Sandra O’Malley at Bridgend and Cardiff accountancy firm Graham Paul, who provides training and business development programmes to all sizes of business, looks at marketing strategies and the need to “sell”.

Marketing, generally, is one of the most misunderstood business fundamentals. For small to medium size companies the function of practice marketing can mean many different things to many people, from the production of a new corporate brochure through to the embracement of the concept of a marketing driven business able to maximise every value added sales opportunity. Sadly, it is the former that is the most common interpretation of marketing.

The primary types of marketing activities include expensive things such as advertising, direct mail and telemarketing. For some businesses these often fail because they cost a lot and don’t show immediate returns, prompting directors to give up on them. Then there are low cost activities like public relations, press relations and partnering with introducers of work. Most businesses are not successful here either, though they are more comfortable with them, because they are so time intensive. Business owners tend to conduct the activities once or twice and then give up when the initial activity doesn’t give immediate results.

The secret to marketing says Sandra, is to train every director and manager in the company to understand what marketing will do for them and then engage patiently in a consistent variety of both types of activity, making sure that the activities present a professional image of the company and its capabilities.

Graham Paul Financial Services, who provides training, including marketing and management development programmes, to many businesses recently undertook a survey with companies across the area to gain a better understanding of the importance business owners placed on marketing. Interestingly, the survey not only demonstrated the different approaches being taken by firms but also showed a definite divide in opinions as to what works.

Advertising as a tool for marketing was given a definite thumbs down by most interviewed, with seminars, referrals and networking meetings taking the lead as those giving the best return on investment of time and money. Strangely though, over 85% of companies still included some form of advertising in their marketing programmes.

Most business owners interviewed agreed that there was a definite need to offer specialist services to niche markets in order to gain a competitive edge. Overall, most companies agreed that they needed to focus more on marketing and saw training and outside experts as a way forward in helping them to achieve this.

This final comment about using outside experts as a way forward in developing marketing as a core function, is an interesting one. There are many organisations in the UK, which promote marketing services and tools to business owners. Services range from ad-hoc training courses about marketing and practice development through to organisations that provide a fully outsourced marketing department able to help firms undertake all elements of the marketing mix without the need for directors and managers to get involved in the time consuming nitty gritty. Most suppliers offering marketing support have something valuable to offer but the key to supporting successful marketing really lies with those in the business. Marketing can provide the source of “sales leads” but it is really down to the directors and managers within the business, to conduct the networking and convert the interest.

Training in this skill set makes a big difference. If we look at the training provided as part of any trade qualification, it is usually technical. No degree process teaches us how to work a room well to gain the best possible networking opportunities, what opening lines to use to become part of an open group in a room full of strangers or how to sit with a client and ask open questions to spot up sell or cross sell opportunities. These are the “special problems” that have to be dealt with when businesses embark on a practice development process.

The “we are not salespeople” culture is the hardest nut to crack. The thought of being part of the sales and marketing process strikes fear into the heart of some employees. What many directors and managers miss here is the fact that clients are actually quite keen on going through the buying process, provided they feel they have control and there will be high, added value outputs. The skill, which can be taught, is to be able to show a deep and genuine interest and empathy in the client’s position and issues. The client will then signal (through verbal and non verbal queries) that the next stage of the buying process has arrived.

Those businesses that apply themselves to the sales process are undoubtedly those that are succeeding where others have failed. So how do they do this? The route to winning business is a method that is familiar to anyone who has been involved in a sales team.

The secret to any marketing or sales activity is the same. Learn the basics of networking and selling, choose two or three marketing activities, try them for a long enough period of time and be patient. Consistency, quality of image and variety combined with an understanding of your client or prospects needs are the things that make marketing successful.