Can a Podcast Really Improve Sales?

Written by Scott Whitney

For the past 2+ years, I have been saying that, from an organization’s perspective, in order for a podcast to be successful, it must either make them money or influence listeners to take action on their behalf.

Fair enough.  But with so many corporate podcasts being produced that amount to nothing more then the re-purposing of their marketing material, extolling all their features and benefits, how do you create a podcast that will positively impact your bottom line?

By following that tried and true sales axiom:

“Telling is not selling, teaching is.”

While nobody wants to be sold, EVERYBODY wants to buy.  But for that to happen, you have to educate your listeners.  This does not mean you go on and on about how great your product or service is.  Instead, you spend time explaining the problems facing your customers today and how they got there.  You talk about what these very same folks have been doing to try and solve these problems (and how they’ve come up a bit short).  And then you teach them how to solve their problems without spending a lot of time blathering on about how great your product is.

It’s All About Credibility.

The key is recognizing that you bond with people on their problems, not your solution.  Truth is, nobody cares what you or your company does.  They only care about what you or your company can do for them.  And by being able to clearly articulate, before ever talking about what you do, that you fully understand what challenges they face, you establish your credibility as somebody who “gets it”–who understands and can relate to what your customers and prospects are struggling with.

This is an important shift from most corporate podcasts.  You’ll do your company more good by remembering to teach your customers how stuff works, not trying to convince them on your product/service’s greatness.

But for some, that can be hard.  Many folks find it difficult to clearly laying out the problem they solve.  A great many companies simply create new products/services because they can.  But if you ask those very same companies why they did so, and what problem they solve, you get crickets.

So here’s your question of the day–what problem does your company solve?  Hopefully, more than one!  When you start speaking to your customers about your company (either in a sales forum or a podcast), how do you start that conversation?  If your a little stuck, let me know.  I’ll give you a hand!

Posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 · 1 Comment