A friend said to me yesterday, "Your company has strong offerings, but they mean nothing unless people know you exist."

I proffer this same advice to my clients, but it really clicked personally when he repeated these words back to me. "What you offer will never be bought unless people know you exist."

I've Heard of Them

Politicians don't get elected because of the fact that they have a great message. They get elected because the public, first, finds out they exist. It's only then that their message is truly heard and they find their support.

The church doesn't have an opportunity to communicate its beliefs until you know it is out there - and the churches with the strongest voices in your community are usually the ones with the largest membership.

There are thousands of companies that make and sell software, but I challenge you to name more than a dozen of them off the top of your head. Why is this so difficult? Because very few have roared "We're here."

So What's Your Point?

Marketing.

Sales is one to one. Marketing is one to many, and creates a funnel for those one to one sales - and, more importantly, the opportunity for you to share your message.

In small businesses, marketing - if it even exists in the first place - is an afterthought, usually has a minimal budget and is often one of the first areas to be cut when expenses need to be decreased.

On the other hand, most small businesses give little thought to adding "the ultimate salesperson". You know - the sales guy who has 20 years of experience and wants a base salary of $70k or $80k because they "can make it happen." A small business owner thinks, "This person will be our saviour."

A salesperson has 40 hours in their week and is responsible for creating one to one relationships. A marketer, on the other hand, can reach thousands of people with one ferocious click.

Now don't get me wrong.

I'm not advocating that you replace your sales team with a bunch of marketers. What I am saying, however, is that unless people know that you exist you're not going to be able to sell your goods or services.

What am I advocating?

That you shout.

You yell.

You tell the world that you exist.

You scream out, "We're here!"

And the way to do that is through marketing. Whether it's email blasts, search engine optimization, trade shows, webinars, telemarketing, direct marketing, seminars, adwords, banners, billboards, bus wraps, newsletters, press releases, philanthropy, social media, or even showing up at a local fair - letting the masses constantly know that you are out there will get them to listen to your message.

That $70k that you would spend on "the ultimate salesperson" could do amazing things in the world of marketing. Heck, with $10k or less you could make a pretty good impact.

But this article isn't about the type of marketing you should do, or how much you should spend on it. This article is about shrieking, squawking, cheering, hollering, bellowing and hooting to the world - because until people know you're here, your message means nothing.

(If you like this post, PLEASE follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. We're new, doing grassroots marketing, and we really need your support!)

Chris is Managing Partner of Fair Winds Strategies, a firm that provides small and medium sized businesses with Fortune services at affordable prices. Prior to this he was the Chief Innovation Officer at Internet Marketing Ninjas where he managed M&A activity, legal work, and also focused on the use of technology and other solutions to lead innovation and growth. Before IMN, Chris led the sale of his $10mil information technology company, twice an Inc500 fastest growing company in the US, to an investment banking firm in NYC. Follow Fair Winds Strategies on Twitter @FWStrategies.