You Marketing Versus Me Marketing
You Marketing Versus Me Marketing
Most usually start with a pitch that is aimed at impressing me with their success. I hear about all the amazing customers they have, many of whom have no bearing on what I am doing and even less on what I am interested in. Then they tell me all about the wonderful technology they have, or how marvelous their products or services are. I don't doubt that they are great, but by this time I have generally lost interest. It is such a shame that these otherwise competent people shoot themselves in the foot and most loose the opportunity to sell me something because they are so focused on themselves and have little understanding or feeling for what I might be interested in.
Are you guilty of pitching your product or service before your prospect understands why they should be interested? Selling is a critical part of marketing, but it is vital. If you do this in your selling is your marketing material more about you than it is about your customer?
I call this "Me Marketing", it is a lot more common than most of us realize and destroys more sales than almost any other mistake.
I have used a dating analogy before and in this case it is like bragging about your possessions or achievements in the hopes that you will impress your date. In most cases all it achieves is boredom or even worse it turns your date off completely. It has the same effect with prospects.
Street-Smart Marketers engage in "You Marketing". Their total focus is on selflessly serving their customer, helping them overcome their problems, educating them how to be better buyers and raising their perception about how they can help. They relate to their customers, not so much because they have the best products and services, but because they understand them first as people.
The truth is people buy from people they like, and we generally like people who are interested in us and our needs. In most cases we are completely selfish and will only engage, if we find something or someone to be interesting. Successful salespeople quickly learn that you can't be interesting unless you are interested.
Street-Smart Marketers know that the best way to demonstrate interest is to ask insightful questions. They provide insightful answers in their marketing communications, showing customers how they are the logical choice to solve some burning problem. Once they understand these challenges they use their knowledge and skills to raise perception about potential solutions. Only then do they introduce the product or service and what it can do for the client.
Street-Smart Marketers practice "You Marketing" by making sure that all their marketing materials focus first on customer issues before their capabilities and competencies. They never pitch without first building report. Above all they know that customers don't buy from them because they have the best products and services, but because they understand them as people! Their marketing is designed to demonstrate that understanding.
You Marketing Versus Me Marketing - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Hepworth's Website.
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During the course of a week I usually meet several people who hope to sell me something. What astonishes me is how few of these people ask questions to find out what I am interested in or worried about.
Most usually start with a pitch that is aimed at impressing me with their success. I hear about all the amazing customers they have, many of whom have no bearing on what I am doing and even less on what I am interested in. Then they tell me all about the wonderful technology they have, or how marvelous their products or services are. I don't doubt that they are great, but by this time I have generally lost interest. It is such a shame that these otherwise competent people shoot themselves in the foot and most loose the opportunity to sell me something because they are so focused on themselves and have little understanding or feeling for what I might be interested in.
Are you guilty of pitching your product or service before your prospect understands why they should be interested? Selling is a critical part of marketing, but it is vital. If you do this in your selling is your marketing material more about you than it is about your customer?
I call this "Me Marketing", it is a lot more common than most of us realize and destroys more sales than almost any other mistake.
I have used a dating analogy before and in this case it is like bragging about your possessions or achievements in the hopes that you will impress your date. In most cases all it achieves is boredom or even worse it turns your date off completely. It has the same effect with prospects.
Street-Smart Marketers engage in "You Marketing". Their total focus is on selflessly serving their customer, helping them overcome their problems, educating them how to be better buyers and raising their perception about how they can help. They relate to their customers, not so much because they have the best products and services, but because they understand them first as people.
The truth is people buy from people they like, and we generally like people who are interested in us and our needs. In most cases we are completely selfish and will only engage, if we find something or someone to be interesting. Successful salespeople quickly learn that you can't be interesting unless you are interested.
Street-Smart Marketers know that the best way to demonstrate interest is to ask insightful questions. They provide insightful answers in their marketing communications, showing customers how they are the logical choice to solve some burning problem. Once they understand these challenges they use their knowledge and skills to raise perception about potential solutions. Only then do they introduce the product or service and what it can do for the client.
Street-Smart Marketers practice "You Marketing" by making sure that all their marketing materials focus first on customer issues before their capabilities and competencies. They never pitch without first building report. Above all they know that customers don't buy from them because they have the best products and services, but because they understand them as people! Their marketing is designed to demonstrate that understanding.
You Marketing Versus Me Marketing - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Hepworth's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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