The Human Factor-Seven Marketing Maxims

Thalia Zetlin, principal and chief marketing officer for the New York metropolitan area firm Berdon LLP, believes that understanding the following maxims that account for human emotion gives you an enormous advantage in servicing clients and in marketing to prospects.

What's in it for me? Clients and prospects don't care about how many diplomas you have, a technology upgrade, or a fabulous new service you're offering, unless you relate how it benefits them. Know enough about your client or prospect to understand why and how they would benefit.

The more you say, the less they hear. Time after time, professionals meet with a prospect and go on and on about services and issues without any knowledge of actual needs. This "cookie cutter" approach throws away a face-to-face opportunity to learn what the prospect's issues and concerns really are. Asking questions is not as hard as it may seem since people like to talk, particularly about themselves. They also tend to like people who let them talk. And people buy from people they like.

Appeal to the heart and the head. Decisions are made on both an intellectual and emotional level. Think about how your feelings enter into your decision when buying a new car.
Emotions motivate the selection and logic justifies it. Now consider the materials you leave for prospects - hard information such as service descriptions and newsletters that appeal to the "head."
Also, give prospects a sense of what to expect in a relationship with your firm via graphics or perhaps photographs of clients and partners in social situations that appeal to the "heart."

Eliminate fear/minimize risk. People are instinctively prone to making the safe choice. For many prospects, the decision comes down to not what is best, but what is feared the least: the safe choice. Give prospects a comfort level that they are making the right choice by letting them hear from some of your satisfied clients. Ask several clients in different industries to write articles or testimonials, and include these in leave-behind materials.

You're selling a relationship. For the most part, prospects can't truly evaluate your firm's skills beyond some knowledge of you or the firm's overall reputation. The prospect can, however, evaluate your bedside manner. Your goal is to lead the prospect into understanding the overall value that will be derived by having your firm on the team. Demonstrate that you care about them. Have empathy for issues they may face.

Delivering the promise. When clients hire you, they base their decision on the promise that your firm will deliver what it claims. In professional services, the provider and the service are inseparable. To be consistent in delivering on that promise, see that all professionals have the tools to make that delivery, which include professional, technical, and social training.

Speak with one voice. To ensure that your firm maintains a consistent voice, recognize that it manifests itself in many ways: your look - stationery, newsletters, brochures; your sound, which includes avoiding pomposity and stilted language; good internal communication, because sharing information benefits the whole firm; and teamwork, which enables you to capture more client and prospect information and facilitates cross-selling.