Are you and your Marketing Department missing the mark? Is this costing you and your company money? Are the president and executive staff of your company frustrated because they feel the cost of your marketing department and your marketing campaigns is greater than the money from the sales resulting from your marketing efforts?
You may wonder why this is happening.
You and the Others in Your Department May Not be Cultivating the Main Skill You Need to Succeed
Do 2 google searches.
Enter “skills of an excellent marketer.” Then check out the results. You will find the top skills listed are
Good writing ability technical skills
Creativity and expression social media knowledge
Analytical skills interpersonal communication
Now enter “skills of an excellent sales rep.” You will find one skill listed on just about every one . . .
. . . Active Listening
How can active listening be rated so highly as a skill for an excellent sales rep and not even make most lists for skills of an excellent marketer?
If you go back several years before companies could easily get information on products or services they needed, they had to rely on sales reps for it. The marketing department prepared information (brochures, product sheets, papers, etc.). They gave it to their sales reps and they shared this selectively with their prospects.
The best sales reps would get to know their prospects first. In conversations, they would listen very carefully to find out their prospects’ true needs. Then they would give each prospect the marketing piece or pieces that had the best information on how their products or services would satisfy those needs.
If the sales rep did not have one marketing piece which would do this, they would explain to the prospect how their product or service would best meet their needs. Then they would give the prospect the marketing piece which would give their prospect information on the specific features of their product or service – information which would support what they told them.
In those days marketers and marketing departments were primarily focused on brand development. They had little or no contact with prospects or customers. The better ones may have gotten information about them second hand from conversations with sales reps.
Times Have Changed
Latest studies reveal companies and prospects are researching a product or service online before contacting a company about it. In fact, most have done 60 to 70% of the research necessary before they make any contact.
Sales Reps do not get involved with prospects until much later. It’s become the job of the marketing department to make information available to prospects as they do their initial search. They normally use Content Marketing to do this.
Now you have to know the benefits and features of your products or services. You\y also must know your prospects. What are their needs? What challenges are they facing? What are their fears and concerns?
You cannot guess about these. You have to know each exactly. You have to know why specifically each prospect is looking for the product or service you offer. You have to know what will trigger them to choose your product and company over all of your competitors.
You need to know all of this before working on your first marketing piece.
You have to know this specifically – you can’t just guess. There is only one way you can do this. That is true active Listening
Active Listening is Not Only an Important Skill for Every Marketer to Have – It is The Most Important One
Several years ago you never had any contact with prospects. So listening was not important. Now it is critical.
There is another problem. Prospects and companies normally do not identify themselves when they start researching a product or service they need. They do this anonymously. So how can you and your marketing department get the information you need?
You have to talk to existing clients similar to the companies you are pursuing. You need to find out why they purchased your product or service. What were their needs? What problems did they have? What about your product or service did they like? What did your company offer which your competitors didn’t?
You can do this either through meetings or through phone conversations with customers. You also can do it through focus groups. 
Also talk with your sales reps. They can supplement what your customers are saying. They can also fill you in on their observations during the sales process.
During these meetings, phone conversations and discussions, it’s critical to listen closely. Never assume you know the reasons a customer purchased a product or service. The customer has to tell you. That means you have to listen. Never interrupt them with your thoughts.
Customers normally will not open up easily about why they purchased a product or service. So, build a relationship first. Then build trust. Finally, know the questions to ask and how to ask them.
At some point, you have been in a conversation with a friend. Your friend probably asked you how everything was going. Your immediate response was “everything is fine.” Your friend did not go any deeper. They didn’t really find out you’re having problems with your spouse or child or a family member has cancer. You never let them know you were worried.
Most of us are like that. We ask superficial questions. The person we’re talking to give us a superficial response. They never tell us what is really going on. They don’t let us know what is keeping them up at night.
Your Prospects Are No Different
In fact, since they don’t know you well they are more reluctant to open up to you, A skillful listener knows this. They know how to get prospects to open up and give them the information they are looking for.
Once you have all the information you need, all of your other skills come into play.
You use your creativity to determine what needs to be said in your marketing materials to get prospects interested in the products or services you offer.
You use your writing skills to say it in a way that will interest prospects in finding out more about your product or service and company.
You use your knowledge of social media to determine how to get this information out to prospects.
