HOW TO GET YOUR CLIENT'S ATTENTION“ Sorry, I was miles away “.
How many times have you said that?
It happened to me just
other day. I was walking down
High Street, thinking about
things I needed to do ( go to
bank, buy some milk… ) and trying to decide whether to treat myself to a sausage roll for lunch ( this is a fascinating glimpse into my daily life, isn’t it? )
Anyway, I was lost in a world of my own.
I was vaguely aware of people around me. I could hear voices but I wasn’t taking in anything they were saying. I assumed they weren’t talking to me so it didn’t matter. I was so involved in my own thoughts that I didn’t realise that someone was trying to get my attention.
I gradually became aware of a voice right next to me saying, “ Alan…ALAN…ALAN!! “
Eventually
voice broke through my daydream and I realised it was a friend of mine standing next to me. I don’t know how long he had been calling my name but, from
look on his face, it had taken him a while to get me to hear him.
What does this have to do with
price of fish, you may ask?
Well, it occurs to me that this situation is marketing in a nutshell.
My friend was having
same problem we all have when we try to attract
attention of potential clients. Most of
time, they’re just like I was
other day, lost in their own thoughts, oblivious to most of
messages we’re trying to get across to them.
If we’re speaking, they may be vaguely aware of our voices but, for
most part, we’re just part of
background noise. They assume we’re not speaking to them so they don’t have to listen.
Unfortunately, most business owners don’t seem to realise this. For example, take networking events. So many people seem to think that, just because a person’s eyes are open, they must be listening. They go on and on about themselves and what they do, completely ignoring
fact that
other person is far away in their own little world. Nothing they say actually gets into
consciousness of
person they’re talking to.
If you want to get someone’s attention, you need to break into their reverie and make them listen. You need to stop them in their tracks, smack them between
eyes, interrupt their train of thought
Think back to
day when I was walking down
street. How did my friend get my attention ( eventually )? By saying my name over and over until I realised that he was talking to me. How does this apply to marketing? Well, you need to make sure that anyone you’re speaking to ( or writing for if it’s a letter, brochure or website ) knows that you’re talking to them specifically. You need to break through
background noise so they hear you.