Laurie Taylor | 1 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC Marketing and Sales Tool Kit Ideas on how to position the 7 Stages of Growth

Laurie Taylor | 2 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Differentiators Because of the research, gets right to the heart of an issue faster and resolves it quicker based on the stages of growth 7 assessment tools generate consensus-driven solutions based on a company’s stage of growth

Laurie Taylor | 3 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Differentiators Generates a benchmark of progress qualifiers that allow a CEO to measure progress every 6 months Only process that addresses a company’s challenges by stage of growth in past, current and future stages of growth

Laurie Taylor | 4 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Differentiators Effectively identifies internal issues that are affecting growth by stage of growth Narrows the focus field to issues that have the ability to impact the company

Laurie Taylor | 5 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Differentiators Can predict how growth will impact a company Provides a CEO with knowledge on how their leadership skills are impacting the company’s growth

Laurie Taylor | 6 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Differentiators Creates a decision making process that helps management team track how decisions are impacting the company Takes the guesswork out of what’s going on – provides roadmap based on past, current and future stage of growth

Laurie Taylor | 7 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC Getting in the Door Marketing requires that you identify and understand your customer Market the concepts behind the 7 Stages of Growth – The power to predict growth Our customer for an X-Ray is a business owner who wants to grow their business with 500 or fewer employees The target company for an X-Ray is a Stage 3 and above Determine your approach for getting an audience

Laurie Taylor | 8 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC Getting in the Door Develop an online e-zine and begin to build your online marketing list Develop a “free” online assessment Take a potential CEO through a 27 Challenges Exercise Speak in front of business audiences for FEE or FREE – your topic should introduce them to the 7 Stages of Growth Speak to their problems and show them how the 7 Stages of Growth can provide solutions

Laurie Taylor | 9 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC Getting in the Door Offer a FREE or FEE workshop for business owners Partner with Sales/Marketing experts and offer FREE or FEE workshops Create an aggressive referral program Network with groups that either have your target audience in attendance or know how to connect you to your target audience

Laurie Taylor | 10 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC Getting in the Door Connect with Industry Associations and offer to be a speaker at their annual conference Connect with CEO Peer Advisory Groups and offer to be a speaker Create strategic alliances with businesses that align with your target audience Create monthly workshops, FEE or FREE that highlight specific aspects of the 7 Stages of Growth

Laurie Taylor | 11 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC How to Identify with a CEO – Pain Questions Are you tired of not being able to forecast problems before they occur? Are you frustrated with your leadership team and their ability to make decisions? Are you struggling to sustain profitability? Are you tired of the never-ending cash flow dilemma? Do you wish you could get a better handle on when to hire that next employee?

Laurie Taylor | 12 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC How to Identify with a CEO – Pain Questions Are you sick of feeling as if your company is out of control? Are you continually frustrated with employees who simply fail to follow processes? Are you wishing you had more time every day to work on your business? Do you get tired of reading books that don’t provide answers, just more questions? Are you frustrated with your ability to take your company to the next level of growth?

Laurie Taylor | 13 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC How to Identify with a CEO – Pain Questions Does your company adapt quickly to customer demands? Are your internal systems and procedures flexible? Can your internal systems and procedures be quickly changed when needed? Is your company’s sales strategy fully adaptable to challenging sales environments? Is your company the clear competitive pricing leader?

Laurie Taylor | 14 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC How to Identify with a CEO – Pain Questions Does your company command the strongest quality of products or services in the market? Does your company command the strongest customer service position in the market? Does your company command the strongest new products in the market? Is your company the clear volume leader in the market? Does your company have a strong sales team?

Laurie Taylor | 15 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC How to Identify with a CEO – Pain Questions Does your company have an extraordinarily devoted staff? Is your company unified around core values, vision and mission? Does the leadership of your company earn the respect of all employees? Are your company’s growth strategies supported by every employee? Can your company respond immediately to customer requests or complaints?

Laurie Taylor | 16 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC How to Identify with a CEO – Pain Questions Can your company effectively listen and quickly change as a result of internal constructive criticism? Does your company operate as a single team in every circumstance? Does your company enter a potentially slow growth economy with no fear? Does your company have a powerful selling system?

Laurie Taylor | 17 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC How to Identify with a CEO – Pain Questions Is your company effective at continually innovating new solutions to the obstacles you encounter? Does the company continue to be innovative even when it isn’t critical to do so? Is your company effective at forging powerful strategic alliances? Is your company effective at sustaining powerful strategic alliances? Does your company adapt quickly to market demands?

Laurie Taylor | 18 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Pain Funnel Pain is the difference between where the prospect is and where the prospect wants to be Pain is the umbrella term for the gap in the prospect’s perception of what he/she has and what he/she wants to have

Laurie Taylor | 19 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Pain Funnel People buy for their reason’s, not yours Not every prospect is qualified to become a customer You need to know what you are looking for; why you are looking for it; and have a strategy for finding i t

Laurie Taylor | 20 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Pain Funnel What is their pain today? What will be their pain in the future if they don’t address their pain today? What pleasure will they get if they address their pain?

Laurie Taylor | 21 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Pain Funnel The problem the prospect brings you is never the real problem You have to delve deeper to really help them identify their real pain People buy emotionally, they only make decisions intellectually Be aware that your prospect might become uncomfortable as your questions reach below the surface

Laurie Taylor | 22 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Pain Funnel If you haven’t established rapport, the prospect will identify the discomfort with you and they will get rid of you to ease their discomfort Use active listening skills to reinforce rapport Resist the temptation to rescue the prospect as you delve deeper into their pain Play off the prospect’s questions and answers

Laurie Taylor | 23 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC The Pain Funnel Review all the pain Identify the cost of that pain Summarize the consequences of continuing the pain Get validation from the prospect that you understand their pain Get verbal confirmation that you have stated all the pain correctly

Laurie Taylor | 24 ©2007 FlashPoint! LLC Helping You Succeed Monthly webinars on all aspects of the 7 Stages of Growth Last week of each month January topic: “Secrets to Facilitating a Successful X-Ray” Sign up at Cost: $45.00 – includes replay