Our team meetings are always a treat in the office as we hear from the floor when collaborating and analysing results. No stone is left unturned as the varied personality types give their two cents in terms of their key learnings, enthusiastic ideas and creativity- we cover ALL angles!

Ever think about those working around you, their approach to situations and what they bring to your organisation (not just marketeers but everyone around you)? We’ve shortlisted some of the most familiar below- feel free to share your own!

The Enthusiast

The person to bring new and exciting ideas to the table day after day, unprompted and with extreme enthusiasm. There isn’t a meeting which doesn’t feature a new and innovative thought which not only adds to the Company’s development but motivates the team around him/her!

Over-thinker/Analyser

The one who will over-think a situation in order to get a solution to a challenge being encountered. Analysis and thoroughness mean that issues are remedied very quickly and with ease.

Creative type

Also a deep thinker, the creative type will ensure that everything looks presentable and details aren’t ignored. You can find the creative type consuming endless cups of coffee to get his/her juices flowing!

The intuitive one

He/she knows if something isn’t right within the team and will ensure there is chocolate and cups of tea galore to make sure everyone is on top form and performing at their best.

Can you guess which title applies to who at Product2Market?

To learn more about your own approach and strengths, check out Strengths Finder by Clifton.

Over the past three years, Product2Market’s team has grown due to the increased demand for Lead Generation, Event attendee Management and Online Marketing services, targeting not only Ireland but the United Kingdom and across Europe. We have created effective strategies targeting Senior professionals across numerous Industry verticals. Markets we have targeted (and continue to target) successfully include-

• The United Kingdom
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Belgium
• France

The types of Campaigns are based around the following-

• Lead Generation Campaigns/Prospecting
• Event attendee Management
• Trade Show Appointment setting where applicable (in cases where clients exhibit at shows or visit with the interest of meeting prospects).
• E-mail marketing campaigns

To read more about International Sales , check out this entry by Anthony Byrne or if you would like to learn more about how we can help you reach new markets, drop us a line at Product2Market.

How Psychology allows you to be a better Sales’ person: I believe my studies relating to psychology have really helped me with my sales because they give me context when trying to understand the motivation behind a prospect’s decision making. This allows me also to better pre-empt any attitudinal challenges that may arise during a conversation with a prospect and how to effect a change in this attitude.

Psychology applied to IT and what it means : Psychology Applied to Information Technology basically has to do with understanding how and why people interact with technology.

Mirroring people over the phone: One of the main aspects of a phone call that I would focus on is mirroring the person on the other end of the phone. I have found that emulating a person’s mannerisms, tone, loudness and confidence over the phone can be a key factor to establishing that crucial bit of initial rapport. In a usual face-to-face type sales’ situation I think people are more aware or conscious of the way a person presents themselves. For example we see the fancy suit, the winning smile and the confident posture of the sales man in a meeting. During a phone conversation the non-verbal cues are just as important but I think they are sometimes less focussed on, when compared with a face-to-face sales situation. I feel having the background in psychology definitely helps me to develop strategies that allow me to maximise these extra – factors during a phone conversation with a prospect.

NLP Sales’ Skills and how it helps: I am very interested in Neuro Linguistic Programming and I have attended quite a few seminars on communication. Neuro Linguistic Programming essentially, to me, is just a way of communicating ideas and information effectively to other people.

Recommendations: Influence, the Power of Persuasion is the book I based my Thesis on and where I have learned a lot of what I know in terms of Psychology and Marketing. The book is written by Robert B. Caldini and explains the Psychology of why people say yes- and how to apply these understandings.

To learn more about Sam and the Product2Market Team, visit our meet the team page.

In the 21st Century, we are more information-rich than we have ever been before. Every second person has a smartphone and the possibility of messages being lost amongst the noise is increasing due to factors such as competition and economical changes.

So how do we avoid losing the effectiveness of our message?

Here’s some key pointers to help create a distinct Company message which will return a result….

Get the message right

Decide what your message is and how you are going to communicate it in the most effective ways possible; both from a corporate and consumer market point of view (where applicable). This message should be emulated throughout your website, marketing material and of course by your representatives.

Get it right by laying down the foundations. How can you do this? By creating a Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Value Proposition, Corporate Profile Statement and  sales’ pitch, a clear focus of your message will be set and projected throughout your organisation.

Make the message as effective as possible

Make your message scannable. Put the heart of the message in the headline, the subheads, bullet points and the call to action. If the reader is grabbed, then and only then will he or she read the body copy.

Make your headlines strong benefit statements or promises of a benefit.

Make your message unique.  Focus on what you can offer and how you can offer it better than your competitors.

Always create action statements

”Write using words like Save, Get, Win, Start, Learn, Discover and dozens of other words that get your readers involved with your message.

Remember….

• We don’t read articles — we scan headlines and sub-heads.We prefer short SMS text messages to email.
• The ’3-second rule’ — the amount of time a web surfer will spend on a page — is a key factor in website design. Checking your analytics’ count will help you to understand this and where you are at in terms of website traffic.
• Television- TV advertisements are maximum 40 seconds-there is a reason for this. Less is more and short messages will make an impact if the content is right.

Creating a distinct message is fundamental to any marketing strategy. If you are a start-up, get the message clear from the start; if you are a well-established Company put a check list together which will allow you to ascertain whether or not you are communicating your message as best you can!

Got any other ideas on how to make your message more effective? We’d love to hear from you!

We asked her for some questions about her past, advice she can give and what she loves about Sales and Marketing.

Start of your journey into sales and marketing: I started when I was put on unpaid leave while working in the Airline Industry, I got a part-time job in a direct sales company where I worked based on Commission. I soon realised that I would earn more money being in a role that rewarded my work ethic and sales.

Characteristics that suit working in sales and marketing: Work ethic, attitude and student mentality are 3 main characteristics I feel will help a candidate progress in this industry. Be mindful though, with the right people around you, a candidate who ticks any 3 boxes can in time learn from their mentors.

Tips you would give to sales’ executives starting out in this field: Surround yourself with the best people- and then beat them!!

Three key ingredients required for sales and marketing: Be personable, become a team player and have more drive than anyone you know.

A product you would sell forever: Without sounding corny, It would have to be MYSELF! I have tried my hands at selling different products from various industry verticals and found that no matter what you sell,  It’s YOU that you sell.  Make sure you brush up on your knowledge to add value to what you’re doing (of course)!

Best advice ever given: Remember, attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching?

More about Jenna: Jenna brings 5 years varied experience from Ireland and the United Kingdom where she has worked and managed campaigns in both the B2B and B2C space. Jenna prides herself in having a “can-do” attitude and this has resulted in her having achieved above expectation targets for Companies in the IT, Telecommunications and Consumer product verticals.  Want to learn more about Jenna? Follow her tweets here.

Read about the Product to Market team by checking out the meet the team page!

You can read the article here.

Startups.ie  was created by entrepreneurs to be a starting place for people interested in setting up their own business. The site also provides a platform for new businesses to tell the real stories of what it was like for them when they got started, the triumphs and the disasters.

Learn more here about startups.ie, the forum, awards and much more.

All Sales People have a Sale Pitch-a couple of sentences used to explain what their Company does and how they can offer value. In fact, most Sales people have a number of pitches between which they alternate depending on the situation and the decision maker they are aiming at.

Recently, I was at a Dublin-based business networking event of which a number of delegates were invited to get up in front of the crowd and give a quick pitch on their service or product.  Listening to the 10 pitches a thought struck me, on the day, some pitches were more effective than others so I started to consider what made the strong pitches more effective than the weak pitches.

- Of the weak pitches, the pitchers were all making the same mistake. They were all getting into too much detail in a short space of time and really just glossing over their Value Proposition key message.

- The strong pitches seemed to have a few commonalities in the way their pitchers delivered. They were all shorter (and more to the point) than the longer/weaker pitches. And they all seemed to tell a little story about “Who they are, what they did and who they did it for”. The approach really worked at the Networking event because the pitchers who made the stronger pitches seem to have more people hanging around after the event to ask questions and get business cards.

If you are open to improving your pitch, why not experiment by building a story which will naturally convey and explain the three elements which your pitch needs to have. These three elements are:

-Who Your Company Is

-What You Do

-Who Your Company Do It For.

At Product2Market, we have 50 years combined sales and marketing experience in-house. Our expertise spans the IT, Advertising, Recruitment, Financial Services and Consumer Experience sectors (to name a few) so it is fair to say, we have built numerous pitches in our time! To learn more about Sales and Marketing services at Product2Market or to learn more about what we can do for you (or to hear our pitch!) contact the Product2Market team!

Subject matter, marketing approach and of course, the medium used to reach target markets are all elements which were very different in terms of marketing strategies dating back to as recently as the 1980′s in Ireland. Plans were more simple than now and education and perceptions in terms of Health benefits and Gender roles were evidently blurred as portrayed in advertising/marketing.

We came across a range of advertisements which depict Society back in the day and also gave us something to think about in terms of how far we’ve come. Vaseline, Cigarettes and Cereals are just some of the Marketing Campaigns we looked at which gave us some insight!

Mediums used were more limited and comprised mostly of Newspapers, posters and Cinema/TV Advertising. Sponsorship of GAA and Sports’ teams was prominent (as it is today) and Brand names gained coverage via the players during match-time.

Subject matter of advertisements/Marketing  reflected different views and societal representations, not only in Ireland but Globally. Women’s role in the home, cigarettes’ effect on your health and images of destinations abroad are all factors which are represented in a humorous “matter of fact” fashion.

There’s endless amounts of marketing material available to look at online, a lot of which demonstrate how far Marketing and Messaging has evolved.

Online Marketing has changed the way that Companies reach their target markets over the past ten years.  This, along with Traditional Marketing will mean that Enterprises have a dynamic, extremely focussed marketing strategy. It will be interesting to see what the next 10, 20, 50…… years has to hold in terms Marketing Campaigns.

Have a look at the ads we’ve found and feel free to share interesting finds with us at Product2Market...

Relationship marketing is the act of building close relationships with existing customers and prospects. It’s about having an ongoing dialogue with them over a period of time. It can also include gathering customer information and analyzing their feedback- eradicating what they don’t like and do more of what they do.

You can practice relationship marketing on a small scale and get plenty of benefits without implementing an elaborate system. For Product2Market, this has led to client retention, pre-empting objections and obstacles from customers and of course, ensuring a strong reputation as a Marketing Company.

Build your online presence to build your relationships

The relationship marketing process starts when a visitor arrives on your website (and/or social media page). If you want the relationship to progress beyond “hello”, make sure it’s an outstanding experience.

Invite visitors to share their email address and point them toward useful content and resources. We are always on the look-out for articles and references which will contribute to our client’s marketing activity and we get a lot of thanks for it when they come back to us.

Give valuable information freely and don’t worry about giving too much away. Offering advice which will help your clients improve their Business and in turn, their bottom line is a key element in building client relationships.

Use the best tools to build the greatest relationships. Are your customers and potential customers on social media? If so, then apply the same rules to your Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter page as you do to your website.

Here’s some pointers to help ensure your online presence contributes to strong marketing relationships:

Open contact: Make it easy for customers to contact you and encourage them to do so; what you want is a two-way dialogue between you and your customer. When in doubt, ask them what they want. They’ll tell you. If you find out what your customer wants and become a friend, you will beat most of the competition hands down.

Respond promptly and politely: When a customer or potential customer contacts you, respond promptly.  There is nothing more disappointing than not receiving a response when enquiring about a product/service.

Updates: If you want people to visit frequently, give them a reason — new content, a fresh look every now and then, information updates. Your Online presence can always be improved on and added to, so keep an eye on what resources are available and of course, always be mindful of what your customers want!

At Product2Market, we pride ourselves on building strong relationships and we do this via both online and offline marketing activity as well as being absolutely clear of what our customers are happy with (and doing more of it!). If you would like to learn more about what we can do for you, then contact the Product2Market team today!

Anthony Byrne, Managing Director of Product2Market speaks in this video about Hireland and our support for this initiative: