Read a great post by IDC’s Michael Gerard about solution selling. I was fortunate to experience that for the first time several years ago by a very successful vendor rep who has since become a good friend. I thought by now, every sales organization practiced solution selling-but I was wrong.

Michael’s post says, “For nearly 10 years, sales organizations have emphasized the desire to become “trusted partners” with their B2B customers. However, only one in five buyers will tell you that he/she is generally approached by sales reps prepared to discuss solutions.” He goes on to say that most sales engagements are still product led.

Given the stiff competition in the marketplace and all we know about the psychology of selling, why is this still the case and what can we do about it?

It’s been around for a long time. People do business with those they know, like, and trust. To me, anything else is either luck or desperation. With B2B’s extended sales cycle, relationship building becomes even more important. IDC finds that buyers are saying the pre-purchase experience is becoming a more important indicator of post-purchase value. They also say buyers are increasingly considering “relationship ROI” while considering product ROI.

So, what are we marketers doing to help facilitate relationship building? What are we doing to help build trust and likeability?

I’m working with a client and made a suggestion to him that I think was a completely foreign concept: offer some valuable content or tool that has absolutely no mention of your product. In this case, I suggested an e-book on competitive analysis best practices, since they provide a service that consolidates competitive and market information.

As marketers, what research can we provide our sales team? Have we read the latest news and annual reports to find out what is happening now or where they want to go in the future? Have we researched both the decision makers and influencers to find out what roles they have had in the past and any accomplishments they’ve had? By the way, LinkedIn is great for that type of research.

Michael goes on to say, “Buyers will tell you that, in this economy, they no longer have tolerance for uninformed vendor representatives who come through their doors.”  Heck, I never did!

Prospects don’t want your products; they want solutions to their problems. They want to find those solutions with people they know, like, and trust. Does your marketing plan support that?

I never planned to be a content marketer. In fact, due to some criticism from my high school English teacher, I didn’t read or write much for the next 20 years. Instead, I focused on technical work, figuring I’m “just a math and science girl.”

So now that I am writing marketing content for a living (I’ll save that life story for another post!), I get asked all the time how I find new clients.

The answer lies in both finding and being found. Here are the four basic steps to increasing your visibility. There is so much more that can be said about each one of these, so you may see them pop up in more detail in a future post. Anyway, here goes:

1. Establish your niche – Most all of us have had multiple jobs. This gives us a variety of experience, though many of us tend to stay in a particular industry. Whether that is healthcare, manufacturing, telecom, retail or something else, it’s what you know best. Let me just say, it is so much easier to create marketing deliverables in an area that is your comfort zone! Once you have narrowed it down, find out where your prospects go. Are there industry groups you can join? Conferences you can attend? Trade publications they read?

2. Create your platform – These days, you must have a website. It’s like your home base. It serves as your online brochure and helps people get to know you. It’s a must that you post samples of work you have done in your online portfolio. So, once that’s done, it’s time to be a little more creative and show people what you are all about. One of the easiest is to start your own blog, related to your niche. You might also choose to produce a regular newsletter. There are some great (and free) tools out there to get started. Check out Wordpress to get your blog started.

3. Leverage LinkedIn – It is also imperative that you have a fully developed LinkedIn profile. It’s the ultimate online resume. Once you’re comfortable there, search for and join groups in your niche. That allows you to submit articles (even ones you wrote!), start discussions, and learn what others in your group are doing. As for finding and being found, I had two prospects cold call me because they found me on LinkedIn. I also use the advanced search to look up people with “marketing” in their title, and who work for a specific company I want to reach.

4. Twitter with your “Tweeple” – The whole Twitter thing still amazes me. I was one of those nay-sayers who couldn’t see the value. Well, I’m a complete convert now! I found and followed people in my niche area, business intelligence. I was fortunate in that these techie, fairly early adopters, organized a group and collected Twitter handles on a Google docs spreadsheet. Barring that, you can search for people in your niche (try Twello), and not only follow them, but follow who they follow. Start your own collection of niche Tweeple and advertise the list. Now get out there and tweet. Check out TwiTips for more help with Twitter.

If you’re doing these things, you are well on your way and can consider yourself an “advanced social networker.” This won’t guarantee you’ll get new work, but I can just about guarantee you’ll meet new prospects! The rest is up to you.

I’d love to hear your story about how you’ve been able to find new clients.

I just got a prospecting e-mail from a vendor, who obviously knows nothing about me.

To set the stage, my particular marcom specialty is the business intelligence area of high tech B2B. Business intelligence (BI) is all about using data to make better decisions. This is over-simplified, but BI vendors sell software for database management, data quality, reporting, and analytics. I grew up in this world but left my Director of Business Intelligence at a large corporation to freelance.

To stay current with technology and new vendors, I download white papers and case studies, and attend several webinars every month. As you probably know, before you can download or attend, you must give up your contact info. These guys don’t just ask for your name and e-mail address, you have to provide more intimate details including your budget for BI, how soon you might be ready to purchase, how big your company is, and your phone number.

These warm leads are passed along to the vendor’s sales team for follow-up. Here’s where it gets funny. Inevitably, I get an e-mail or phone call asking me whether I have any projects that might need enterprise data management solution or something similar. They’re talking to me…and my one-person company.

Considering I answered their question about company size (one person) and when I might have a project (“just looking” if they have that option or I check two plus years out). If they have a comments box, I always let them know I am a freelance writer just staying current.

So, why is all of this information ignored on the follow-up? Why collect the info if you don’t use it to qualify your leads? Given this is likely your first contact with me you’re not making a good impression when you treat me generically.

Take five minutes and learn about your prospect. Then make your first contact personal. Ask me about my business and if I have any questions. Ask me whether I can send you any additional information, even if I’m unlikely to buy now or in the near future.

Coincidently, I attended a great webinar from Brian Carroll of InTouch that talks about nurturing your leads. I highly recommend it.