by tradespeopleinsights | Oct 4, 2016 | Public Relations, Social Marketing
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Architect, Sonnhalter
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A recent report shared that 32% of global page views are impacted by the use of ad block and mobile sees three times the rate of ad block use than desktop.
Did you know that even some people who work in advertising block ads? Let’s face it, website ads are mostly annoying. If you’ve ever opened a webpage and had an ad start talking to you that you couldn’t turn off, you know what I mean. Although digital advertising has a solid place in integrated marketing programs, accompanying it with other tactics can get your message to audiences that wouldn’t be reached otherwise – those who use ad blockers.
How do you get your marketing messages past ad blockers?
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by tradespeopleinsights | Sep 28, 2016 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman, Sonnhalter
There’s a time and place to sell and you need to know when that is. Social media is one of those times when selling shouldn’t be your prime objective; connecting with your target audience should be.
This should be no surprise, but Google surveyed 3,000 B-to-B buyers and one of the main outcomes of the study was that brands that connect with buyers on a personal and emotional level are twice as likely to convert than brands that only try to sell stuff.
When trying to reach contractors you need to find out the emotions that are most important and address them accordingly on a regular basis.
I’ve always been a big believer in relationship selling. After all, we usually buy stuff from people we know, like and trust. Agree? So why not take that to another step in the selling process by using the same principles to your marketing efforts?
This is especially true now that content and content marketing is such a big part of everyone’s overall strategy.
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by tradespeopleinsights | Sep 27, 2016 | Marketing Tips, Tradespeople Insights
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter
That’s one of my favorite quotes. Not because I’m in marketing and advertising, but because it dispels one of the biggest myths about manufacturers. That is:
All manufacturers are engineering and sales driven, and advertising is an afterthought, or a “necessary evil.”
Henry Ford wasn’t just any old manufacturer. He transformed not only American manufacturing, but revolutionized manufacturing processes. He changed the way we live. His streamlined assembly line could churn out a Model T every 24 seconds. As summer winds down, it’s worth noting that he’s partially responsible for all the grilling you did as well.
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by tradespeopleinsights | Sep 20, 2016 | Marketing Tips
Today we have a guest post from Alan Sipe, President of Toolbox sales and consulting. Alan has over 40 years of experience including Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing for Klein Tools and President of Knipex Tools. His insights in selling through various distribution channels and professional contractors are invaluable. Alan can be reached at [email protected].
So, why isn’t your new Super-Duper Widget selling?
Your Research Department talked to your users and found a need. Product Development and Design took that information and developed the world’s best Super-Duper Widget. Marketing put together literature and an excellent introduction display and sales package. Sales developed a forecast and Production has plenty of Super-Duper Widgets in stock. Literature, samples, promotional material and quotas went out to your Manufacturer’s Representatives … right on time.
Now you only have one little problem … your fabulous new Super-Duper Widgets are not selling into distribution at anywhere near projections.
You did everything right … Right?
There is a mistaken opinion that as soon as you give someone the title salesperson they immediately are professional Super-Duper Widget salespeople … you couldn’t be more wrong!
Whether your sales staff is your own or if you use independent reps. Here are some things to consider:
The first thing to consider (no matter what they tell you)is that as a Manufacturer’s Representative they represent many lines and no one can intuitively be an expert in all things.
Mary may be an excellent salesperson and has great relationships with all her customers and gets good repeat orders but doesn’t do well with new products. (more…)
by tradespeopleinsights | Sep 13, 2016 | Uncategorized
Today we have a guest post from Mark Mitchel of Whizard Strategy.
Building materials companies frequently only see the customer who is directly in front of their nose. They are laser focused on selling a builder, an architect, a facilities manager or even a homeowner.
In every one of these cases there is someone standing right behind them that you may not see. That person is the contractor. More specifically, it is the installing contractor.
Time and time again, I see building materials companies, with a great product, think they have a made a sale to their primary customer, only to lose the sale because of a contractor.
It’s easy to assume that contractors are working for your primary customer so they will do what the customer wants. That is frequently not the case.
Here’s Why Contractors Resist Change
- There is a shortage of labor so any good contractor is in demand and may turn work down or charge more, if it involves something new or different.
- Contractors see new ideas and products as change and change represents risk. It usually does not represent opportunity to them.
- Contractors can be very stubborn in their resistance to change. They and maybe even their Daddy has always used the same product and installed it the same way for years. Many of them also believe that buildings and homes are not built as well as they were in the past. To them, modern day construction practices and products are not necessarily better.
- New products mean the contractor will lose money. The contractor looks at a new product as having many places where they are going to lose money, for example:
- They aren’t sure how to estimate the project so they can underestimate it and lose money or they can over estimate it and lose the job.
- Their installers will have to be trained and the cost of that training will fall on them.
- Installers will take a longer time on the first few jobs, reducing the contractor’s income.
- There is a higher likelihood of a callback on the first few jobs, once again costing the contractor.
- Dealing with a new supplier is also time consuming, when he probably isn’t having a problem with his current supplier. (more…)
by tradespeopleinsights | Sep 7, 2016 | Uncategorized
This post originally appeared on INSIGHT2PROFIT.com
Many manufacturers treat their distributors equally. They offer everyone the same discounts, the same promotions, and the same training programs.
However—not all distributors work equally hard for your business.
In this article, we’ll look at how the right distributor plan can help you get the most benefit from your distributor relationships and drive the business objectives you want to achieve. (more…)
