More importantly, research will uncover those crucial nuggets of information that can make the difference to making the sale or losing it. Regardless of how well you might think you know your market, research will uncover vital information you might never have considered.
We always try to gather enough research information to create a stack at least two inches thick. We keep all my notes, scraps, and printed material that we’ve gathered in a manila folder that’s specifically for that one project alone.
For this particular sales piece, our research included the following items:
1. Articles written in a dozen trade journals on marketing professional services.
2. Interviews with our clients who sell professional services to find out what problems they have and what goals they want to achieve.
3. Interviews with other marketing experts on the subject of marketing professional services.
4. Books on setting up professional service practices and specifically on marketing professional services.
5. Magazines and newsletters from trade associations for service professionals.
6. Web based research on web sites that cater to service professionals.
7. Web based research on forums and discussion lists for service professionals.
This research yielded the raw information that was critical to creating one of my most successful sales pieces ever. It helped me build my list of features, benefits, bullet points – and every other component of my sales piece.
But most importantly, this research revealed four critical pieces of information we never would have discovered without it:
1. Although the majority of service professionals recognize the importance of marketing, they feel very uncomfortable about anything that even hints at “selling.”
2. Most service professionals live from paycheck to paycheck, despite the fact that they have excellent skills and get paid high rates for their services.
3. Colleges teach service professionals that the key to success is having the best skills possible – and give almost no attention whatsoever to the subject of marketing.
4. The few books available on marketing professional services are very weak.