Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Business

Sales trainer Anne Miller recently had a wake-up call that made her take action and change some things about her business. Upon reading her story I felt compelled to make some changes for myself - you might too!

"I recently met with a client to discuss possible follow-up training to a negotiating seminar we had done for her team," says Miller. "She mentioned her need for presentation skills and when I said I could help her with that, she replied, "Oh, I am working with someone else for presentations training. I didn't know you did that." Didn't know? How could that be? I have written books on presenting, consulted on a zillion presentations across many industries, run hundreds of training and coaching sessions for people from groups of junior and seasoned reps to CEOs going out on road shows. And she didn't know????"

"Well, shame on me. I reviewed all my materials from my business cards to my website and realized it was easy for her not to know the range of services I provide. I had obviously fallen down on marketing. So I changed everything, even my email signature, to explicitly describe the value I believe I bring to clients. Now, if someone doesn't hire me, it won't be because they didn't know what I do."

"Keeping clients aware of what you do is a real challenge. Eileen Sutton took this one step further and recently sent this email to her clients. I love it because it is brief, it is friendly, and it works."

Dear Anne,

Sometimes we don't let our inner circle know of our achievements.

So far this year, I've positioned a private-equity firm, a $20B asset-management firm, a Latin American investment bank, and a cash-management firm representing 300 banks nationally.

If you're aware of a financial firm that's in the market for a clearer, more profitable identity, perhaps I can help. My new brochure is attached, and consultations are complimentary. Thanks so much for your time.

Happy to help in any way in return. Let me know.

Very best,
Eileen

How are you reminding your clients and network about your current services?

Anne Miller is a popular sales and presentations expert and author of the book, Metaphorically Selling: How to Use the Magic of Metaphors to Sell, Persuade, & Explain Anything to Anyone. She works with people in high stakes situations and clients like Yahoo!, Citigroup, and Time, Inc. to sell millions of dollars of business every year. Visit her site at www.AnneMiller.com. You can also visit her blog at http://www.annemiller.com/blog/