The revolutionary guide that challenged businesses around the world to stop selling to their buyers and start answering their questions to get results; revised and updated to address new technology, trends, the continuous evolution of the digital consumer, and much more
In today’s digital age, the traditional sales funnel - marketing at the top, sales in the middle, customer service at the bottom - is no longer effective. To be successful, businesses must obsess over the questions, concerns, and problems their buyers have, and address them as honestly and as thoroughly as possible. Every day, buyers turn to search engines to ask billions of questions. Having the answers they need can attract thousands of potential buyers to your company - but only if your content strategy puts your answers at the top of those search results. It’s a simple and powerful equation that produces growth and success: They Ask, You Answer.
Using these principles, author Marcus Sheridan led his struggling pool company from the bleak depths of the housing crash of 2008 to become one of the largest pool installers in the United States. Discover how his proven strategy can work for your business and master the principles of inbound and content marketing that have empowered thousands of companies to achieve exceptional growth.
They Ask, You Answer is a straightforward guide filled with practical tactics and insights for transforming your marketing strategy. This new edition has been fully revised and updated to reflect the evolution of content marketing and the increasing demands of today’s internet-savvy buyers. New chapters explore the impact of technology, conversational marketing, the essential elements every business website should possess, the rise of video, and new stories from companies that have achieved remarkable results with They Ask, You Answer.
Upon reading this book, you will know:
- How to build trust with buyers through content and video.
- How to turn your web presence into a magnet for qualified buyers.
- What works and what doesn’t through new case studies, featuring real-world results from companies that have embraced these principles.
- Why you need to think of your business as a media company, instead of relying on more traditional (and ineffective) ways of advertising and marketing.
- How to achieve buy-in at your company and truly embrace a culture of content and video.
- How to transform your current customer base into loyal brand advocates for your company.
They Ask, You Answer is a must-have resource for companies that want a fresh approach to marketing and sales that is proven to generate more traffic, leads, and sales.
Table of Contents
Foreword xv
Introduction xix
Part I A Very Different Way of Looking at Business, Marketing, and Trust 1
Chapter 1 The Fall 3
Chapter 2 A Massive Buying Shift and the Blur Between Sales and Marketing 9
Chapter 3 This Book Won’t Work for You If … 13
Chapter 4 The Discovery of They Ask, You Answer 17
Chapter 5 They Ask, You Answer Defined 21
Chapter 6 Brainstorming the Questions You are Asked Every Day 23
Chapter 7 The Ostrich Marketing Strategy 27
Chapter 8 The CarMax Effect 29
Chapter 9 The Discovery of The Big 5 37
Chapter 10 The Big 5, Topic 1: Pricing and Cost: Why We Must Talk About Money 39
Chapter 11 How One Article About Money Generated More Than $6 Million in Sales 43
Chapter 12 Case Study 1: High-End B2B Technology Company Generates More Than $8 Million in Additional Revenue 51
Chapter 13 The Big 5, Topic 2: Problems: How to Turn Weaknesses into Strengths 59
Chapter 14 Addressing the Elephant in the Room 61
Chapter 15 How Talking About Our Problems Generated More Than $1 Million in Revenue 63
Chapter 16 Case Study 2: An Equipment Financing Company Becomes a Digital David and Conquers the Industry Goliaths 65
Chapter 17 The Big 5, Topic 3: Versus and Comparisons 73
Chapter 18 The Critical Need for Unbiased Content 77
Chapter 19 The Big 5, Topics 4 and 5: Reviews and Best in Class 81
Chapter 20 Using Reviews to Establish Yourself as an Expert 85
Chapter 21 The Impact of Discussing Competition 89
Chapter 22 Case Study 3: Small Retail Appliance Store Dominates Online and Makes Millions 93
Chapter 23 The Competition 101
Chapter 24 How They Ask, You Answer Saved River Pools and Spas 107
Part II The Impact of They Ask, You Answer on Sales Teams 111
Chapter 25 How Great Content Is a Total Game-Changer for Sales Teams 113
Chapter 26 A Dramatic Discovery 117
Chapter 27 Assignment Selling 121
Chapter 28 How One Remarkable Couple Changed My Perspective on the Power of Content to Sell 127
Chapter 29 Content Never Sleeps 131
Chapter 30 How to Use Assignment Selling to Avoid Common Pitfalls 135
Chapter 31 How to Use Assignment Selling to Determine Compatibility 139
Chapter 32 Case Study 4: How a Healthcare Startup Became the Thought Leaders of an Entirely New Industry 143
Part III Implementation and Making It a Culture 149
Chapter 33 The Power of Insourcing and Using Your Team to Create Incredible Content 151
Chapter 34 Case Study 5: How Block Imaging Embraced a Culture of Insourcing 155
Chapter 35 Starting Off They Ask, You Answer with a Bang: Company Workshops 159
Chapter 36 The Content Manager: Qualities to Look for, How to Hire One, and More 165
Chapter 37 The Importance of Having the Right Tools: Measuring Return on Investment, the Power of HubSpot, and More 173
Part IV Creating a Culture of Video . . . In-House 179
Chapter 38 We’re All Media Companies and the Visual Sale 181
Chapter 39 The Selling 7: 7 Videos That Will Immediately Impact Sales and Closing Rates 185
Chapter 40 The Selling 7, Video 1: The 80 Percent Video 187
Chapter 41 The Selling 7, Video 2: Bio Videos for Email Signatures 195
Chapter 42 The Selling 7, Video 3: Product and Service Fit Videos 199
Chapter 43 The Selling 7, Video 4: Landing Page Videos 203
Chapter 44 The Selling 7, Video 5: Cost and Pricing Videos 207
Chapter 45 The Selling 7, Video 6: Customer Journey Videos 209
Chapter 46 The Selling 7, Video 7: “Claims We Make” Videos 211
Chapter 47 Personalized Video for Email: A More Human Approach to Direct Digital Communication 215
Chapter 48 How to Hire an In-House Videographer 221
Chapter 49 Team Buy-In on Video, Performance Tips, and Long -Term Success 229
Chapter 50 Case Study 6: How a Lifting and Rigging Company Became the Ultimate Example of They Ask, You Answer Success and Culture 235
Part V How to Build the Perfect They Ask, You Answer Website 243
Chapter 51 Real-Time Conversations Are Changing How They’re Asking and We’re Answering 245
Chapter 52 Self-Selection: The Next Phase of Search, Sales, and the Way We Buy 255
Chapter 53 Website Priority 1: Proper Homepage Design and Messaging 263
Chapter 54 Website Priority 2: Obsess Over Honest Education 267
Chapter 55 Website Priority 3: Premium Education 269
Chapter 56 Website Priority 4: An Equal Mix of Textual and Visual Content 271
Chapter 57 Website Priority 5: Self-Selection Tools 273
Chapter 58 Website Priority 6: Social Proof 275
Chapter 59 Website Priority 7: Site Speed 277
Part VI Your Questions Answered 279
Chapter 60 “How Do I Find More Time to Make This Work Within My Organization?” 281
Chapter 61 “How Long Will It Take They Ask, You Answer to Work?” 287
Chapter 62 “Are Content Marketing and They Ask, You Answer Just Fads?” 293
Chapter 63 “How Can I Keep My Team Engaged in the Content Process?” 295
Chapter 64 “I’ve Been Told If We’re Not Adding Anything New to the Conversation, Then We Shouldn’t Be Talking About It - Is That Right?” 301
Chapter 65 “Can I Just Hire an Agency to Do This for Me?” 305
Chapter 66 “How Can We Afford to Do This?” 307
Chapter 67 A Revolutionary Marketing Strategy 309
End of Book Resources
Tools to Help You Embark on Your Own They Ask, You Answer Journey 313
Appendix 1 Get Your Scorecard: Grade Yourself on They Ask, You Answer Right Now 315
Appendix 2 More They Ask, You Answer Resources 317
Appendix 3 Accelerate Your They Ask, You Answer Success with IMPACT 319
Acknowledgments 321
About the Author 323
Index 325
