Now.. a word of caution. The feeling you get when you close a deal can be very motivating. So much so that it's easy to let the desire for the feeling itself be the driving force to close a deal rather than whether or not the lead is actually a good match for your services. This applies directly to inbound marketing. Be careful you don't find yourself falling victim to this pitfall. Landing that new client or customer is always a good moment. All your time and effort has paid off and you just know that the approach you're taking to generate new business is working. A couple of quick hi-five's around the office or if you're lucky someone has champaign - assuming it's past noon somewhere in the world, which gets everyone fired up and then it's back to working on the next prospect. Rinse and repeat! Sound familiar?
I'm sure I don't need to tell you that new business is a must for all of us. The key, however, is landing the RIGHT new business. Doing a little homework early can pay off handsomely down the line; not to mention helping you avoid having to explain to your client why your services aren't working well for them.
The truth of the matter is that Inbound Marketing is not a perfect fit for every business. There are a number of reasons why a business wouldn't benefit from this approach. Being able to recognizing these early can be a huge time saver. Some of the tell tale signs to look for are:
The business doesn't have a clear definition of a lead
They don't blog and can't be convinced to
They're looking for the quick fix
They don't have a reasonable budget
If you come across any of these during your qualifying process you may want to consider passing on the prospect as well as explaining to them why it's not a good fit. It's ok to be honest with your prospects. They'll respect you for it, believe me. Remeber that inbound marketing's foundation is content and lead generation. Without a willingness to build a foundation you'll be fighting an uphill battle.
We do a lot of talking on our blog about what you SHOULD be doing. Things such as content creation, lead nurturing, social media, keyword strategies and more. All those assume that you and/or your existing customers are actively involved with inbound marketing. What if you're not? Should you be promoting all those to your prospects? Absolutely. Also, companies can still benefit fromSEO and PPC when it comes to promoting their business. Keep in mind that you can't go wrong by following the elements within inbound marketing, but promoting a full blown inbound marketing strategy may not be the right course of action.
Every now and then it's extremely valuable to talk about what you SHOULDN'T be doing. One of the most valuable lesson's I've learned in business is knowing when to say "no". There's a real sense of relief when you know you've just avoided a high risk client. You certainly don't have to beat them over the head with your unwillingness to work with them. A friend once told me, "Say what you mean, just don't say it mean". Sage advice that gets used daily.
On the topic of sage advice, some was given to us by our Hubspot Inbound Marketing consultant Nick Salvatoriello. His 2 part interview provided a great inbound marketing qualifying checklist that helps define some of these pitfalls a bit further. If you are wondering if you are reading your prospective clients accurately these are some great take aways to help your decision making.
The bottom line is to pay close attention to prospective clients no matter what you sell or what service you provide. Don't be seduced simply by the lure of the sale or retainer. Remember, where there's smoke there's fire. If you sense a bit of smoldering going on when qualifying a client dig around a bit and see if you can locate the flames. It just might make your life a whole lot easier.