M3 Media Publishing’s recent Marketing Challenge event held in central Manchester’s St James’s Club, focused on how to rethink your prospecting pitch, using storytelling.
“What happens when you’re in front of a potential prospect can transform a fleeting encounter into the beginnings of a fruitful business relationship,” advises David Lomas, CEO of M3 Media Publishing.
“First impressions are crucial, and what you say, and how you say it, may determine whether you go on to achieve longer-term successes.”
The Marketing Challenge
The remit of M3’s Marketing Challenge is to get people to think differently about marketing.
“We want to challenge people’s assumptions and thinking, to help them develop more effective marketing solutions that will work for their specific brand or business”
“Marketing is not constrained by formal channels. Personal interaction is a form of promotion and for many businesses, they must act as their own brand ambassador when networking and meeting potential prospects face to face.”
Addressing an audience of business owners, entrepreneurs and marketing professionals, David explained the value in using powerful, concise stories to gain the attention of potential prospects.
“They key is that you listen first. Don’t set off at full throttle, all about yourself, but discover more about who you are with. Then when the opportunity is open to you, converse or tell stories that will resonate with them, and are relevant to them.”
What David emphasised at the event was that having a story to tell, which illustrates the benefits of your business, is a far more effective opener than simply stating what you do.
“The vital things here are subject and structure. Don’t go into the nuts and bolts of what you do first. Instead, explain the legacy of what you do for your customers. Have you saved them money, or enabled them to win a major new contract? Think in terms of bold statements.”
Honing Your Message with Content
An important part of the Marketing Challenge event is active participation.
Guests developed stories of their own to use when interacting with, and pitching to, potential prospects.
David emphasises, “The key to successful storytelling is content. Content is not just written material, images or videos. It is also verbal, which makes your personal storytelling another form of content marketing.”
Effective content marketing, in all its aspects, requires planning and strategy, and incorporating marketing fully into business objectives.
“We want people to understand how marketing is integral to their business activity, not something they simply add on when they have the time to devote to it”
This extends to how business owners and others present their brands to others.
“It means thinking differently about how you capture the essence of what it is you can offer prospects, and thinking differently about marketing strategy and how to apply it in real life situations.”
If you want to think differently about marketing , discover more about the Marketing Challenge or to attend a future event by clicking here.