Do They Really KNOW You or do they Know OF you?

I was recently working with a client who had a particular sales team that was having a very difficult time in finding new prospects. The company was established, had multiple locations, each with its own sales team, and had a strong, loyal client base which provided repeat business to each location and to the company as a whole.

Like any business though, they required new clients and it involved the sales team to go out and find these prospects, mostly via networking, advertising and other marketing methods. In many of their locations, their sales teams were humming along, showing growth in the number of prospects and ultimately, new customers.

But this particular sales team was in negative territory. First, customers would come and go after a very short time. From my vantage point and that of others in the company, the sales team didn't do too much to address this issue, let alone to replace the customers that left.

At a recent meeting, one of the people on the sales team, voiced the following frustration when I asked what specific efforts were being made by individual members of the team to attract potential new customers.

"We're in a small community and EVERYONE knows who we are. We have multiple locations so it's not like we're out of sight. They also know the other companies like ours, so it's not like we're invisible. Perhaps we're too saturated....perhaps it's the economy...... etc.

After this person finished a long diatribe, I asked a simple question: "So are you saying that the prospects KNOW this company or just KNOW OF this company?"

At that moment, a wall of about 12 blank and somewhat puzzled stares looked back at me.

"When someone gets to know someone or something, they have had an experience with it; when someone KNOWS OF something, the experience hasn't been there yet. For example, I KNOW OF places to see Australia from what I've read on the Internet and in guide books; but I haven't been there yet. I KNOW Disney World and I can tell you all about it because I've been there dozens of times. I KNOW OF that new restaurant that opened up in town because I read about it in the paper; and I KNOW what the food is like at McDonald's, TGI Fridays, the local diner and even an upscale steakhouse such as Peter Luger's because I've been to those places many several times."

"Also, just because you are KNOWN OF, doesn't mean that they have the correct information. Just think of the game of telephone, by the time it gets to the next few people, things are forgotten, things are embellished and the wrong message is being sent."

I went on to say "To be KNOWN, is all about experience. Since the services this company provides requires that the prospect has an experience, your goal is to get the prospect to come into a location -- your location, specifically -- and to give them an experience they won't forget. In order to do this, it's going to require you to go out there and start building relationships with people that you network with. It's going to require you to get creative to find the new prospects that you need to grow your business."


ASK YOURSELF: Are you KNOWN or just KNOWN OF? Is the right message out there for your business? What kind of experience are you giving your current clients as well as prospects? You have the power to control what is being said about your business. It's just a matter of getting the right kind of word-of-mouth out there via people who have had the experience with you.