无限制的销售和营销预算 ? 祝贺你. 不过，如果你的收入不高，这可能会对你有所帮助.
If you're a small UK IT or Digital company reading this - congratulations, you're still here. 这几年过得很艰难.
事实上是这样的, in 30 years of IT (including 20 in IT Sales and Marketing) I can't remember a couple of years like it. 最后, 我们似乎看到了一些模糊的复苏迹象, 但2024年剩下的时间和2025年初, 最有可能的, 会很艰难吗, 商业机会少之又少.
Most of the UK IT development industry is small - companies with less than 10 people - with little commercial expertise and without the budget to employ a dedicated Sales and Marketing manager or CCO.
考虑到这一点, let me give you a very brief guide on how to develop leads as efficiently and easily as possible.
销售以及如何获得销售.
- 忘掉“销售和营销”
传统观点认为, 在任何B2B业务中, 你应该将收入的20%用于营销. 在B2C业务中，你预计要花费高达30%.
Even if you could afford to do this, which you probably can't - what does it achieve ? 简单的. 从理论上讲，它会让你在搜索引擎上排名更高. 理论上，“人们会来找你."
但他们没有. 搜索引擎的工作方式很简单. 谁向谷歌支付最多，谁就能获得更高的排名, so all your Marketing strategy can be trounced by someone with a more open wallet than yours.
- 忘记依赖位置
你可能在全球最大的博彩平台或伦敦等著名的地方, 我认为人们会搜索“本地公司”. 啊，好吧. 是的, 从理论上讲, but your myriad competitors have got around this by either creating landing pages on their website to show they're in Manchester / Leeds / Sheffield / the Outer Hebrides, or they've paid £20 a month for a virtual office - just a correspondence address - which gives them a Google Map pin. 卑鄙的,嗯 ?
- 真的，“忘记互联网”
这就是我激进的地方. Since the late 90's, the idea has taken hold that you can do everything via the internet. 是的, 你可以在上面做生意, 你可以和不同国家的人交谈, 你可以找到客户，销售你的商品和服务..... 其他人也可以. 你的竞争对手是谁. 赢得比赛, you have to be more visible than everyone else and therefore spend more money on advertising, 品牌, 销售拓展和1001个其他考虑因素.
文件在“饱和点”下." If you attempt to compete with everyone else, you are merely lengthening the odds of success. So. Logically, you have to do something novel to differentiate yourself from the crowd.
- 任何人都可以轻易忽略你的努力
电子邮件. 电话推销. 按点击付费. 付费广告.... 所有这些都很容易被你的目标用户忽略. You can find any number of providers out there who'll run a PPC campaign for you... 有代价的... 最可能是他们的利益，而不是你的.
- 生意是个人的
这就是我激进的地方.
销售和市场营销的意义是什么 ? 你要做的是 接触决策者. The bottom line of getting business is that you speak to the people with the clout and the cash to commission software or services from you. The logic above is that the internet provides you (有代价的) with the medium of reaching these people from afar. The reality is that you're merely attempting to do what everyone else is doing.
By "everyone", in the IT industry, I mean the entire world, from Kettering to Kuala Lumpur. 地球村，记得吗? ?
- 奥卡姆剃刀时间
If you are trying - essentially - to get close to decision makers then the easiest and most foolproof method of succeeding is 身体上接近他们. Remove all the uncertainty of internet marketing - meet the decision makers, “按压肉体”，让你的名字和声誉出去. “老派的，宝贝 !!"
So. 你将如何实现这个巨大的转变 ?
- 把小黑本拿出来
实际, you can do everything below alongside your conventional marketing efforts - "suck it and see."
If you've been in business a few years, you'll have a list of people you've done work for. 希望他们对你很满意. 给他们打电话.
Most companies now are getting either work or future leads from references. 浏览一下小黑本.
- 问问你以前的联系人近况如何
- 他们对你为他们所做的工作满意吗 ?
- 他们能帮你吗 ?
问问他们今年参加了什么专业活动, 你能不能跟着去，被邀请参加呢 ?
这里有一句全球最大的博彩平台人际关系的话. 你可能已经注意到了， 大多数通用的商业网络活动都是无用的. 如果你参加一个普通的社交活动, 你会发现那里到处都是人生导师, 提供学徒甚至遛狗的人, 都想向你推销. 完全忘记一般的社交活动, there's a one in five chance you'll end up talking to anyone even vaguely useful and probably a one in five chance of a converted lead. 不要把时间浪费在泛泛的人际关系上 -更明智地利用时间.
给你的联系人一些帮助你的动机, whether it's decreased support costs or adding some extra features to their existing app cheaply. 或者“介绍费”. 或者请他们吃午饭.
记住:人们为自己的利益而工作. 给他们一些感兴趣的东西. 这可能会超越麦当劳的快乐套餐.
供将来在任何合同中参考, make sure you put a clause in saying that you reserve the right to include references for Marketing purposes. 工作完成后, you can spend three months trying to track people down and get them to sign copy off.
- 参加活动时
不好意思，我要告诉你一些你已经知道的事情..... 我见过太多人在活动中犯根本性的错误.
重要的是，是时候用斜体了 不要试图在社交活动中“推销”.
社交活动不是你强行推销的地方. 每个人都站在那里, 正在愉快地聊天，突然, someone turns up in 1950's Vacuum Cleaner Salesman mode and puts everyone off doing potential business with them.
You're there to meet interesting people and convince them you're reliable, 知识渊博的, 专业, 易于沟通.
现在，全球最大的博彩平台“博学的”，有一点很重要. 知识渊博并不意味着要对他们进行专业的研究. 如果你是专业人士, then strongly consider taking someone along who is well versed in Sales - the art of communication. 最重要的一点是 你不卖软件. 你卖的是问题的解决方案. If you corner someone and talk about the minutae of software and frameworks. 你可能对这个话题感兴趣，他们可能不太感兴趣. 极客让买家望而却步. You need a non pushy "people person" there who can steer contacts towards becoming business prospects.
真的，你拥有所有的优势. 你和一个决策者在一起. 反对派则不然. You have reference sites, someone to vouch for you, and you can start generating business. 然而.
There's a tendency for people not used to Sales and Marketing to regard an event as a success or failure based on "coming away with work". What normally happens in any Sales situation is that you'll get someone saying "It's something we'll be looking at in the next six months." 引线是金粉. 不要期待立竿见影的效果，一定要让别人知道你的脸. 这不会通过电子邮件发生.
Finally: don't turn up like an idiot without a business card with QR codes to your website on it. 你会惊讶地发现有多少人完全没有准备. Connect with your contacts on Linkedin or 专业 forums and stay in touch with them and use them to develop more contacts. Spread the news about the work you've done for
走出去，传播快乐的话语.
作者简介
戴夫·弗朗西斯(Dave Francis)几乎“从IT开始”就从事IT行业了. With 10 years as a high level IT 专业 working for blue chip companies and 20 years in IT Sales and Marketing, 他吃了派，穿了T恤.
有兴趣听更多 ? 给我写封信 hello@davefrancisconsulting.com ——祝大家好运.
