By Luc Wade, Marketing Director at Hive Business.

There’s no doubt that the internet has democratised marketing; Joe Bloggs is now free to broadcast content to millions whereas back in the day the little guys were always priced out of the action.

That might seem like a good thing, yet I can’t shake the feeling that it’s conspired to create an epidemic of mediocrity or, more truthfully, manure. Volume apparently matters more than substance to the people churning out online content, but for the harassed and jaded people consuming it (or doing their best not to, god help them) it’s the other way round.

However frazzled these consumers are, though, their senses haven’t been completely numbed just yet — you can see this with the genuine stoke around original content like the Chicken Connoisseur, a school kid obsessed with “creps” (slang for trainers) who reviews fried chicken joints in London. He’s original, authentic and funny and gets over a million hits on his YouTube posts.

So how do businesses get some of this magic dust? Simple: if you can, be original and authentic. If you can’t, don’t say anything. There has to be a depth to your content for it to matter to anyone, and that depth comes from your brand values. The Chicken Connoisseur speaks bluntly, with dry humour peppered with London slang. He’s interesting before he even gets to his verdict on the chicken.

Could you review restaurants in your catchment in your own inimitable style? I don’t know, but I know what you don’t want to do. You don’t want to use the social media template I saw being given away by one of the dental payment plan providers. That would be boring and generic and therefore could not possibly be on brand. It would merely be adding to the sea of crap that we’re asking consumers to swim through every day.

This sort of rubbish is why a study by software firm Beckon last year found no increase in engagement in the previous 12 months despite content marketing tripling. Just one in 20 pieces of content produces any consumer engagement, and I would stake £1,000 that it’s well devised, well executed, on message and of interest to the audience that the business owner wants to reach.

The people producing the other 95 per cent (it’s always the same people) have mistaken the popular (and meaningless) term ‘content marketing’ for evidence that all content is worthwhile. It most certainly isn’t, and poor content can in fact harm your business. There is no end to examples of this in modern life; driving past a construction site in London the other day, for instance, I saw “find us on Facebook” on the promo board. I’m sorry, but if I need a multi-million pound building built I’ll stick to firms with slightly less idiotic public communications.

Some people’s desire to describe content marketing as a distinct discipline has distracted many businesses from their real job of communicating and engaging with customers. Producing content is simply a marketing activity, no different from what has been done for years, what matters is the strategy it’s serving. Consider the Michelin Guide in 1900 and P&G inventing the soap opera just for product placement in the 1930s as examples of early content marketing innovations.

And years ago at National Geographic I was lucky enough to be involved in building online channels and working with Sky and other key partners as part of a new strategy bringing to life an inventory of content that stretches back to 1888. They have since applied the same strategy to their social channels to great success. Look at any of these channels now and you’ll be in touch with the Society’s core philosophy as a serious educator passionate about the natural world. They are not templates of other channels, they’re original and they value the consumer, which is why the consumer values them.

If you’d like to start valuing your consumers and stop paying for content for content’s sake, get in touch on By Luc Wade, Marketing Director at Hive Business.

One of the exquisite tensions of our job, being a company that specialises in helping dental practices grow, is the one between clinicians and sales. We know, it’s awkward mixing clinical integrity with the grubby world of revenues and profits. However, unless you fancy living in North Korea there’s no choice, it has to be done. And to that end we’re offering sales training days with Martin Crump, who’s helped leaders in John West foods, the NHS and Babcock Marine (who repair our nuclear submarines) sell their points of view in better ways. He’s also helping Rodda’s, a company close to our Cornish hearts, make some big changes (of which more below). We asked Martin some questions to give you a feel for his approach…

Why are dentists squeamish about the word sales?

They think of the double glazing salesmen sitting in your house and not leaving till you’ve signed, and feel really uncomfortable. Fair enough. But the interesting thing is that in reality we’re all selling all the time. Maybe not a product but an idea and a point of view. You might go home and sell the idea of a holiday to your partner.

In a dental practice anyone who answers the phone is selling. It’s better understood as influencing: you’re changing someone’s belief from, “I’m not buying that treatment plan,” to, “OK, yes, I do want that…” For this to happen everyone on the team needs to believe in what they’re selling.

How do you help dental teams change what they believe?

I work with the whole team for a day and we look at how each person sees the world differently.

People’s perceptions are different, and if they have a set of perceptions and beliefs around sales that say it doesn’t work, that means patients won’t believe them or buy off them because even when they try their best they won’t be congruent. That of course reinforces their belief that sales doesn’t work…

How do you know people will come round to the idea of sales?

I join people in their world and then lead them to where I want them to be, so they can see I’m not asking them to be untrustworthy. It’s influencing with integrity.

At the practices I’ve worked with all team members have loved what we’ve done because I pace and lead them through the process. We start by saying you do this anyway, the difference is you don’t do it consciously with an outcome in mind. They end up feeling strongly about what they must do differently – and then go away and do it.

How do you develop a sales culture in a dental practice?

One way is by introducing goals. We look at the ways in which you’re selling already and become aware of the opportunities to improve.

For instance, your receptionists will no doubt be trying to make a good impression each time they answer the phone, so they are already selling. But what if the goal was to finish with a booked appointment each time the phone rang?

Is there a process to hitting sales goals?

No. There’s no script that works because the customer has to feel your authenticity and there’s no script for being authentic.

If sales is a process it’s a process that you already do, all the time. Why would you be comfortable answering questions about your practice for a friend down the pub but not an enquirer who has called with the same questions?

Often there’s a dysfunction around the idea of sales that has to be tackled so team members can feel free to be themselves with customers. Bringing that dysfunction into your awareness means you can influence it. Then we introduce things like stories and case studies to help team members feel they have material to draw on that is authentic, so rather than saying, “Buy this treatment…” they’re saying, “We had someone last week who had your problem and they felt really happy about this treatment…”

What kind of feedback do you get on your sales training?

The only negative feedback I’ve ever had was someone who left halfway through and said: “I wouldn’t recommend this course to anyone because it changes the way you think.”

It’s true, it does. If you think differently you will behave differently, and that doesn’t matter whether it’s in sales, procurement or leadership.

I’m helping Rodda’s [the world’s largest producer of clotted cream, based in Cornwall] through a cultural change at the moment, from being a production focused business, where they bought milk to fulfil their orders, to, as of April 2017, a sales focused business, where they have to shift a minimum amount of product because of a new deal on their milk where they now buy directly from the farmers. It’s seven days a week now, focusing on sales and managing people differently, a real perception shift for a 125-year-old company. Getting the team to believe in this growth and buy into it themselves has been critical, and inspiring.

Are there any long term benefits of developing a sales culture?

Just like the work I do on negotiation skills and procurement training, this is all about thinking about the person on the other side. You’re selling a point of view, and if you do it with empathy and congruence the person on the other side will become an advocate.

In dentistry that means they start referring friends and family to your practice, which is the most cost effective way of revenue growth. Once you’ve got the referral, it’s a circle: they telephone the practice and you’ve got to convince them they’re doing the right thing, and every interaction they have when they come in must meet their expectations. Quite rightly the nurse and the dentist are going to be focusing on the clinical side, but the new patient doesn’t understand the clinical side, they just remember the experience, and how they feel as they walk out the door.

Is there a better way for dental clinicians to think about themselves?

You’re giving patients the opportunity to improve their lives, but you probably see your purpose as very clinical. Of course it is, but changing people’s lives makes you think differently about what you do, and changes your motivation and that of your team.

When you think differently you talk and behave differently; more empathic, more congruent. That feels better for the patient. All dentists know they change people’s lives, and they will admit as much in the end. It’s not the first thing they say but it should be.

If you would like more information about Martin’s sales training please get in touch on 01872 300232 or email us at hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.