Here, Smart Cow owner, Simon Cripps, gives his insight into one of his favourite business development books. Watch the video below and read on.
I love the saying ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, in the way that you can take what other people have experienced and learn from their mistakes and discoveries. To that extent, I constantly read highly recommended business development books.
One of my favourite business books with regards to marketing techniques is from ex-swimming pool salesman Marcus Sheridan with his book ‘They ask you answer’.
In his book, Marcus Sheridan explains how 80% of the buyer’s journey is now being completed before people contact companies. As well as how 27% of all Google searches are questions.
Answer your customers questions
Over the past 20 years, sales have transformed and it’s more important than ever for businesses to understand their customers and provide them with the information they need.
As businesses, we exist to solve people’s problems. But, how do people know you can solve their problems if you haven’t answered their key questions.
This book offers a revolutionary approach to inbound sales, content marketing, and today’s digital consumer. It helps address common fears such as not knowing what to say or how to price services by providing detailed explanations on how to tackle these issues.
A key tactic to differentiate your business
The key takeaway from this book is that transparency is essential when it comes to creating online content. Being upfront with details about products and services, providing comparisons, and offering reviews can help differentiate your business from the competition.
There is a great example of having a best of comparison on your website which actually highlights your competition and even some of their strengths or differences. Marcus had a web page on his website that listed the top 10 swimming pool manufacturers in California, they were all his competitors.
His competitors loved this as the page was really popular and they were being mentioned as one of the top 10, however in reality what was happening was that people online were searching for ‘top 10 swimming pool manufacturers in California’ and they were all going to Marcus’s website. Through his honest review, sometimes complementing his competition, his company was seen as the leading provider and made a huge amount of sales off the back of it.
They ask, you answer,
‘They Ask, You Answer’ has so many other great examples like this, that you can implement for your own business growth and success.
So, if you’re looking for an invaluable resource that will help you better understand your customers’ needs and create meaningful content that resonates with them, then ‘They Ask You Answer’ by Marcus Sheridan is a must-read!
You can buy it from Amazon and if you have already read it, please share your favourite insights.