Sales Tip: Creativity Sells
Don’t rely on stale messaging—get creative with your sales pitch!
We all know that people are inundated with advertising all the time. With a never-ending stream of content coming from multitude of platforms and channels, it’s easy to simply tune it all out. Unfortunately, the same goes for B2B marketing. While repetition can be helpful brand reinforcement, at a certain point, relying on the same message over and over again can render even the best pitch ineffective. So before you start to see your non-dues revenue numbers dip, it may be time to take a step back—and start getting a little creative.
Get Creative When Marketing Your Opportunities
Before you overhaul all of your communications, it’s important to have a clear idea of your current strategy. Take some time to review all of your different sales materials: email marketing campaigns, media kits, website pages. When was the last time you updated your email template? Have you been relying on the same phrases or sentence structure in all of your communication? Gathering all of these deliverables in one place can reveal some of the patterns you may have unwittingly fallen into—and help you identify what’s in need of a refresh.
Your marketing messaging should reflect the value and ingenuity of the channels you’re selling. Not only will this help communicate the concrete benefits of the opportunity, it also proves that you can be a valuable resource for the marketer.
So don’t be afraid to try something totally different. Swap out your old boring email subject lines with something shorter and snappier. The same goes for web copy. Rather than list out every single fact and detail, paint a more evocative picture by focusing in on a few key, easy-to-read benefits. And—no matter what platform you’re working on—be careful to stay on the right side of professionalism. There’s nothing worse than getting a sales email that’s trying too hard to be cool.
If you’re feeling a little unsure about your new messaging, you can always try it out on a smaller sample size before launching a major campaign. Most email marketing providers allow you to A/B test different subject lines or email headers to see which performs the best. But you can also go old school and simply run it by a few coworkers before hitting send. Maybe even float it by some people from outside your department as well; getting fresh eyes on any project can be a great way to spark new ideas.
Get Creative When Helping Advertisers Market Their Brands
If you can, try to incorporate this more inventive approach to the advertising and exhibit programs offered by your association as well. This could mean tweaking the standard options to zero in on each customer’s specific needs, or working with each company to develop a fully customized campaign. Being willing to think outside the box will not only help the brand stand out—it also reflects your commitment to their success.
Mix Up Your Sales Pitch
Of course, there’s always room for creativity on the more direct side of sales too. Think back to the last few calls you’ve made: are you just regurgitating the same points with each person? If you find yourself repeating the same points in the same way each time, take a break and try to brainstorm some new ideas. That could mean focusing on a different benefit, asking different questions or simply using new language to explain the program. If you feel like you’re running on autopilot, chances are the person on the other end of the line can tell. Keeping your sales pitch fresh helps keep both of you more engaged and more focused on finding the best solutions.