Much successful construction marketing has a journalistic edge to it. A good journalist has a nose for a story, and asks penetrating questions to find out the truth. A good marketer has a nose for good business opportunities, and asks relevant questions to find out more.
A good marketer always listens carefully to the other person. It is amazing what you can learn if you pay attention. You may pick up innocent personal details about the other person — when their birthday is, what they like to do on holiday — which you can feed back into the conversation at another time. This is not just a ploy: it shows you are taking your client seriously as a real person, and it sets you apart from much of the competition.
Listening well and asking intelligent questions also helps you get under the skin of the other person. You find out how they think, what they are concerned about, what their priorities are. This in turn helps you to develop your own set of solutions to help them.
