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In today’s world the old lines between sales and marketing have been blurred. They are really two sides of a single coin.

Sales and marketing, as we have known them, are dead. We’re living in a whole new world which calls into question all of the conventional wisdom about sales and marketing - wisdom which has worked for many years.

Let’s take a look at what’s changed by looking at some of the sales and marketing myths which are popular today:

MYTH: The frequency of contact with potential customers will eventually result in a sale. It takes at least seven contacts before people will start paying attention to you and your message.

REALITY: The effectiveness of any contact with potential customers is directly proportional to their desire to be contacted by you and their wanting to hear the message you bring. “Permission-based” sales and marketing is where it’s at today.

MYTH: You need a large marketing budget to be able to purchase TV and print ads in trade journals, magazines, newspapers, and other publications. This helps to get your message before the largest number of people.

REALITY: TV and print ads, as an effective way of reaching your potential customers, are a thing of the past. Today consumers are on information overload so they are more likely to tune out your TV ad and not even stop to read your print ad. What works today is “word of mouth” advertising.

MYTH: Given the number of advertisements which bombard consumers every day, the only way to get their attention is with cute, funny, clever, or outrageous ads.

REALITY: There is no correlation between a clever, very creative and original ad and consumers pulling our their credit cards or check books. Yes, the funny, outrageous ads get their attention but this rarely turns into a sale. Consumers tend to be set in their ways and no ad is going to change this.

MYTH: All marketing and sales efforts must be benefit-driven. You’ve got to continually hammer away with potential customers “What in it for them”.

REALITY: The psychology of persuasion has shown that there’s far more at work in any person when they decide to buy than just benefits to them.

We all have certain worldviews that shape how we respond to messages from the outside. We have certain filters which screen out messages that are not in alignment with our worldview.

Today sales and marketing is more about story-telling and helping potential customers build a story about your product or service that is consistent with their world view.

MYTH: To really be competitive you’ve got to play with the pricing of your product or service. If we’re offering the same or similar products or services as others, the only way to persuade people to buy from is with a lower price point.

REALITY: The way to be competitive is to provide a higher value than your competitors. Your product or service must stand out from the crowd because it “WOWs” people.

Cheap is always good, but often lowering your price is an act of desperation. If you make your product or service truly remarkable, potential customers will sit up and take notice.

MYTH: We must continue to nurture our satisfied customers. If we stay in touch with them on a regular basis, they will help spread the word about our product or service.

REALITY: It is true that you must take care of your past customers. But this is not a guarantee that they’ll spread the word about you and your product or service. They will spread the word IF you are continuing to meet their needs and helping them find solutions to the problems that brought them to you in the first place. However, once their problem is solved, they won’t be as turned on to you as they were originally.

MYTH: The most effective plan for getting the word out about our product or service is to launch a mass marketing campaign. If we contact enough people a small percentage of them will be interested in what we have to offer. But you’ve got to reach the masses to find this percentage.

REALITY: Mass marketing campaigns are a waste of time and money. The vast majority of people will simply ignore your message.

You must find an under-served or neglected niche market that desperately needs what you have to offer. Once you know intimately what with their needs are and the problems they want solved in the lives, your marketing campaign will “hit the bulls eye” everytime.

MYTH: If we offer a good product at a good price in a reliable way, we’ll do fine. If we’re local, so much the better. Having a long track record helps as well. Decent quality and personal service are also key for success.

REALITY: Seth Godin has said it best in his book, The Big Moo”: “Good enough isn’t good enough, because now everything is good enough. Our expectations of quality are unrealistic and are being met every single day”. We don’t just want to be satisfied, we want to be blown away.” With everything just a click away on the internet, being local is no longer a huge advantage.

David Lazear, author, trainer and business coach, provides training workshops for corporations and educators. His coaching services involve working with home business owners and people looking for work from home opportunities. Find out how to turbo-charge your business here @ Home Business Smarts.

Contact David Lazear
Phone @ 773-525-6650