
- Return on Investment (ROI).
Looking at sales, Mr. Effron suggests that you look at the objections, write a list and then think of ways to turn the objections into attributes. For example, pricing is the biggest sales obstacle in closing a job. He says that by educating your consumers, you can overcome this.
One of the most important things to do is to create lifetime value so that the clients stay with you for a long time. He talks about various ways in which you can embrace your clients and keep them satisfied by adding more value to your already existing service.
How to Give Your Business an Extreme Marketing Makeover is well written and well thought out. I love the way the book uses real life examples to clarify different strategies. It certainly helps the reader understand the concepts. Gil Effron’s book is easy to read, simple to comprehend the ideas and yet, interesting enough to teach you a few key techniques.
When I read a business book, I like it to be short, quick and I want to learn something that I didn’t already know. Gil Effron’s book does that and more. If you have a small business, I would highly recommend getting a copy and giving your firm an “extreme makeover!”
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Article first published as Book Review: How To Give Your Business an Extreme Marketing Makeover on Blogcritics.
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