The Tribune

By Scott Farrington

You will find in my articles that I am straight to the point; no sugar coating, no smoke and mirrors. So here goes

To claim or not to claim. That is the question. And we are not talking about clearing Customs. To be or not to be? It better be the first, and not the latter.

A lot of sales persons claim they or their company can do this and that. Some people will stretch the claim, promising what cannot be delivered. Some claim what they should not and put themselves and/or their company in a jam, just to get a sale. Some will stretch just a little bit and create more work for themselves.

So the question is: Should a sales person claim at all? The answer is ‘yes’, but only what can be exactly delivered.

If you claim it, then prove it!

Very simply put: If you claim you can reduce costs by 30 per cent, or increase sales by 30 per cent, boost company morale or build a high tech office on the moon for your client, then prove it. Otherwise, “dig a hole and bury yourself:”. Dog eat ya lunch, as they say.

If you tell your potential client ‘product X’ will produce 500 copies a second, that’s great. You can promise the world, as they say, but you better be able to prove it. If ‘product X’ or ‘company X’ can do what you claim, there is nothing better than backing it up. After you have made your claim, follow up with a previous client who has experienced what you have claimed. You can do this using a number of vehicles.

One way is with a letter that the client has written for you. Another is a verbal testimonial or, better yet, invite the potential client (with prior permission, of course) to visit a business or person who is currently experiencing your product or service. Let them see for themselves. Let them experience the ride, kick the tyres, go for a test drive, run 500 copies per second, etc.

Nothing is more reassuring to someone than experiencing the claim for themselves.And if you can’t back up your claim, then don’t claim at all. However, before any of this is done I hope you have found out what the prospect wants - where their mind is, what’s on it and why they invited you in. Oh, you begged to get in? That’s not good. We’ll have to deal with that one in the next post.

All of these marketing strategies are certain to keep your business on top during these challenging economic times. Have a productive and profitable week.

• NB: Scott Farrington is president of SunTee EmbroidMe, a promotional and marketing company specializing in uniforms, embroidery, silk screen and promotional products. Established over 27 years ago, SunTee EmbroidMe has assisted local businesses from various industries in marketing themselves. Readers can contact Mr Farrington at SunTee EmbroidMe on East Shirley Street, or by e-mail at scott@sun-tee.com or by telephone at 242-393-3104.