Graham McGregor: Where do you find great marketing ideas?

Just look for experts in your field who are already getting great sales results and find out exactly what they are doing. Photo / Thinkstock

Opinion

Marketing consultant Graham McGregor explains how to find great marketing ideas.

In 1987 I learned a valuable marketing lesson. I had just started selling a business seminar that was being sold in several different countries. Sales were very slow and I was at a loss to see how I could improve my poor sales results.

A few months later I attended an overseas conference where I met Paul, the top salesperson in the world at selling this seminar. I asked him what his sales secret was and he was happy to share it with me.

Paul explained that rather than show the business seminar to one person at a time, he took a group sales approach. So Paul gave a short and interesting 45 minute presentation on business success to groups of sales people at their weekly sales meeting. He then invited the sales people to attend the business seminar. Paul told me he was getting 10-15 people who could sign up for the seminar every time he gave his presentation.

I was impressed with these results as I was only making 1-2 sales a week and here was Paul making 10-15 sales in one hour.

I taped Paul's presentation and practised it several times. I then persuaded the manager of a very successful insurance agency to let me speak at his weekly sales meeting. I gave Paul's talk and to my amazement 10 people signed up for the seminar at the end of my presentation.

I had made more sales in one hour than I had made in the previous six weeks.

And that's when I discovered a key secret about finding great marketing ideas.

Just look for experts in your field who are already getting great sales results and find out exactly what they are doing. Then use this in your own business.

The good news is that many sales and marketing experts are more than happy to share their success secrets. They have books, CD's, DVD's, seminars, webinars, newsletters and ezines explaining how they get their remarkable sales results.

Here is a good example:

One of the marketing experts I really like is Dale Beaumont from Australia. Dale is a very successful entrepreneur and and has written 16 books on business success. In August, 2011 Dale is coming to Auckland, NZ and is presenting a two day seminar called 'The New Rules of Business.' The seminar is free and in the two day programme Dale will be explaining 78 helpful strategies and ideas to help any business to quickly improve their sales and profits.

I have booked to attend this seminar myself because I know that Dale has already helped a lot of business owners get amazing improvements in their results. So I am sure I will get proven ideas I can use in my own business. You can check out what Dale is covering in his seminar at New Rules of Business.

There are sales and marketing experts (like Dale) all around you. You just need to look for them and then use some of their proven marketing ideas.

(For a list of my favourite marketing resources, email me on graham@twomac.co.nz and I'll tell you my 'Top 10' marketing books, ezines and websites.)

In the meantime, what are some great sources of marketing ideas that you have found for your own business? (You may like to mention these in the comments section of this article.)

'Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.' -- Jim Rohn

Graham McGregor is a marketing consultant and the creator of the 'Unfair Business Advantage Report.' (This is free and has now been read by business owners from 11 countries.)