Tweet

The Importance of Patience In Marketing Services

Written by: Mark Satterfield

Article Overview: A marketing system that only has one step to it tends to scare off more people than it attracts. This is a better approach.

The Importance of Patience In Marketing Services

It's been said that sales quotas (whether they be weekly, monthly or quarterly) are one of the biggest obstacles to effective sales performance. The rational is that the pressure to meet the deadline causes sales people to attempt to "hurry up " the sales process. They typically do this by presenting their solutions way too early in the process.

As all of us know who have attended any sort of comprehensive sales training program in the last 10 years, presenting your solution before you have uncovered the key problems and made the prospective client lust after your solution (ok perhaps a bit of hyperbole, but you get my point) is one of the biggest obstacles to success in selling.

This issue has implications and lessons for the world of marketing. This is what I mean. When I review marketing materials, sales letters, websites and so forth, I ask the logical question "What do you want the reader to do once they've finished reading this?" The answer is invariably that they would like the reader to call to learn more about their services.

When you think about it, that is a huge request. Consider this, someone you don't know, who you've never spoken with, receives your letter or visits your website. What are the odds that based on what they read they'd want to actually talk with you?

OK, perhaps if they're desperate they might. But really, come on, how many of your prospects are truly desperate? The reality is that it's extremely unlikely anyone is going to pick up the phone based on a sales letter or some copy on a website. Why? They're afraid of being sold something.

As it's often been said, "We love to buy stuff; we just don't like being sold." So why do we persist in having a marketing strategy that revolves around the hope that people will "call us up" after they read our sales letter or visit our website? Because it seems like it's quicker. We don't have any patience for anything that has more than one step to it. But what we perceive as the quickest way to make sales is really an illusion. The reality is that we're making life harder (not easier) for ourselves.

Much the same way as the sales rep thinks he can expedite the selling process by cutting to the chase and just telling the prospect about how wonderful his services are, consultants and small business owners think that they can likewise speed up the process by having the call to action be call me now! And they're invariably disappointed.

So what's the alternative? When it comes to marketing your services it's crucial that you think of it as a two-step process. Step one is How Can I Get People To Express interest in what I do? Step two is: How can I convert large percentages of those who have expressed interest to buy my services?

Thus the "selling" is done in step two, not step one. (Except that you naturally have to "sell" prospects on expressing that initial interest.) So if this makes sense, why are so many people reluctant to do it?

Simple. It adds another step to the process. It adds a bit more time. And we're just not very patient. As I've said countless times before, marketing isn't complicated. (Although some of us seem compelled to make it so.) It's simply a matter of thinking about marketing your services using two steps.

Not one. And that requires patience. Hope this give you some good food for thought.

Related Articles
  How To Market Your Services or Products
  Network Marketing Tools You Need to Be Successful! Fast Success Guaranteed!
  Marketing\'s Greatest Ally
  Patience for Entrepreneurs
  Internet Marketing Success Tips

Article Tags: business sales training, executive sales training, insurance sales training, marketing services, marketing system, sales development training, sales presentation training, sales rep training, sales team training, telesales training, training in sales



Related Forum Posts
Re: The Mobile Marketing - Mobile Marketing involves communicating with the consumer via cellular (or mobile) device, either to send a simple marketing message, to introduce them to a new audience participation-based campaign or to allow them to visit a mobile website. Some of the tools of the trade and a few of the concepts that will be featured in this Mobile Marketing 101 series are: Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Bluetooth, Wireless and Infrared Mobile Internet and Social Media Mobile Applications Mobile connectivity not only enables people to connect to the Internet via a cellular telephone, PDA or other gadget, but also consolidates the different communication channels in a simple, yet effective, medium. Cheaper than traditional means for both the consumer and the marketer - and easy enough for almost any age group to understand and engage with - Mobile Marketing really is a streamlined version of traditional eMarketing.
Help me name my moms business - I think Infinity Cleaning Services sounds better than Elite Cleaning Solutions... Why the Solutions? What is there to be solved? You simply get a rag with some Windex on it and wipe away.... plug the vacuum and Vac Away, get a mop and mop away. Stick to Infinity Cleaning Services... ICS sounds cool...
Re: What is your Business? - We are running a Online Marketing Firm and we have some good clients to which we are offering a complete Digital Marketing strategy like Search, Mobile Marketing, Branding and Design. I think in Online Marketing company online presence can be a wining factor for the success of the company.
Re: Let’s talk about the ways of marketing your products, servic - I agree with some of the others who responded it depends on what your selling... but to answer your questions here are some of the methods I use. Forum Marketing Yahoo Answers (I need to use more of) SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Bum Marketing or Article marketing P-P-C (Pay Per Click) Marketing Online Directories Hope this helps.
Re: Search Engine Marketing - Optimization For Local Businesses - Great opportunity! Jump on this while you can, Services like this don't come cheap.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

12 Principles to Spark Innovation

Building a Business From 30,000 Feet

Track Your Time for Increased Productivity

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.