If you are offering a ‘ME TO’ product or service that is simply a mimic of an already existing one then investors will lose interest quickly. As a marketer the ‘ME TO’ approach is just as damaging as it automatically commoditises your offering and therefore puts you in a price war instead of value-based sales conversation.
3. How You Make Money.
When an investor looks at the income generation of a potential investment, they prefer fact over fiction. Investors are looking to invest in a business that offers them the best chance of a return. Therefore, investors are look for evidence.
For investors the key piece of EVIDENCE is RESULTS.
Investors are far more interested in a company that has a cash flow, knows their customer value and can prove their sales results, than a business with speculative plan about generating large returns.
When I was a musician the same rules applied with being signed by a record label. Labels where far more interested in artists whose music had already found an audience. If you had a large following at your live gigs, and were selling plenty of CD’s as an independent artist then the label would be more inclined to consider signing you.
When it comes to marketing your consultancy, your prospects will be far more interested in evidence of results rather than the promise of results. Testimonials then are a powerful tool that allows you to demonstrate quickly that you have the skills required to deliver what they want.
4. What’s the plan?
In business one of the most overlooked,
misunderstood and undervalued resources is a clear plan.
The fact is most small businesses begin with little or no planning at all. This lack of planning often causes challenges down the road.
Clearly if you are seeking funds from an investor you will need to provide a detailed Marketing Plan. Within the plan the investors will seek answers about your Marketing and Sales activity by looking at two things.
A) How do you create a lead?
This is the about your Marketing Strategy. What is your plan to consistently attract a flow of leads into the business? Lead generation is essential to the long-term success of any business.
An investor KNOWS it doesn’t matter how great the ideas is, or how talented you are: if you can’t generate sufficient leads the business will fail.
B) Once you’ve stimulated a lead what do you say?
This is the Sales Process. Marketing’s job is to create the opportunity, Sales job is to CONVERT that interest into a customer.
An investor wants to know there is a robust and effective sales process in places to maximise the number of conversions. You can have the best marketing in the world, but if it doesn’t translate into business then it was all for nothing and your business will be of little interest to an investor.
As a consultant, (regardless of whether you ever want investment) you need to design your marketing to create a consistent flow of prospects and build a selling system to ensure you maximise the conversion of the