Reading time: 8 minutes
Dear
reader,
This
a couple of years old but still up-to-date interview contains so many
important thoughts about increasing sales that I had to acquire
permission to republish it for your benefit.
Please
enjoy the article!
Christian
Dillstrom
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- -
I
have heard about business-to-customer (B2C) influencer marketing.
This involves celebrities like the Kardashians being paid to
recommend certain brands on social media. The B2C influencers have
large followings, of course, and the sales results of such campaigns
have been amazing.
Global
growth hacker Christian Dillstrom, whom I have interviewed before,
reminds us that there is also business-to-business (B2B) influencer
marketing, which he has been doing globally and what he says has a
much bigger impact than B2C influencer marketing.
Christian
is involved in three types of B2B influencer marketing: investor,
decision maker and media/blogger. I am interviewing him about each.
The present interview is about decision maker influencer sales.
WHAT IS DECISION MAKER INFLUENCER SALES?
It
is an efficient method of ensuring that decision makers become aware
of what you have to offer and of your company. As we all know, a
company without customers will not exist very long.
You
can't get off the ground if not enough decision makers know enough
about your offering.
”You
can fix the problem with very high-volume decision maker influencer
sales.”
HOW
DOES IT WORK?
Everybody
who specializes in this area has different methods of decision maker
influencer sales. What I do is help you showcase your offering
through an interview with you about it.
”Think
of it as a kind of long, but very easy to digest sales pitch for your
offering.”
After
we've finalized the interview, I will publish it in my blog, where it will
be seen by my 15-31 million monthly business readers.
”And
I invite all the decision makers you'd like to comment on it.”
IF
I'M A DECISION MAKER, WHY SHOULD I TAKE THE TIME TO HAVE A LOOK AT
THAT INTERVIEW?
Because
you are on the alert for this kind of good stuff, and you've been
invited by someone credible.
The
fact that I have 15-31 million monthly readers makes me the most-read
business writer in the World. Furthermore, I am one of the most
experienced growth hackers in the World.
”That's
credibility.”
So,
when I invite decision makers in the business world to comment on an
article about your offering, they are very likely going to read it.
All they need to do is to click.
Then
it's up to the interview to engage and sustain their interest. They
will contact you if they find your offer intriguing. After
that it's up to you, of course, to take it further.
SUPPOSE
THE DECISION MAKER JUST READS THE ARTICLE BUT DOESN'T COMMENT?
It's
nice if they comment. Comments from smart businesspeople make the
article more interesting.
”However,
it's not super-important.”
What's
important is that most of the decision makers invited to read the
interview, do read it. Then, if they are interested in learning more,
they can contact you.
”That's
the goal.”
WHY
NOT JUST EMAIL THE INTERVIEW TO THE DECISION MAKER?
WHAT
DOES PUBLISHING ON THE BLOG ACCOMPLISH?
Credibility,
credibility, credibility. Over half a billion businesspeople in 240
countries have read my blog in the last two years.
And
it's a blog platform provided by Google. You can't really rig the
system on Google for any length of time as it truly knows what's up
on the internet.
So,
when Google says a blog has tens of millions of readers in the last
30 days, it is a credible statement. And readers are much more likely
to credit the content of such an article than an article in a blog
with very few readers.
”That,
plus my endorsement, confers a lot of credibility.”
Credibility
that a bare email just does not have. Email marketing can be very
effective, but a published interview adds a whole new layer to the
appeal.
WHY
DID YOU CHOOSE THE INTERVIEW FORMAT FOR INTRODUCING THE OFFERING AND
THE COMPANIES?
It's
a quick-and-easy read. You want to communicate as much key
information as possible — as quickly as possible — in a way that
is as engaging as possible — and in a way that is as easy-to-digest
as possible.
”For
the same reason people read long FAQs on web sites but
don't read shorter privacy policies.”
I'll
let you in on a secret. The interview format is one of the reasons I
have tens of millions of business readers each month. Everybody wants
to get the most benefit out of the least exertion, and that includes
businesspeople.
We're
doing everything we can to make sure that the decision makers keep
reading until they reach the end of the article. If they don't stick
around long enough to reach the end, we will waste our time.
HOW
MANY DECISION MAKERS RECEIVE THE INVITATION TO COMMENT ON AN ARTICLE?
WHO
DECIDES WHO IS INVITED?
We
will invite all the decision makers you want to comment on your
article — there is no upper limit on the number of invites.
As
the interviewee, you decide who we should contact to learn about your
company. Just send us the list of the people to be invited.
Let
me see if I have this right. I'm a company director with something to
offer, but not enough business decision makers know what I've got to
offer or about my company. A growth hacker of established credibility
— you — invites as many decision makers as I want to read an
article of established credibility that introduces my offering. Many
read it, and a portion of those readers will contact me.
IS
THAT IT?
Of
course not. We will also collect weak and strong signals of reactions
of the targeted decision makers. Those signals with contact details
of a decision maker are then delivered to a mobile phone of the
predefined salespeople of your organization in real-time.
”As
a result, your sales people will have the optimal moment of
starting a sales process with the decision maker.”
This
will make your offer known, and sales will start to flow if it is
at all possible for them to flow. Of course, it's up to you to have
something solid and appealing to offer that people will want.
CAN
I TARGET ALL THE DECISION MAKERS OF A CERTAIN AREA, COUNTRY OR A
CONTINENT WHO ARE IMPORTANT FOR ME?
CAN
I TARGET ALL THE DECISION MAKERS OF CERTAIN INDUSTRY IN THE WORLD I
WANT?
Yes,
you can, as there are no other limits than your company's capability to handle all the hot, real-time sales leads we will deliver for
it.
CAN
THIS BE REPEATED?
Yes,
this can be repeated every month for those decision makers whose
signals were weak or who did not react at all.
We
will, of course, change the marketing message and author a new article
every time as a repetition will cause a negative reaction.
CAN
I RUN MULTIPLE PARALLEL DECISION MAKER SALES CAMPAIGNS FOR DIFFERENT
OFFERINGS AT THE SAME TIME?
Yes,
you can. There are no other limits than one campaign per decision
maker per month.
Approaching
the same decision maker too often will lead to negative reactions due to fatigue of being contacted too often.
DO
YOU DO DECISION MAKER INFLUENCER SALES FOR ANY START-UP OR A COMPANY?
No.
Of course not. Credibility is credibility. You can't squander it.
I've spent many years building my reputation.
However,
I am open to speaking with any company to see if we can make a
deal. I want to find people and enterprises that I can endorse.
Therefore,
I shall do a free analysis of your company, and I shall act as a
board advisor for your company free of charge. This way, we can both
be certain that we are not wasting our time.
”If
I can endorse you, I'll endorse you.”
WHY
ARE YOU DOING THIS?
WHAT
IS IT YOU LIKE ABOUT DECISION MAKER INFLUENCER SALES?
I
want people doing great work to succeed. I have seen many great
companies really struggle to get sales, even though they're selling
something people would want if they only knew about the company and
its offering.
With
me, it's different. With tens of millions of monthly business
readers, it's easy for me to get sales. I don't even have time to
talk to everyone who wants to become a new customer during a given
business day.
However,
new customers who approach me through my blog want simple, one-off
services while I want to do more complex and long-term services like
this one.
I
am known and credible, and many businesses want to buy my services.
At the same time, many great businesses and start-ups limp along and
then die because of low sales.
Not
because they don't have something great to offer, but only because
potential customers just don't know about these great companies and
their great products and services.
DO
YOU DO ANY DECISION MAKER INFLUENCER SALES PRO BONO?
No,
not anymore. What I do is valuable, and when you just give away
something that is valuable, people tend not to respect and appreciate
that value. Which means wasted time all around.
”I
really do not want to waste anyone's time. Neither mine nor yours.”
Nowadays,
I do it for a commission of 10% of the sales generated or for a
portion of the company's shares with the highest voting rights.
HOW
CAN I FIND OUT IF YOU WILL DO DECISION MAKER INFLUENCER SALES FOR ME
OR FOR ANY OF MY CLIENTS?
Simple.
Just contact me! Let me hear from you soon.
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Christian
Dillstrom.
Please
stay tuned for one more interview.