Trust Tip 47: Subsidize Marketing with Sales

by Charles H. Green on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 (post #48)

Monday night I got an email. It was from a 50-ish owner of a small CPA firm—call him “Bob”—with three competing offers to buy his practice, and a few complicating life factors. He wanted advice, and wondered if we could talk.

I don’t do much coaching or consulting, and he almost surely couldn’t afford my rates. I am not an expert in life planning, or in valuations.

So of course I said sure, call me in the morning, we’ll talk—no charge.

We had a very good chat for about 45 minutes.

I think I helped him. I know it was useful for him to talk to a third party able to comprehend his situation. I believe he’ll make a better decision, and I’m sure he’ll feel better about it. Value was created for him in our talk.

But what about me? I knew going in there was no chance of a sale from him—not now, not in the future, not anytime. And my rate was zero.

I like doing nice things, but I’m not a saint. Nor did I consider Bob a pro bono case. It was a good thing to do: but, I would argue, it was also good business.

Sometimes a lead that we would otherwise screen out can be a good marketing investment. Sometimes you can do well by doing good. Sometimes we need to let sales leads bleed into marketing budgets.

“Bob” will never buy from me (though other Bobs might). But he will remember what I did for him; even more, that I was willing to help.

Bob is someone who cared enough to identify alternatives, choose me, and seek me out. He spent time to find out who I was, what I did, whether and how I might be useful to him. He was probably willing to pay for consulting. He was an educated, willing buyer, a near-client with influence on other potential clients.

For me, he was not a qualified sales lead. But—he was one helluva marketing resource.

He now knows me—the sound of my voice, how well I think on the spot, the way I interact, my sense of humor. He knows me better than one of 200 people in an audience for a speech; much better than 500 people reading this blog; and way better than 5000 people reading an article of mine.

Total investment: 45 minutes.

The return? Bob will tell X people about our discussion. That’s X people who will hear first-hand about a 1-to1 interaction. That’s a powerful testimonial.

The choice is not between being “good” or making money; they often go together.

A few hours per month, shift your sales practices to subsidize your marketing by investing in a lead.

Don’t get lost in charge-back accounting. The benefits will eventually accrue to your firm, and to you personally. Both.

Yet another win-win.

Charles H. Green, author of Trust-Based Selling and co-author of The Trusted Advisor, is a consultant and speaker on trust issues for some of the world's best companies. He has written about trust in business relationships at Trust Matters since 2006. Read more...