What the Dog Park Teaches Us About Sales

What the dog park can teach us about sales and target marketing

Standing strong at a whopping 18.2lbs, Mike Bakon Fine enters the busy dog park and cruises around possessed by a “big dog” strut.  He observes and assesses the playing field than decides to make his move. With dust trailing from his heels he energetically gallops towards a panting golden retriever who is singularly focused on a tennis ball that is whizzing through the sky.  Mike with his fast, but little,  legs can’t compete with the tennis ball, nevertheless, he tries for a few minutes to capture the attention of the golden. No Go. The athletic orange dog, at best, accepts Mike as a minor nuisance.

This golden, as shocking as it may seam, is  still uninterested in Mike, even after the ball has been slobbered on to death.

Does Mike care he was just blatantly rejected even though he gave the golden his very best shot?  Who knows the inner working of Mike’s little doggie psyche, but I can say there was no looking back, as he ran for his next prospective playmate. Yet another dog 16 times his size. The next play features a very enthusiastic, wide eyed boxer, with an intimidating muscular body named Ruby. She stands before Mike reluctant but open. Mike goes forth with his earnest sales pitch filled with playful growls and submissive belly exposing gestures. Ruby reconsiders and the chase is full blown on! The chase turns to wrestling which turns to something resembling “hide & seek”.  Looks like fun and games for about 5 minutes until Ruby commits an unintentional foul that lands Mike a very impressive face plant.

I feel inspired by Mike because he goes right back out to the playing field. Rinse and Repeat. Apparently all previous experiences are in the rear view mirror for him.  It is not long before he finds friends who are more compatible with his style of play.

The downside is Mike never learns to target who he approaches

Most of us who own a small business can probably relate to Mike’s situation of rejection or worst when we enter into a relationship with a client who is not a good match. A poorly matched business relationship can end up a lot like the boxer situation with you in a total face plant. In business it’s worst because it can turn into a colossal waste of time, revenue and morale. 

Mike never had a chance with these two. One fixated on balls and the latter, bowls.

Watching Mike play is refreshing because it reminds me that letting go, although complicated at times, should actually be fairly simple in a sales situation. However, if you attempt sales where targeting has not been applied the process of evaluating the outcomes becomes a challenging proposition. Mike could go on forever “Am I too small?  I saw him play with that other dog who is small! ” & “Was it something I barked?” and  “Did I come on too strong? Do I have the right skills?”  Eliminate all these generalized questions first by taking the time to identify who would really benefit from your services.  

Know Your Audience

Target Marketing  = Less Rejection

Digital Marketing allows for highly targeted opportunities in lead generation. Opportunity to grab the attention of the people who already need and want your services but just do not know you exist. Marketing will get your business found by prospects that you have a good chance of converting into customers.  Target Marketing will also help you avoid acquiring clients who do not understand the value of what you provide. If you do engage with this type of clientele it can be dangerous to your business and result in a loss of time, revenue, and morale.

Preparing requires that you define your “ideal client”. 

  • Know where to reach them
  • Clarify the words they will use when searching for services you provide
  • Take the time to familiarize yourself the characteristics of your demographic
  • Learn to communicate with you target audience so they will listen
  • Review your current website analytics

So many ways to get the word out. Here are some examples.

  • Facebook Advertising – With over 2 billion active users their is huge opportunity to reach many people with your message.  Facebook advertising allows you to specifically target the audience you want to reach and provides extensive analytic results to perfect your advertising approach.  You can also compare and test different types of messaging to see which ones produce the best outcomes.
  • Google Advertising – Most people use google to search the internet. Advertising on Google ranks you ahead of  your competitors and builds  brand awareness.  You can schedule when to advertise, control how people find you and who finds you.
  • Dedicated Landing Pages – Your online ads should always have a specific landing page that lives on your website. Here is A landing page   we created on our website. It supports our Facebook ads and specifically addresses the message delivered by ad. Landing pages are a great way to move your visitors, who come from an ad, to action. Always have a way for landing page visitors to easily contact you.
  • Blogging – Consistently writing on a blog hosted at your website is one of the best ways to communicate to your target audience. Blog posts should provide timely, relevant, worthy information your target market is  searching for on the web. An auto mechanic would write blog posts like this.
  • Lead generation and email blasts – A form on your website designed to Collect information from your visitors is an optimal way to gather qualified leads.  Once you have a robust mail list email blasts are an effective way to deliver your message and remind your customers and future customers of your existence. Your email list is comprised of people who have already expressed an interest you products or services. Those are great folks to stay in touch with  because they already let you know they want to know more!

Target your online marketing so you encounter less rejection and far more sales. See Spot offers a free consultation to any small business looking to boost their online presence and would like to learn more about getting Big Web Presence.