TIPS FOR BUILDING YOUR BRAND THROUGH LEAD GENERATION

You have a need for legal services; or it may be accounting, consulting, or tech services; it really doesn't matter. You compile a list of likely suspects, but they all look alike. All seem competent and professional, but nothing distinguishes one firm from another.

There is, however, this one firm you recognize. You know what they do and the value they can offer from the material they have been sending over the last year. They have developed a favorable impression by communicating a distinct and integrated message through a series of marketing pieces targeted directly at you and the likely needs of your firm.

This communications effort has created awareness, recognition, and distinction; in other words, a brand.

If your firm has a strong brand, your messages and offers are more readily accepted, your selling becomes easier, and your sales process runs smoother. While talent, training, discipline, and such do matter, brand recognition greases the skids and makes for a better and more effective sales process.

Better Known Companies Report Sales Excellence

In the recently released research report, What's Working In Lead Generation, from RainToday.com, only 30% of 700 companies surveyed claim to be "very well-known" in their market. Of these very well known companies, 65% report being "good" or "excellent" at lead generation, whereas only 44% of the lesser known companies report being "good" or "excellent."

While we may not know which is the chicken and which is the egg, it's clear that being very well-known in your market goes hand-in-hand with waging highly effective sales and lead generation efforts.

So it seems that The Three "Rs"--reach, recognition, and reputation--really do matter when it comes to sales and lead generation. Simply put, if you are well known, chances are that whatever lead generation tactics you employ will work better.

Why is this? Here are four of the top reasons:

Increased confidence: On a cold sales call there is no substitute when a prospect says they know who you are and what your firm does. This "warms" a prospect to the point where you can actually have a conversation, increasing your comfort level and inspiring confidence in your approach, no matter your actual sales abilities.

Messages accepted: A strong brand gives your message and value proposition a fighting chance. In fact, you will hear a higher percentage of "Yes, I would be interested in meeting," from prospects. Downloads on your web site will also be more robust; and those letters, white papers, and other offers will be read and recalled more readily.

Speaking "in one voice": If you are clear on the firm's brand position, you can deliver a clear and integrated message on each sales call; a message that also integrates with your website, corporate brochure, and company newsletter. This ability to speak "in one voice" provides a consistent and comprehensive position that, when applied over many layers of communication, creates an impression that influences a prospect.

Higher level of trust: In professional services, brand is reputation, and if consistently presented in an integrated fashion, this reputation can be leveraged into the very beginnings of a trusted relationship.

Committing to the Brand Process

Brand does make a difference, but it cannot be built overnight. It is an investment that takes discipline, planning, and, of course, faithful execution. You can't just wave a magic wand and see your brand appear. Instead, you must start with an introspective internal analysis, then discussions with clients, and lastly conversations with prospects.

Find what truly resonates and what messages can be leveraged for success in the sales process. Many companies overlook a number of intrinsic elements that lie underneath the surface, including:

Targeting: It takes time to get tangible results from articulating a distinctive position, and developing the awareness around that position. You can shorten that curve, however, by targeting only the prospects that matter. Identify the specific targets that are likely prospects, and use a variety of direct marketing tools and tactics to influence them and only them. By avoiding mass marketing techniques, you influence fewer businesses, but you influence those that matter faster.

Consistency: Consistency and integration are the lynchpins of a successful positioning effort. Awareness happens only when all of your communications consistently deliver the same theme.

Because of the mounds of meaningless paper sent on any given day to your target, it's hard to cut through the clutter and capture that little bit of mindshare necessary to move the sales process forward. But if you craft a well thought-out and valuable piece, and repeat this effort continually, your message will slowly be accepted, and your firm will be seen as a valuable resource.

Sustainability: Your presence in the marketplace must continue to create that critical mass to have an impact. The minute you decide to cut back, that's when your firm is forgotten and a competitor takes your place in the brand pecking order. Because sales cycles are long in professional services, a number of campaigns are necessary to move a prospect to the point where, at that elusive time of need, they don't only contact you but prefer to do business with you.

Use Your Sales Efforts to Build Your Brand

Sales materials and brand development need not be mutually exclusive. In fact, the savvy marketers will build their brand with lead generation materials: simple touches that demonstrate their company's value.

By employing value in your marketing and selling, sustained over a long period of time, you build awareness for your firm's services while generating leads. This also is a far more effective way of demonstrating your services than simply telling someone what you do and how that could benefit them.

The value process revolves around offers. A best practice study, white paper, or success stories all are great ways of providing value while educating the prospect on your abilities and the marketplace issues that are most important to them. Communications like this prove and demonstrate you can do exactly what you are saying you can do. And if done consistently, in an integrated way, these communications build a brand based on value.

Give some thought to that next sales letter, or your next sales call. Before you put pen to paper, or cross a prospect's threshold, ask yourself these five questions to put you on the road to developing a brand that can make a difference when it comes to selling:

1. What image or position do you want to project, and does it fit with the character, essence, and mission of your firm?
2. What messages, information, and offers are important to the marketplace, and will resonate and be accepted by the prospect?
3. Have you integrated your selected image and important messages throughout your letters, sales materials, and presentations?
4. How are you going to demonstrate value in these integrated messages?
5. How are you going to nurture this prospect with continued value?