Apprentice Level Marketing Competency

Has Your Company Reached the Marketing Apprentice Level?

If you subscribe to the basic keys to success that apply to any marketing competency level and your company has achieved marketing novice competency, you are ready to design a marketing strategy that will support your long-term goals through tactics and objectives that evolve during the next 3 to 5 year time horizon.

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By John Bernardi

Marketing Competency Must Fit Your Strategy

Marketing Competencies Must Match Your Strategy For Creating Value, Positioning Your Brand And Fostering the Right Selling Process

Which Marketing Competency Fits Your Strategy?

What Is Your Current Marketing Competency?

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By John Bernardi

Market Research is Essential Prior to Capacity Investment Decisions

What To Do When Your Company Reaches Capacity Limits? [People, Facilities and Equipment]

Status Quo Strategy

You selectively determine what sales opportunities to pursue in order to optimize available capacity.

This short-term strategy will lead to trouble mode and storm clouds will eventually appear on your horizon.

If market research proves a total available market that is growing or significantly higher than your available capacity, then status quo is a high-risk strategy.  When your market share declines you will become a higher cost producer in your category.  This opens the door to growth mode competitors who will become more attractive to your customers and employees.

Growth Strategy

You aggressively pursue all sales opportunities that match your ideal customer profile.

If market research proves a total available market that is growing or significantly higher than your available capacity, then lower your risk by implementing a growth strategy to maintain or increase your market share.  You will improve your position as a low-cost producer in your category.  This will spell trouble for your competitors as you become more attractive to their customers and employees.

If you opt to invest in more capacity in order to elevate a key aspect(s) of your business, you will also need to invest in skill development, process enhancement and productivity tools in order to capitalize on your growth opportunities.

Market Research Competency Is Essential

Without the appropriate market research competency [in-house or external], you won’t be able to make objectively correct capacity investment decisions.

By John Bernardi

Are Your Sales Reps Emotionally Involved?

Emotionally Involved Sales Pros Win More Big Deals More Quickly. They Also Earn Repeat Business And Referrals.

Emotionally involved sales reps are better equipped to differentiate themselves. It starts when they invest time researching a business and its power base prior to making contact.  The knowledge gained enables a solid customer-centric conversation, which sets the stage for a prospect to ask how your product or service can provide the value and benefits they need.  This knowledge can be weaved into your proposal and price negotiations.

Emotional attachment continues after the sale and throughout the customer relationship cycle.  As customer ambassador, the sales rep ensures extraordinary support and listens to customer ideas for product/service enhancements, new products and services, and suggestions for improving your touch points and making it easier to do business with your company.

When sales reps have a lot invested, it is more difficult for them to give up. What are your chances of real success, if you can't get emotionally involved?

By John Bernardi

The Top 20% Ask For Customer Feedback

How Do You Receive Customer Feedback?

Why don't companies request feedback at each stage of their customer relationships?  Is it because they fear negative feedback and an inability to deal with it?

Why wouldn't a CEO want to understand how their company is performing at each touch point along with how their product or service lives up to its brand promise?

Without this knowledge, how can you expect to continually improve and generate the profit that you think you deserve?

If you measure repeat business and referrals as KPIs, but you are not achieving these goals, why aren't you asking for feedback?  In person quality reviews and online surveys are great tools for gaining insight and for building a raving fan base.

By John Bernardi

The Benefits Of Routine

A sales and marketing lifestyle means that you have quality time for building relationships with mavens and connectors, for content marketing, for helping team mates, and for taking the right actions to grow your business.  Routine enables your day-to-day basics to be performed well and on time so that you can allow your antenna to always be listening and your peripheral vision to always be watching.

An Effective Routine Will Enable You To Wisely Progress Towards Your Goals

Daily routines prevent knee jerk reactions and wasted time.  I produce my best results when I follow my routine in a heads down fashion.  But, I periodically look up to stay on track, adjust to new opportunities or threats, improve a process, acquire better tools and navigate unexpected surprises.

Routines Create Confidence, A Key To Success

A routine that spans goals, action plans and workdays builds self-confidence.  You become well rounded if it contains the right amount of time for work, passion, learning, and enjoyment.  You will become more friendly and interesting, and people will respect you for being consistent and dedicated.

How Much OF Your Time Is Freed Up By Routines?

Customer Facing Roles Need Powerful Routines

• CEO routines develop innovative and customer-centric cultures for achieving financial, customer and employee goals.
• Marketing routines ensure lead generation and nurturing to sales-ready status while existing segments are penetrated and new ones are developed through a well managed mix of products and services.
• Sales routines ensure that qualified opportunities are closed, while key accounts are nurtured and territories are developed.
• Call center routines enable you to delight customers and channel partners.

Routines Must Be Constantly Upgraded

As your routine becomes muscle memory, tweaking it with new ideas will enable you to rise to the next level.

By John Bernardi