Los indicadores bibliométricos y el Factor de Impacto

Influencers are only credible in a narrow field of expertise. It is vital that you match the message to the appropriate influential messenger. If the objection is technology-orientated, then use a techie. If it’s a financial issue, then use a financially credible influencer. If it’s proof points you need, use a customer influencer. And so on.

Influencer marketing offers real opportunities for creativity in market-ing approaches, because it utilises a broad range of influencers. You may be targeting the top analyst in your industry, but your competitors are doubtless doing the same thing. Using a broad set of influencers allows you to use the right person for the appropriate message.

You’ll find that you can map several influencers to each objection.

That’s fine. You now have multiple routes to countering that objection.

Occasionally, you may discover that there are no obvious influencers that can match the objection. An example might be where you have no existing presence in a market – so you have no customer reference influencers. In such cases, think laterally. Is the new market so different from your existing customer base? Can you identify an industry expert to verify your capabilities?

Can a partner influencer underwrite your technology with first line support?

Whatever influencer mapping you define, be aware of overusing your favourites. This is especially true for customer references, but it applies universally. That’s why it’s important to identify and utilise a long list of influencers. It keeps both the message and the messenger fresh, credible and pertinent.

Example objection Example risk Example counter-arguments

‘Your solution is non-standard’

‘The solution won’t fit with my current infrastructure,

‘This is a business critical process – I can’t be left high and dry’.

‘We offer first class customer service’.

‘This is new technology and I’m not sure it will last’.

‘I want to avoid a

Example on a firm that no-one knows’.

Marketing with influencers

Countering sales objections is pointless if you deliver these counter-argu-ments yourself. Prospects don’t believe you. Why? Because you’re selling something. You have a vested interest. It’s ironic that when you counter a sales objection the prospect raises the killer objection – disbelief. This means you need to generate specific pieces of collateral to support each counter-argument, using someone that the prospect will believe. These would be your influencers.

The key step is to map your sales objections to your influencer community. You’ll have to create new collateral to address each objection – importantly, this needn’t break the bank. Here comes the budget shortcut we mentioned earlier. Influencer-led collateral can include pre-existing material, so it can be cheap to gather. This can include articles, books, webcasts and so on. It does not have to have your brand on it.

So, if an influencer blogs positively on your product, link to it. If an influential journalist article advocates the benefits of your category of technology, order reprints. If an influential customer launches a new soft drink, and you supplied the supply chain management system behind it, send a case of the product to your prospects. As long as you attribute the source of influence appropriately, and you can map to a specific objection, then feel free to go ahead.

Addressing sales objections has one inevitable effect: sales will increase.

It has immediate payback, by definition, as it directly results in sales. No problems there in associating marketing spend with ROI.

Example can’t be left high and dry’. not sure it will last’.

‘I want to avoid a

‘I’ve never heard of your firm’.

‘I’m risking my personal reputation on a firm that no-one knows’.

‘We are an innovative young firm with a powerful business model and strong financial backing’.

FT journalist FT article, citing technology trend and quoting your CEO

‘I don’t know what your firm can do’.

‘My company is risking its strategy on unproven

‘There’s a risk that you don’t understand my

‘Your proposal exceeds my budget’.

‘I have to take this proposal to my boss, which

represents a personal credibility risk to me that I’d rather not take’.

‘The solution won’t fit with my current infrastructure,

‘This is a business critical process – I can’t be left high and dry’. not sure it will last’.

‘I want to avoid a technology cul de sac’.

‘This technology represents the future for the industry, and early adopters will gain competitive advantage’.

As a recap on marketing with influencers, the sequence of logic is this:

& Determine the reasons why prospects don’t buy from you. These

rea-sons are called sales objections.

& Define a counter-argument for each sales objection.

& Map each argument to an influencer, such that the

counter-argument is (or could be) advocated by that influencer.

& Create influencer-led collateral that specifically addresses each

objection.

Hey presto – you’ve got an answer to each sales objection, and it’s an answer that has substantial credibility (because it’s from an influencer, not you).

The key points of this process are:

1. You need to know why people don’t buy from you. The sales force is the custodian of this information, so you need to tap this resource.

Sometimes it’s easy – they just know. Other times they don’t know, or they think it’s price (hint: it’s almost never price). In these cases, there are ways of eliciting the information, either from the sales force or directly from the market.

2. Arguments against sales objections are credible only if communicated by someone independent. A counter-argument conveyed by you doesn’t work because ‘you would say that, wouldn’t you’. Influencers, by defi-nition, are more credible.

3. Counter-arguments are specific to the objection. In other words, the counter argument ‘Gartner says we’re a top-right player in its Magic Quadrant’ works only if applied to the objection ‘We don’t think you’re a major player’, but not if the objection is ‘We don’t perceive a need for your product’. This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often an objection is countered by an irrelevant response.

The power of the approach is that it directly links influencers to sales objections, arming the sales force with specific collateral. If you get it right, the inevitable consequence is better leads, improved conversion rates and higher sales. Now, we can hear you ask, ‘If it’s that easy, why’s it not done this way already?’ Good question, two good answers:

Firstly, sales and marketing typically don’t talk to each other. Read Philip Kotler’s ‘Ending the War Between Sales and Marketing’ for insight into why this situation exists. Secondly, it only works if you use influencers to counter sales objections. And most firms don’t know who their influ-encers are.