What the hell is marketing?

This is relevant question today because everyone seems to point to marketing as THEE key to success. And yet, definitions and expectations diverge wildly about what marketing is and what it is not. Mostly it seems to be misunderstood, misused or both. At Re:Sourceful, we say > Marketing builds and/or solidifies relationships with customers, so they buy from you and keep buying – even when they have other options.

We view it as the beginning of the sales process. Great marketing can sell in some cases, but the days of interruptive marketing or 'advertising' having the ability to grasp someone's attention and get them to act/buy are mostly long gone. Sure it may still work for some markets and some demographics, but even those options are slipping away rapidly. For every way we have to talk with our customer, they have a method to block or shield themselves.

Most of our partners are in the telecommunications industry, and changing/threatening regulations and rising costs are major issues for companies and the customers they serve.

So, where does that leave marketing? Possibly in a very good place if we are willing to change our approach, and change it dramatically.

Healthy relationships at any level are two-sided. They are about listening, caring and acting to the benefit of other person. Business relationships are exactly the same. For years most companies didn't treat them this way because they couldn't or didn't want to make the effort. Today, tools exist to better accommodate one-to-one communication and relationship building interaction, if you are willing.

In my view, these are some steps toward change that may help:

1) You need a truly great collection of talented people. Experts that have the ability to build and enhance relationships through sharing their knowledge for the benefit of customers. If you don't have them, you need the guts to go get them. You may have to move some people to other seats or off the bus all together.

2) Your entire staff needs the desire to communicate your collective expertise and then demonstrate that your people are the authority on the subjects in which you talk/write/share. If you have the desire, you will find the methods you need.

3) And most importantly, you need to transform your company into a sales organization. I'm not talking about some sleazy Glen Gary Glen Ross type, but rather, an organization that has enough discipline and caring to monitor, track and nurture individual relationships - of both longtime customers and prospects. So you can listen and respond quickly, if needed, in the format desired by the customer.

These ideas are not new, nor are they tremendously difficult. However, in order to do them you have to stop doing some things, and you might need to significantly retrain or change some of your workforce.

Marketing is not a department. It is a mindset which needs to reside in all areas of a company, if you want to be successful.

What are you reading?

Seriously. What are you reading? If you want to grow professionally, you need to read books. Yes, blogs can be great and articles can be good, but nothing helps the mind consider new things like books.

I was not huge fan of reading for fun or growth after college until a friend of my wife introduced me to  Nelson DeMille. Then, I re-learned to love reading - like I did when I was a child.

Then, after I started my company, I started to read a lot of business related books - until it became a habit. The audio books were my addiction for a time - starting with tapes, then CDs and finally on my iPod. Hard cover books are still great, but my new favorite way to read is on my iPad.

DeMille and John Grisham are two fiction writers I go to for vacation reads, but there are many others too. As for business writers, I like Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, and Patrick Lencioni.

Read The Tipping Point, Outliers or David & Goliath by Gladwell. Or, read Permission Marketing by Godin…or any of his other stuff. Start with 5 Temptations of a CEO by Lencioni - and you don't have to be a CEO to learn a ton from it.

My current favorite book is by Jay Baer, and it's called YoUtility. If you are in marketing, own a business or want to sell anything from today on - it is MUST read.

So, I'll ask again. What are you reading right now?

Ditch the jargon, make more sales

I didn't think this topic needed to be covered again, but apparently it does.

When you are selling anything to anyone or when you are developing a product or service, for crying out loud please don't use industry jargon or acronyms. Not ever.

If you currently have some in your sale literature or on your website, please start purging it immediately.

The reason, which is apparently not as clear as it should be, is that customers don't know what the heck your lingo means. Nor do they care. And, when they don't know, guess what they do? The leave and buy from someone else unless you are family, and then they still might leave.

Few customers set out to learn a new language when they are trying to buy something, and if they do want this they can get their fix with Google while researching.

If you get into the sales process far enough you might need to introduce some 'tech spec' talk in order to draw a distinction, but you certainly don't need to lead with this stuff - even if the buyer is an IT manager. Shoot, even they like simple - easy to understand language.

Ditch the jargon and you'll have the opportunity to make more sales.

Truth, Lies and Stories

I don't know about you, but I really don't like it when someone tells me something that is factually true, but is untrue when the full context of the situation is known. This is not a political article, although political ads provide plenty of examples of trying to persuade by withholding the complete truth. From my point of view this is worse than a straight out lie - because the communicator is attempting to manipulate you by telling part of the story.

Politics certainly does not have a corner in the lying market. Plenty of companies stretch the truth a little or a lot.

Nothing will damage your reputation or brand more quickly than lying. People will find out and when they do they will not be happy. Chances are they will tell A LOT of people about the falsehood and your brand.

Be straight forward and honest in all of your dealings and you will be rewarded. Own mistakes, tell the truth, and have a great product or service. Customers will flock to you.

Now, it is important to remember that you don't have to make buying decisions for customers with your honesty. I've seen companies attempt to be so transparent that they nearly talk customers out of buying something even though the customer would benefit from the product.

Present the product fairly. Be straight forward, but the role of marketing is to entice interest and inform. If you have a concern you want to be discussed when a customer calls - make sure it is on the campaign summary you provide to sales people, so they discuss it with customers (or at least make sure the issue is understood) before the sale is finalized.

A veteran sales person shared this with me long ago and I have not forgotten it: always tell the truth, it's easier than trying to remember who you lied to!

Why you should cheer when a customer objects to price

Many of the sales people who I have the pleasure to work with would not include sales in their description of what they do for a living. Most are in the broader category of customer service, which requires a strong set of diverse skills. They view themselves in a service role more so than a sales role. This is fine because it fits their personality and the needs of their customers well - most of the time.

A problem we often discuss involves a customer objecting to price - and that's not the real problem. The problem comes in the customer service/sales person's reply, which is often 'full retreat' into helping the customer figure out how to save money, when that might not be:

a) What they came in for or

b) What's in their best interest

It certainly isn't what is best for the company.

When a customer objects to price it's the first sign they are ready to BUY the product or service being discussed. That's right, price objection is a buy signal.

Essentially they are telling you, "I want this, but I don't think it has as much value as you think it does. Please explain more about why it has the value you state?"

We might need to recalibrate our hearing on this topic. So we hear what the customer is saying rather than just default to: "I don't want that - it's too much money."

Now, I do recognize that you may end up with a customer not buying because they cannot afford the product, but my bet is it will not be the case for the majority of customers.

Listen to them. Ask them which of the benefits or features they don't understand. Chances are they may not understand them all the first time through, so they are discounting one or more of them.

Get practical. Explain the benefits in a context that matters to them.

You still might not make the sale, but you'll educate and inform that customer. They might go 'think about it' and be back next week, ready to buy.

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

Clarity in the sales process IS the sale!

Clarity IS the sale, and clarity may take many forms. Too many sales people, or maybe more importantly, management, do not appreciate this. Make it easy to understand = customer buys.

Make it confusing = customer ignores you or moves on to buy from someone else.

Selling really is this simple. But, we make it more complicated all the time. I understand that some products or services are complex. Honestly, that doesn't really matter.

If the seller is transparent (demonstrates trustworthiness) the buyer will pick up the cue. It is easy to be clear when you are trustworthy.

Is it somewhat scary for the seller to be vulnerable? Absolutely!

Is it necessary in order to be overwhelmingly successful in any type of sales. Yep.

Often, the scary part for sales people is they don't want to be transparent enough to allow clarity to happen, so they skirt issues, they mitigate their speech, or use industry jargon for cover. The adage goes - if you can't convince them, confuse them.

Customers, not wanting to be 'taken,' are on guard all the time. They'd love to be open, but experience has taught them not to say too much for fear of losing leverage.

If you've ever had the pleasure of a transparent sales person, you know the comfort that feeling provides. Start building an organization of transparent sales people today. Your customers and your bottom line will thank you for it.

You get more bees with questions!

Sales. Team building. Marketing. Or, just getting along with others. This skill will assist you in many areas. Today there are numerous ways to interact with people. Facebook. Phone calls. Email. Skype. And yes, even face-to-face. This method will work with all of them.

It has nearly miraculous warming effects on people. The better you get at this the more positively people will think of you or your company. They’ll remember you. You likely will make more sales and build more brand equity. You'll probably be happier too.

What is this wonder skill? Questions.

Ask questions in a kind and polite manner and doors will swing wide open for you.

It takes sincerity. Failure may be painful because false sincerity is worse than rudeness. Consistency is needed to prove your sincerity at times.

If you show an interest in the people, remember names and use them to address those in which you speak, you’ll stand out and be remembered. Remember the sincerity rule here because you don’t want to be ‘that guy’ that over does this.

People care about their own interests and wants. That is not a fault; it’s just a fact. They might need what you have, but given the choice they’d rather get it from someone who is interested in them.

Done right. You’ll get more bees with questions. I promise.