88.

Arm Yourself

As always, the first place to look is at your audience. What do they need to see, hear, smell, taste, or touch to feel better about working with you? In your field, what convinces someone to hire you?

• If you're a graphic artist, it's samples of your work—both online and off.
• If you're a musician, it's inviting people (potential buyers) to hear your music and see you perform. That means inviting them to live shows and enabling them to easily download your music and watch your performances on YouTube.
• If you're a fashion designer, it's more than just sketches of your designs. Your audience wants to feel the fabric and see how the clothes drape on a model.
• If you're a chef, your audience wants to smell and taste your food. They don't simply want a description (the menu)—they want to experience it (the meal).

Develop relationships with colleagues and find mentors. These people will tell you what to prepare. Listen to them and follow their advice. Your colleagues and mentors can also advise you about what makes the sale. What represents you as a professional? Are your business cards appropriate for your field? Do they have all the information your audience will need to know what you do and how to find you? What other marketing documents (proposals, one-sheets, press kits, electronic press kits, websites, product samples, price sheets, etc.) do you need professionally prepared and ready to distribute?

I was recently given a presentation of a database program via teleconference. As the buyer, I was the audience—my needs were the only ones that mattered. The company giving the presentation was not audience-centric, however. They weren't familiar with me. They hadn't done their homework. They displayed a list of the services they offered onscreen and then said that one of them was no longer available. That's sloppy work. They had quoted me a price a few weeks earlier, but during the call, they informed me that I should add a 20% contingency fee (which I might or might not have to dip into), and that the 20% could possibly increase. That's poor preparation. The entire experience was a textbook example of how to make a potential customer nervous about doing business with you. Don't approach your potential clients in this way. It's unprofessional. Be thoroughly prepared for every contingency. Make them want to do business with you.