DO I HAVE A PRODUCT FOR YOU…!

• Looking for a thud-thud?
• Well, check out this whiz-bang. It does everything a thud-thud does and more!
• It’s only 10 klizzons!
• Tell your friends and we’ll even take their current thud-thud as a trade.
• How many do you want?

With apologies for my dreadful name creation for nonexistent products (stone age meets Star Trek?), the above pseudo-conversation is comprised of sales and marketing cliches. My question to you is, which of the five bullet points are sales and which are marketing.

As you sip your coffee and wonder why the heck you’re even bothering to read this post, I ask you to indulge me, if only for a minute or two.

Many people confuse sales and marketing. In fact, so many companies combine the two that they’re somewhat synonymous or interchangeable. Yet the fact of the matter is that marketing is 80% of the process that comprises "sales and marketing", the ultimate goal of which is to sell something, close a deal, agree a contract, etc.

80%…if applied to the conversation above, that would mean four of the five bullets are marketing related. If you’ve read this far, you probably know which is the odd-one out (sounds a bit like Sesame Street, doesn’t it).

Whoop-de-do Dave, so what’s your point?

My point is that by confusing, whether deliberately or otherwise, the two processes, sales and marketing can become more work for everyone involved. After all, the two require very different approaches. Marketing is, as the name applies, about bringing an item to market, letting people know it’s there, letting them know what it can do to improve their life. What it can do to address a need they have. If you’re looking for a good example of this, take any one of the pharmaceutical ads on TV. It’s a creative process. Whether you’re "dressing up" a product or service or not is up to you, but as a marketing person, you’re present your product’s best side and the benefits it can bring.

Sales is about closing the deal. It’s about negotiation, possibly persuasion. At this point there is at least a perceived desire on the part of the customer. The sales person needs to fill that desire…this making all the customer’s dreams come true.

I see many cases, especially is small business, but in larger companies too, where the desire to close the deal becomes so important that it overshadows the marketing. Consider many door-to-door solicitors. It’s about getting the quick sale before the door is closed, keeping the customer talking, persuading, charming, whatever it takes…all sales….without knowing that the customer may not even be interested. Ditto phone solicitors.

The difference…?

Marketing is about understanding the needs of the potential client and proposing your product or service as a solution. It includes advertising, feedback, market research and all those tasks that help give that the product (or service) every opportunity to succeed.

Without understanding marketing, forget the sale. If you’re like me, a person who is CEO, Janitor and everything in between, you’ve got to wear different hats for different parts of the sales and marketing process.

When wearing your "marketing" hat:

• Know your product(s).
• Learn your clients needs.
• Present your product(s) to your clients to meet their needs.
• Work to generate interest.

Then put the "sales" hat on and close the deal.

Go get ‘em tiger.

Dave Segrove is a Phoenix Small Business Web Designer and Marketing Consultant. You can learn more about Dave’s products and services at www.JDELtd.com.

LEGACY MARKETING

"Oh boy, what’s he doing now?"

Excellent question and I’m glad you asked. Let me answer with another question: how do you want to be remembered?

"You mean….?"

Yes, when you get to "the end".

Kidding aside it’s a serious question. Personally, I want people to look back and think "there was a good person, who delighted in helping others".

So, the second question is: are you practicing your legacy in marketing now?

"Uh-oh, sermon…"

Actually, it’s not.

If you think about it for a moment, if you want to be remembered, or look back one day and say "wow, look what I was able to do," consider what you’re doing today in order to be able to have that vision to look back upon.

Are you building pyramids using the strengths of others, or are you building pyramids with others?

If you truly want to be remembered as a good person who helped people realized their dreams, or someone who dedicated their lives to a cause, or a committed individual who just wanted to see people grow, then consider putting that philosophy into practice now.

You only get one pass at this life, and you’re the driver. You may not care what you think in 20, 30, 40 or more years from now. You may care even less about what others may think. But you know something? I’ll bet it shows…

IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE, WHY SHOULD I?

To quote a line from the Oliver Stone film Nixon, "nothing sells like sincerity".

Some can fake sincerity. In fact, I know people who take pride in their ability to fake it. This, in my opinion, is as dangerous (if not more so) than not caring at all.

We’ve all been in situations, most likely in retail stores, where we’ve encountered the stereotypical "bored" employee who is just there because "it’s a job", and really doesn’t give a hoot about anything, least of all you.

Now, that’s not necessarily insincerity, but it’s a lack of concern or even "light caring" about a job or responsibly, and it shows.

As a marketing person, I work with many clients. More often than not, we work on projects to "jump start" their marketing efforts. Perhaps this is a "makeover" of some kind, a new approach or a different take on an existing one. What I see across the board is that once we’ve stoked the fires of imagination, excitement heats up, passion brews and the rest follows is so much easier after that.

If you care; if you’re passionate; if you believe in what you are marketing, whether that’s a product or a service, it will show.

Marketing begins with you. You have to believe in the product. You have to market it to yourself and then, as the customer, you have to believe it’s a good thing. If you don’t believe it, then why should your potential clients?

Imagine if you don’t believe you’re doing the right thing…it’s just "a job"…"I hate it, but it pays the bills"…do your (potential) clients deserve that? If you answer "yes" ask yourself why they deserve it.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

YOU’RE A “PROFESSIONAL”, WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU “DON’T KNOW”?

As an true "professional" in most fields, people feel as though all the answers should be right there at their fingertips; they should be a walking encyclopedia in their field, quicker than a Google search with even more relevance.

The simple fact of the matter is that the secret to being a "professional" is (in my opinion):

1. the wisdom to acknowledge that one can never know all the answers
2. the humility to admit this to oneself (and a client)
3. the intelligence to know where to look for the answers
4. the confidence to reassure oneself (and a client)
5. the desire to improve oneself

As a famous quote says (something like), "he who knows everything knows nothing". Beware self-proclaimed "experts".

You’re good at what you do. You can be even better. Professionals never stop learning and growing. That’s what careers are all about.

As a marketing "professional", I can never have all the answers. Every one of my clients is different…but between my client and myself we’ll come as close as we can and find as many of the answers as we are able. That’s what makes my work fun. People are amazing and wonderful! Admitting you don’t have an answer there and then is a small act of heroism, a big act of humility and will gain you respect in the long-run.

If we had all the answers already, what would be the point?

I say this all with true humilty…and I’m still looking for the answers. Who knows where today will go? Have an awesome week!