Packaging Your Industry Knowledge and Expertise to Create a Surge in Leads

What is the one most powerful marketing tool I’ve used to create immediate results?

If you were to ask me this question, what would I tell you? Frankly, I would have to say ‘Packaged Information’.

For me it pips Pay Per Click advertising because it will help you get better results from your Email, Advertising, Website, Pay Per Click advertising, PR and almost every other form of marketing that you can think of.

Packaged Information encompasses all the most powerful elements of great marketing communication into one highly concentrated form.

Honestly, I think it is one of the best kept secrets of marketing success of all time. I’m almost reluctant to share the information, but here we go…

What is Packaged Information?

Packaged Information is using Information Guides such as Special Reports, White Papers and Buyer’s Guides to generate new sales leads and to assist with converting prospects.

The objectives of this strategy are to…

• Generate more new leads from marketing
• Generate more new leads from your website
• Generate more leads from email campaigns
• Generate more new leads from your advertising
• Bring old or as yet unconverted prospects to life
• Convert more prospects.

The strategy is called Packaged Information because the concept involves promoting a ‘package of information’ – rather than directly advertising a company’s services.

To understand why this strategy is so powerful and effective we need to understand…

First Need – Second Need

When people are considering purchasing a product or service, they often have two needs – the second need is for the solution, the first need is for information so they can make an informed and intelligent decision.

Most marketing is aimed at second need and tells the prospect how great the company, products or service are.

By aiming at satisfying the prospects first need, the need for information, you can massively increase lead generation, conversions and of course sales. Quite simply – when you do this you are talking the customers language and you get the rewards.

Clearly this doesn’t apply to buying something insignificant (such as paper clips), but it does apply when there are consequences attached to making the wrong decision, such as buying a new Server for your business, or booking a holiday.

The idea is that if you can satisfy people’s need for information and market to that need, rather than directly promoting your products and services, you get some big advantages.

They are…

• More Leads – You get more leads from your website, advertising, emails and online marketing.
• Better Conversations – You get the relationship with a prospective customer off to a better start – far better to offer something of value to a prospect than just promote the service. Rather than the conversation beginning “How much is…” – which puts you on the back foot – the first interaction with the prospective client is much more positive, productive and results in better conversions.
• Great Positioning – As the publisher of the guide, report or white paper, you get the “kudos” of being the authority on the topic – this gives you a position as an expert consultant, rather than just a supplier of the product or service.
• You Set the Buying Agenda – By outlining what buyers should look for, what they should avoid, and giving them a way to evaluate different options you can help buyers compare correctly. A comparison that will help your business, your product or your service come through with flying colours in appropriate situations.
• The purpose of the guides will be to help the buyer make an intelligent decision – therefore making them more likely to choose you when your product or service is the most appropriate.
• You Build an Excellent Prospect Database – How much easier would it be if only you knew who was about to buy your product or service? Well, with Packaged Information you can. Prospects who request your buyer’s guide or white paper are indicating by their action that they are ‘open to buy’. They may be at the early stage of the buying process, but this gives you the perfect database for your marketing campaigns.
• High Quality Clients – Finally, it caters for slow buyers (who form the majority). Slow buyers are careful, cautious and cynical. They will buy, but in their own time and only once they have gathered the information they need, assessed you and what you offer, evaluated their options and come to a sensible decision. These slow buyers often make great clients who are very loyal, and refer others (who respect their opinions) to you.

How to Deliver your Packaged Information

Each guide will go into detail on its subject, educating and inspiring the prospective customer by giving enough information to help them understand how to solve their problems and achieve their objectives.

At the same time, the guide will make it clear that working with your company is probably the fastest, most effective way to get the outcome that they are looking for.

Packaged Information guides can be advertised and promoted in several ways…

• Advertising – guides are advertised through Ads in appropriate magazines and journals.
• Website – through a small Ad on the homepage and relevant landing pages. By clicking on the Ad, a site visitor will go to a “sell page” for more information on the guides and will then click to order the guides.
• Online – through search engine marketing with programmes such as Google Ads.
• Email Marketing – while emailing your prospects and unconverted prospects Packaged Information offers will flush out those who are becoming ready to buy, it is also one of the few ways to get cold email lists to work extremely well.
• PR – the guides can be offered in press articles. This can be a great way to convince editors to run an article featuring your new special report, white paper or buyers guide.

Don’t Make This Common Mistake

Your Packaged Information guide should never be handed to prospects unless you get their contact details in return.

A Packaged Information is a transaction – usually the first one you’ll have with this person. No money changes hands, but an exchange of ‘value’ takes place.

For you, it’s a great way to get prospective clients to identify themselves and their area of current interest to you in an exchange for the “value” you offer – the prospective client gets a valuable guide full of useful information.

In return they give you something of value – you get the name, address, phone number and email address of a prospect, allowing you to market appropriately to a self-qualified group of prospects.

Today, we have hundreds of clients who have revolutionised their marketing results through creating and offering Packaged Information.

Because it is a strategy aimed at the prospects ‘first need’ (the need for information) it can put you so far ahead of your competitors it’s amazing.

Clients who are seeing fantastic results with this approach include manufacturers, accountants, consulting firms, retirement and care homes, mortgage brokers, medical devices, window installers and more.

Yes, it is harder work (upfront), but once it is working it could take your business to a whole new level.

What about your business?

Any ideas yet on how to “sell” your in-depth knowledge to build and nurture your customer and prospect base?

Once you realise that you already have the information tucked away in your head it’s often a fascinating revelation.

This strategy alone could revolutionise the performance of almost every part of your Marketing Machine.

It can absolutely transform the performance of your lead generation, it can make Google Ads work when for many it doesn’t, it can make your email marketing and direct mail way more effective and it can transform the performance of your website, turning many more website visitors into valuable database contacts, leads and customers.

Packaged Information is a great way to get more from your prospect list and to develop and enhance relationships with clients too.

Presented properly, it is pure gold to people who want your product or service too – it’s great for buyers and great for you. You can use it to position yourself far above the competition, and turn it into key part of your Marketing Machine.

And it’s a key component of what I call Marketing 3.0 strategy where stand-alone campaigns rarely work and where you need joined up, or blended Marketing 3.0 create an amazing ROI on your marketing spend.