How well are you known by the constituencies you want to serve? Local candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, tend to win elections based far more on name recognition than on platform, party affiliation or their points of view. Whether it is City Council, County Board of Commissions or Sheriff it’s all the same. If you don’t believe that, just look at your own recent voting choices. I’ll bet the answer will surprise even you!

What does this mean to you as a sales professional? Let’s take a look at two of the top salespeople I know in Greensboro. One local real estate agent’s name is synonymous with high-end real estate listing and sales. Another, a local insurance professional is linked with high volume insurance sales. And I could give you lots of other examples, too!

In both of these cases, the salespeople in question are not only highly skilled, professional and superlative in their performance, they are also gifted at creating an awareness of who they are, what they do and how they do it. And they do it in a very targeted way to the constituencies they have identified as their marketing opportunity!

Let’s take a look at ways that you, too, can create a heightened awareness of who you are and do so specifically with the people you want to make aware of you. Here are some ideas:

• Identify in precise, exact terms who it is you want to make aware of your presence.
  
• Ask yourself these questions:

• What do they read?
  
• What groups/Associations do they belong to?
  
• Where do they socialize?
  
• Where do they go for solutions to their problems?
  
• Who do they currently utilize for services?
  
• Why do they utilize them?
  
• How can I get my company, service, product or me in front of them?
  
• How do I want to be perceived by them – as an expert? Source of information? Provider of service? Unique product provider?

Clearly, this initial and accurate identification of your market is essential. That needs to be followed by a barrage of the right questions and then coupled with results oriented, bottom-line strategies designed to get the favorable attention, awareness and acceptance of you and your product or service on the part of the target group you are attempting to influence. Let’s take a look at four very specific strategies you can employ. You will notice that each of these require more thought, consideration and coordination than dollars or hoopla. Here they are:

• Joining the very same associations, organizations, clubs, trade groups, causes or activities that your target market prospects do.
  
• Making yourself visible as an advisor, expert and value added resource to the specific industry or market you want to serve. Do this through articles, special reports, involvement, or media. Do it through whatever means you can develop to give you, your organization and product maximum exposure.
  
• Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer…but don’t expect immediate business from it. Instead, give, give, give – and you will get, get, get!
  
• Always take a strategic view of everything you do. Know precisely "why" you do things so that when opportunities present themselves you will know precisely "how" to maximize them.

It used to be salespeople "prospected" while their parent organizations conducted the marketing functions. Promotion, positioning and all the rest was the responsibility of some marketing group from afar. In today’s marketplace the lines have become blurred. With the average prospect or customer being barraged by over 3,000 commercial messages everyday from multiple sources, it is becoming increasingly more essential for salespeople to understand, assimilate and apply marketing activities that are part and parcel of their personal prospecting efforts.

If this sounds like a strategic way to do business, you’re absolutely right. It is! It is a classic case of "bailing and rowing." You need to be selling while you promote, prospect and position yourself daily. You need to be leveraging a varied array of activities to help you develop a more solid and viable following over the long haul.

There is little doubt that name recognition sells. The watchword for it in today’s business lexicon is the concept of "branding." How about branding YOU? Consider the power of having your name synonymous with the solutions, answers, profits and the successes that your customers want to get? Give it some serious thought. Better yet, give it some action!

©1999 Bill Brooks, The Brooks Group, Greensboro, NC

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