I started my podcast back on November 1st, 2014. I am about to cross the 1000-episode barrier. Next year will be 10 years. Although some of those episodes are “Best Of” repeats, I have done a monocast (solo episode) and expert interviews for over 450 weeks.

Over that time, the business climate and the podcast have evolved but my podcast has always had a core purpose. Meet interesting people, ask questions, and learn something.

Currently, I interview experts who have an interesting take on sales or marketing. To help them provide more value to our listeners, I ask them 5 questions in a 20-minute interview format.

1. What is the perceived problem (your customers have)?
2. What is the REAL problem (your customers have)?
3. What is your solution?
4. What are the steps (Customers need to take)?
5. What is the Outcome (a success story)?

Could you answer those questions for your business? I am certain that your marketing and sales success could depend on it!

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)

“What problem do you solve and who needs that solution?” I have found that this is a hard question to answer for many business people.

I can always differentiate between a newbie and an expert in the pre-interview call with one simple question “Who needs your solution?”.

Newbies answer that with something like, “Everyone who is breathing and has a wallet or a purse” to “Every (insert market or niche here) who wants to grow and scale their business.”

Experts tend to provide a more nuanced answer without giving away the exact persona since they don't want the competition to know their perfect avatar.

The big difference here is that the newbie is not necessarily wrong but just hopes that the audience will self-segment. The expert knows their target but is searching for more of them.

In both cases, they try to create a sense that they know something the listener does not. This can create FOMO or Fear Of Missing Out. FOMO increases interest with the hope of getting the attention of prospects who may be podcast listeners.

ROI

When it comes to marketing, it is often hard to attach real ROI (Return On Investment) to any marketing effort.

You can sense that frustration when you talk with an owner of any brick-and-mortar business who asks a new customer, “Where did you hear about us?” and that customer answers “The internet!”

How do you measure marketing success (or ROI)? Well, let's first establish that marketing success is more like Death by 1000 Paper Cuts than Dropping a Nuke.

Marketing success is often measured by clicks and likes. That is 100% valid but which click or like converted a prospect into a sale?

I will come back to this, but the correct answer is every view, like, and click (or Know, Like, and Trust) has a cumulative effect.

Question Everything

You can reverse engineer the marketing process by asking yourself these five questions I ask my expert guests:

5 – Outcome

What does your perfect customer look like and what do they get using your service that they can't get from another solution or vendor?

4 – Steps

What steps have worked for them that have led to them becoming your loyal repeat customer? Are those steps repeatable for other customers or prospects?

3 – Solution

How can you present those steps as a coherent system that targets their specific problem and is not just some random concept that works for everyone?

2 – Real Problem

What are they not seeing (which you offer), that helps them solve their problem in a way that is different? Can this help them diagnose and treat a perceived problem in a way that creates clarity?

1 – Perceived Problem

This is often an I believe statement. “I believe that more leads will create more sales,” or “I believe more clicks and likes on your social media and emails will build trust.”

These answers often have a ring of truth but are based on assumptions, and lack a foundation supported by reality or data.

The Questions are in the Answers

With marketing (and ultimately sales), you have to convince a person or group of people that their “I believe” statement is holding them back and another is a better solution.

More often than not, we tend to want a simple solution to a complex problem. In the real world, if it was that easy everyone could solve it themselves and not need help.

The main question I like to help clients answer is how many sales will we actually need to generate together for our relationship to be considered a success.

The answer I love to hear is 68, which is a good benchmark for many B2b businesses.

First I break down the sale level

• Level One – Simple & Repeatable – $5,000
• Level Two – Mid-Sized (that lead to repeatable) – $50,000
• Level Three – Jumbo-Sized (combining the others) – $250,000

Next is the Frequency

• Level One – 1 per week (52 a year)
• Level Two – 1 per month (12 per year)
• Level Three – 1 per quarter (4 per year)

So when you add that all up (52 x $5,000) + (12 x $50,000) + (4 x $250,000), you have almost $2,000,000 in sales.

Your numbers (sale amounts and frequency) may vary, but how much should or could you spend on marketing to attain that level of sales? It depends on your sales team size and sales cycles, but business best practices say around 10% of total sales. Even if you use 5% that equates to $100,000 for every $2,000,000 in revenue.

There is no way to 100% assure that $100,000 will equate to $2,000,000 in new sales. It's more likely that it will be a mix of repeat customers and new business will occur, but I think you get the point.

We all want sales. As long as your marketing is leading to that goal, it's a win!

Final Thoughts

I sometimes wish I had a magic wand that I could wave to create business for my clients. If it were that easy, people would be lining up to pay big money. But I believe that we all possess a magic potion that works. It's called results.

If a business can make $3, $5, or $20 by simply spending $1, who would not sign up for that program? It can happen with the right process in place and the consistent commitment to learning new ways to communicate your results.

I have learned this by interviewing hundreds of experts and synthesizing their ideas and concepts into systems that help my clients tell their stories to their audiences.

“Don't make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.”
– Don Miguel Ruiz

Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about your love-hate relationship with sales and marketing! Do you feel your system is working for you? What tips or techniques can you share that worked for you and your business?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.