Today I signed a new client, . (My inner data geek shines through on this one. But seriously, check them out if you like data and chart-making.)
The experience of pitching, planning and promising results in <90 days was awesome. (And yes, doable.) Maybe I just love the thrill of pushing things uphill, but the reality is that every element of my recent ebook – - came alive in the working sessions this last week.
I also thought the experience - and insights – were worth sharing. Perhaps you too are in the position of pitching new clients or sorting out a quick-win strategy.
Below are some Fast Facts for doing so.
The Pitch
Keep it Simple, Know Your Audience, Use Data and Quantify Results.
In other words, do your homework. But don’t exaggerate results, or over complicate the storyline. It all sounds relatively easy, but it’s really Sales 101. And yes, in Marketing we sell. Sales, Marketing. They (always) go hand-in-hand.
The Plan
Break it Down, Don’t Over Commit and Set Even-Keel Expectations.
Establish structure right away with your planning (even brainstorm) process. Bucket your thoughts, categorize your opinions and don’t over sell an idea. Facebook presence may sound like a great idea, but attaching wild follower and/or conversion growth rates in x timeframe with no baseline metrics would be slippery spot to be.
The Promise
Build and Optimize to Goals versus Hard-Coding Results.
If you have enough marketing expertise behind you – or someone to help you voice an opinion – there are industry standards for site conversion, etc that can be used to set broad expectations. It does not mean that you too can achieve x in xyz timeframe, but a standard can still become a goal. And that goal, if pursued aggressively, can soon become a very real item to prove or disprove over time.
Get more scrappy (marketing) best practices by reading my latest ebook, . FREE until Feb 11, 2012. Do more on less. Get Scrappy.
