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The 9 Most-Deadly Sins in Sales & Marketing

Written by: Neil Mahoney

Article Overview: If business can be described as "war without guns" then Sales & Marketing are the military arm * Salespeople are the ground forces: Infantry, Cavalry, Armored * Marketing is Intelligence (Research & Market Data), Strategy, Planning, Artillery & Air (ads & promotion) Because most companies don't think of Business Development in these terms, they continually repeat the 9 Most-Deadly Sins listed below:

The 9 Most-Deadly Sins in Sales & Marketing

1. Failure to distinguish differences in:

* Value & Importance of different markets and market segments

* Wants & Needs of different market segments

2. Failure to utilize important indirect buying influences:

* Customers, Distributors, Dealers, Resellers

* Consultants, other industry professionals

3. Overestimating/Oversimplifying Branding efforts:

* Customer & Dealer relationships are often stronger than Brand Awareness & Perception

* Building a brand takes years of Selling and Promotional effort & expense

4. Failure of MarComm and Sales to communicate effectively:

* Headquarters & MarComm see forests, not trees

* Salespeople see trees, not forests

5. Sales: The least time-effective process in all of Business:

* The Bad News: There's nothing you can do about it

* The Good News: Presentations effectively tailored to the individual prospect's needs will do the job

Six: Salespeople misperceive their proper roles:

* Stars of the Show vs. Stage Managers

* Buddies vs. Consultants

7. Sales materials & sales-support activities are not calibrated to optimize effectiveness of sales efforts:

* Prospect-Development efforts not in sync with Purchasing Timetables

* Brochures & Websites don't adequately facilitate sales presentations

8. Poor/Non-existent Positioning

* The most-important, most-ignored part of mission statements & elevator pitches

* Make your product/service "the only" best choice for your prospects

9. 1-Minute Manager Mentality:

* In Customer Service

* In conduct of Sales & Marketing programs

* In Market Strategy & Planning

The 9 ensuing installments to be submitted shortly will explain each of these Deadly Sins in more detail. We will also suggest methods for avoiding or correcting them -- methods we know will work from direct experience.

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Article Tags: bad news, br 2, br 3, brand awareness, building a brand, development efforts, different market, forests, industry professionals, marcomm, market segments, mission statements, nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp, prospect development, sales efforts, sales materials, sales presentations, salespeople, stage managers, timetables



Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
niche forum categories - I think Kevin just touched on the point that I was going make... and that is developing 'categories' that stick. Sales and Marketing may be too broad for example. However I can almost guarantee you that you would see many more sign-ups if you tailored a category to 'internet marketing' for newbies. I've seen this work on other forums, however, [i:1i903wkn]it can get a little frantic[/i:1i903wkn]... Fine tuning the categories, or expanding the scope should be effective. I think a lot of IM folks are surfing right on by because they're not finding what they're looking for here... Just a few thoughts: Better Blogging Developing Info Products Internet Marketing Presentation Skills More How to's Another point is... a lot of people don't know that they can benefit from participating in forums. The signature links to their site - if they have one - can / should be motivation enough to get more involved. The more internet savvy members that have signatures seem to stick around more... Don't you think?
Different Hats - CEO Sales & Marketing & Leadership Development Company Strategic Vision 10 Alliances & Growth Strategies 10 Hiring & Managing People 8 Mentoring 8-9 Strategic Planning for Clients 10 Execution of Marketing Campaigns 9-10 (i have great people who do the nitty gritty) Financial Management 9 Bookkeeping 3 (outsourced as I really hate the fine details like GST0 Administrative Follow Up 6-7 (again have great staff) Writing & Publishing 9 (getting better all the time!) Speaking 10 (so I have been told) Self Promotion 9-10 Web development & Promotion 6-7 (learning more and have brought on players who are 10+) Babysitting Employees (1 - wont do it, that's why I work so hard to hire and motivate the people I have) Great topic Kevin!! Jude
Any ideas for potential partner sites? - Hi Everyone, I was wondering if any of you have any ideas on "potential partner sites" for our specific forum categories? For instance, is there a leading "Women Entrepreneur" or "Sales/Marketing" site you know of that doesn't have an existing online community of its own? This could be a great way to help us attract more traffic. Thanks


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