Unlimited sales and marketing budget ? Congratulations. This may be useful to consider if you're of more modest means, though.
如果你是一家小型的英国IT或数字公司，那么恭喜你，你还在这里. It's been a rough couple of years.
As a matter of fact, 在30年的IT生涯中(包括20年的IT销售和市场)，我不记得有哪几年像这样. At last, we seem to be seeing some vague signs of recovery, but the rest of 2024 and the start of 2025, most likely, is going to be rough, with business opportunities few and far between.
大多数英国IT开发行业都是小公司——少于10人的公司——几乎没有商业专业知识，也没有预算聘请专门的销售和营销经理或CCO.
With that in mind, 让我给你一个非常简短的指南，教你如何尽可能高效、轻松地开发潜在客户.
Sales and how to get them.
- Forget "Sales and Marketing"
Conventional wisdom says that, in any B2B business, you should expend about 20% of your revenue on Marketing. In B2C businesses, you're expected to expend up to 30%.
即使你能负担得起这样做，你可能负担不起——它能实现什么 ? Simple. It theoretically gets you higher up on a search engine. In theory, "people come to you."
Except they don't. The way search engines work is easy. Whoever pays the most to Google gets a higher ranking, 所以你所有的营销策略都可能被比你更有钱的人打败.
- Forget relying on location
You might be in a prestigious location like Manchester or London, and think people will search for "local companies". Ah ah, well. Yes, theoretically, 但你的众多竞争对手已经绕过了这一点，要么在他们的网站上创建登陆页面，显示他们在全球最大的博彩平台/利兹/谢菲尔德/外赫布里底群岛, 或者他们每月支付20英镑租用一个虚拟办公室——只是一个通信地址——并获得一个谷歌地图识别码. Sneaky, eh ?
- Really, "forget the internet"
Here's where I get radical. 自90年代末以来，你可以通过互联网做任何事情的想法已经根深蒂固. Yes, you can run a business over it, you can speak to people in different countries, you can find customers and sell your goods and services..... and so can everyone else. Who you are in competition with. And to win the competition, 你必须比其他人更显眼，因此在广告上花更多的钱, branding, sales outreach and 1001 other considerations.
File under "saturation point.“如果你试图与其他人竞争，你只会增加成功的几率. So. 从逻辑上讲，你必须做一些新奇的事情来让自己与众不同.
- Anyone can easily ignore your efforts
E-mail. Cold calls. Pay Per Click. Paid ads.... all these can easily be ignored by your target audience. 你可以找到任何供应商，他们会为你运行一个点击付费广告活动... at a cost... most likely to their benefit and not yours.
- Business is personal
Here's where I get radical.
What's the point of Sales and Marketing ? Well, what you're attempting to do is get to decision makers. 获得业务的底线是你与那些有影响力和现金的人交谈，让他们从你那里获得软件或服务. 上面的逻辑是，互联网为你提供了一个从远处接触这些人的媒介(有成本). 事实是，你只是在尝试做其他人正在做的事情.
这里的“每个人”，在IT行业，我指的是整个世界，从凯特林到吉隆坡. Global village, remember ?
- Occam's razor time
如果你试图——本质上——接近决策者，那么最简单、最可靠的成功方法是 actually get physically close to them. 消除网络营销的所有不确定性-满足决策者, "press the flesh" and get your name and reputation out there. "Old school, baby !!"
So. How are you going to achieve this seismic shift ?
- Out with the Little Black Book
Realistically, 除了传统的营销手段，你还可以做下面所有的事情——“尝尝看”."
如果你已经在商界工作了几年，你会有一个你曾经为之工作过的人的名单. Hopefully they'll have been happy with you. Ring them up.
现在大多数公司都是从推荐人那里获得工作或未来的线索. Go through the little black book.
- Ask how your former contacts are doing
- Were they happy with the work you did for them ?
- Can they give you a hand ?
Ask what professional events they're attending this year, and can you tag along and be invited to them ?
A word about networking, here. As you've probably noticed, most generic business networking events are useless. If you attend a generic networking event, you'll find it full of life coaches, apprenticeship providers and probably even dog walkers, all trying to pitch to you. Forget generic networking events completely, 你最终有五分之一的机会与任何有用的人交谈，甚至可能有五分之一的机会转化为线索. Don't waste your time on generic networking - use your time much more wisely.
Give your contacts some incentive to help you out, 无论是降低支持成本，还是为他们现有的应用添加一些额外的功能. Or an "intro fee". Or just buy them lunch.
Remember: people work in their own self interests. Give them something to be interested about. This will probably be above and beyond a McDonald's Happy Meal.
For future reference - in any contract, 确保你在信中十大正规博彩网站评级一个条款，说明你保留为营销目的而提供参考的权利. After a job is done, 你可以花三个月的时间去找那些人，让他们签字同意.
- When attending events
Excuse me if I tell you things you already know here..... I've seen too many people making fundamental errors at events.
Important, time for the italics - Don't try and "sell" at networking events.
A networking event is not a place you try the hard sell. Everyone is standing there, having an enjoyable chat and suddenly, 有人以20世纪50年代的吸尘器推销员模式出现，让所有人都不想和他们做潜在的生意.
你去那里是为了结识有趣的人，让他们相信你是可靠的, knowledgeable, professional, easy to communicate with.
Now, regarding "knowledgeable" - here's an important point. Knowledgeable doesn't mean go technical on them. If you're technical, 那么强烈考虑带一个精通销售——沟通艺术的人一起去. Most important point - you don't sell software. You sell solutions to problems. 如果你把某人逼到墙角，谈论软件和框架的细节. You may be interested in the subject, they may be "less so". Geekery puts buyers off. 你需要一个不咄咄逼人的“人缘人”，他可以引导联系人成为商业前景.
And really, you have all the advantages. You are in a room with a decision maker. The opposition isn't. 你有参考网站，有人为你担保，你可以开始创造业务. However.
不习惯销售和市场营销的人倾向于把一个事件的成功或失败建立在“完成工作”的基础上。. 在任何销售情况下，通常会有人对你说:“这是我们将在未来六个月内关注的事情!." Leads are gold dust. Don't expect instant results, do expect your face to get known. That won't happen via e mail.
最后:不要像个白痴一样没有带二维码的名片去你的网站. You'd be amazed how many people turn up utterly unprepared. 在领英(Linkedin)或专业论坛上与你的联系人联系，并与他们保持联系，利用他们发展更多的联系人. Spread the news about the work you've done for
Get out there and spread the Happy Word.
About the author
Dave Francis has been in IT "since IT", nearly. 在蓝筹公司有10年的高级IT专业工作经验，20年的IT销售和营销经验, he's ate the pie and worn the T shirt.
Interested in hearing more ? Drop me a line at hello@davefrancisconsulting.com - and good luck, everyone.
