Sales and Marketing Common Sense
Sales and Marketing Common Sense
Let Your Market Lead
It is very common for entrepreneurs, or established businesses, to approach their markets with an idea, product or service they are sure will be tremendously successful. They may have performed focus groups and other extensive market research that appears to give them the green light, only to find their idea, service or product goes nowhere. Market research is only a measuring stick, not the final outcome. As you develop this new idea, make it flexible to market changes and follow the lead of your target market.
How often do companies attempt to push a product on their customers? The wireless Internet is the latest of these attempts. Do people really want to access email and Web sites from tiny screens on their mobile phones using a telephone number pad? This may be true in Japan, where the PC is not as common in the home, but probably not in the U.S. Wireless Internet providers are better off following the lead of their markets for ideas on how to best make use of this new technology.
Give Away Your Secrets
Competitive advantage is a critical component of marketing and sales success. Yet, many companies keep their competitive advantage a secret! They do this out of fear that competitors will steal these ideas and take away market share. In fact, the opposite is true. A clearly stated competitive advantage increases your market share and drives more customers to you. Operational secrets are one thing, but the benefits of your business that separates you from your competitors must be shared with customers.
For example, if you were looking for a chimney sweep, wouldn't it be nice to know what they do that makes them better than their competitors? If you are the chimney sweep, you might be thinking, "If I give away the secrets that make me a great chimney sweep my competition will steal those secrets and put me out of business!" The rewards you gain from sharing your competitive advantage overwhelms any minor gain to your competition.
Love Your Customers
It is so hard to acquire, foster and retain loyal customers in today's competitive markets. Never take this for granted! Treat every customer like gold and remove any obstacle for him or her to do business with you. I have met with business owners who do not want to place their phone number on their Web site because they do not feel they have time to answer calls. This is an example of a hurdle customers have to jump to do business with you. If someone wants to give you money, please make it easy for them. Do not let operational issues make it difficult for customers to buy from your business. Have a passion for your customers and make it your passion to understand how they think and why they buy.
Sales and Marketing is About People
The people who implement your marketing plans are key to success. They must develop the skills needed to understand customers and keep the company moving in the direction of meeting target market needs. Teamwork is critical to marketing success, as everyone in the company sees themselves as a marketing professional. This includes making things easier for the customer, before making operations easier for the company.
Marketing Takes Time
Never give up. Marketing takes time and if you are committed to your project you will succeed, as long as you give customers what they want. You may remember the line, "If you build it they will come." I'd like to add a reality check to this quote, "If you build it they will come, but only if you tell them to and give yourself enough time."
Be confident, ask for help when you need it and keep your focus on meeting the needs of prospects and customers. In this way, you implement common sense sales and marketing that is not so common, and you will be on the road to higher levels of success.
Sales and Marketing Common Sense - To learn more about this author, visit Thomas Young's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
The most successful sales and marketing approaches are based on common sense. There is genius in their subtle simplicity. They may at first appear to be common knowledge and easy to implement, however, do not let this fool you because common sense is not so common. Here are a few basic marketing and sales principles often ignored by businesses.
Let Your Market Lead
It is very common for entrepreneurs, or established businesses, to approach their markets with an idea, product or service they are sure will be tremendously successful. They may have performed focus groups and other extensive market research that appears to give them the green light, only to find their idea, service or product goes nowhere. Market research is only a measuring stick, not the final outcome. As you develop this new idea, make it flexible to market changes and follow the lead of your target market.
How often do companies attempt to push a product on their customers? The wireless Internet is the latest of these attempts. Do people really want to access email and Web sites from tiny screens on their mobile phones using a telephone number pad? This may be true in Japan, where the PC is not as common in the home, but probably not in the U.S. Wireless Internet providers are better off following the lead of their markets for ideas on how to best make use of this new technology.
Give Away Your Secrets
Competitive advantage is a critical component of marketing and sales success. Yet, many companies keep their competitive advantage a secret! They do this out of fear that competitors will steal these ideas and take away market share. In fact, the opposite is true. A clearly stated competitive advantage increases your market share and drives more customers to you. Operational secrets are one thing, but the benefits of your business that separates you from your competitors must be shared with customers.
For example, if you were looking for a chimney sweep, wouldn't it be nice to know what they do that makes them better than their competitors? If you are the chimney sweep, you might be thinking, "If I give away the secrets that make me a great chimney sweep my competition will steal those secrets and put me out of business!" The rewards you gain from sharing your competitive advantage overwhelms any minor gain to your competition.
Love Your Customers
It is so hard to acquire, foster and retain loyal customers in today's competitive markets. Never take this for granted! Treat every customer like gold and remove any obstacle for him or her to do business with you. I have met with business owners who do not want to place their phone number on their Web site because they do not feel they have time to answer calls. This is an example of a hurdle customers have to jump to do business with you. If someone wants to give you money, please make it easy for them. Do not let operational issues make it difficult for customers to buy from your business. Have a passion for your customers and make it your passion to understand how they think and why they buy.
Sales and Marketing is About People
The people who implement your marketing plans are key to success. They must develop the skills needed to understand customers and keep the company moving in the direction of meeting target market needs. Teamwork is critical to marketing success, as everyone in the company sees themselves as a marketing professional. This includes making things easier for the customer, before making operations easier for the company.
Marketing Takes Time
Never give up. Marketing takes time and if you are committed to your project you will succeed, as long as you give customers what they want. You may remember the line, "If you build it they will come." I'd like to add a reality check to this quote, "If you build it they will come, but only if you tell them to and give yourself enough time."
Be confident, ask for help when you need it and keep your focus on meeting the needs of prospects and customers. In this way, you implement common sense sales and marketing that is not so common, and you will be on the road to higher levels of success.
Sales and Marketing Common Sense - To learn more about this author, visit Thomas Young's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
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 |
|||
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 |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
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 |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Thomas's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Business Owner Guide Caprino Career Path Assessment Addictive Entrepreneurship Increasing Coaching Effectiveness Trainning Template |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Debt Blogs
Learn To Get Out Of Debt | |
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
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 and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||