Share-Shift Marketing and Utilizing Radical Sales and Marketing For Your Small Business Success!
By: Tom Marquardt
Share shifting is a term used to describe moving a client base from your competition, to you. Share shifting is not getting new businesses to try your product line; it is taking a current client database (clients already having needs and currently using your competitors) and moving it to your database (they use you). There are "X" dollars spent on any product line at any one time. The objective within share-shift marketing is to move more of those finite dollars spent on any product line into your business unit. You will be going for a bigger slice of the pie, but it is still just one pie that has not gotten any larger, just your portion of it has.
You need one of two things in place to sell any item: the clients either want or need your product line or a combination of both. Without a want or need from the client, you cannot sell much of anything to anyone. So, the advantages of share shifting over getting new customers/clients are:
The want and need are pre-established
The client is already buying, so spending habits are historic, thus forecasting can be done for pre-qualifying their future spending consumption
Having purchased from your competitor in the past, selling strategies on your product line's advantages over your competition can be highlighted and exploited
A pre-qualified database for quicker sales effectiveness, ramp up/your "low hanging fruit"
Builds revenues in a soft or downward trending marketplace
No wasted time on "uncovering" needs in your sales stage progression. Due to this, you can move the client quicker through the sales pipeline to the purchase phase
With share-shift marketing, your top-line growth will be faster than with most other sales campaigns, due to the fact that you have an accelerated cycle built into this sales effort. So, go on out there and get a bigger piece of that market share pie, before someone else does and then throws it in your face.
Second, the meaning of the adjective radical is "not bound by traditional ways or beliefs." Here are the "must dos" of a seasoned business unit's radical salesperson and marketer.
No stone goes unturned in your search for new leads and clients; no sales idea is too silly or stupid to try; you sell to everyone, every day, no matter what their size; you sell more than you market; you utilize yield management techniques; you just do not leave collateral, you collect a database for follow-up; you go down swinging and then get back up for another round; you are always in "selling mode;" you network, not just talk to people; you are "it," no one but you can make it happen; when you fail, you succeed by learning from it.
You start your day with a goal and focus on its achievement; you look for ways to sell to prospects that others are not; you carry your business cards with you everywhere; wherever you go you see a future client; no matter how many no's they have given you, you write down phone numbers from passing businesses on the street; you see customer obstacles as an opportunity to get testimonial referrals from them by meeting their expectations; you work on the probability theory; you radiate confidence and bring direction to clients.
You take ownership of your sales 100%; you are out finding new revenue generation that your competition never knew existed and selling to them before they do; you see doors of opportunities, not slammed ones in your face; you are asking for the sale every time, in all possible ways, with each client you communicate with; you are a relentless "door knocker" and grass roots marketer; you look at your sales reports for new business that purchased from you; you drive the desire and passion for each sale with every presentation; you fight tooth and nail to retain a client and make new ones every day when you come into work; you smile until it hurts just to go to bed and wake up to attack your business leads all over again tomorrow.
Are you ready for the challenge? Are you ready to become a radical salesperson and marketer for your business unit? Why not? Are you afraid to get a little emotional about your sales and marketing? Only emotional selling sells to clients on a regular basis with consistency. No one wants an order taker in their sales department; your product line is not that special to afford you that luxury. If you are not emotional about the product line that you represent, your sales will never reach full capacity.
Oh, by the way, the above sentence is the longest sentence in this article. Do you know the reason why? Because it is aggressive and unconventional and "not bound by traditional ways or beliefs," just like what a radical sales and marketer for your business unit needs to be.
About the Author:
A graduate of Indiana University, Tom resides in the greater Fort Myers, Florida area. He is a dynamic professional, career-driven leader focusing on daily operations while continuing to be productive in a fast-paced sales environment. Tom has built a career that has given him extensive knowledge and execution of new business openings, troubleshooting, program and technology implementation, business turn-around, complete management, and sales of many different industries in positions as an owner, president, consultant, and regional director over multi-state business units. He is known as "The Profit Repairman®."
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Share shifting is a term used to describe moving a client base from your competition, to you. Share shifting is not getting new businesses to try your product line; it is taking a current client database (clients already having needs and currently using your competitors) and moving it to your database (they use you). There are "X" dollars spent on any product line at any one time. The objective within share-shift marketing is to move more of those finite dollars spent on any product line into your business unit. You will be going for a bigger slice of the pie, but it is still just one pie that has not gotten any larger, just your portion of it has.
