Marketing…..Advertising….”what are you going to do for me?” asks the sales guy….”in terms of marketing…how are you going to bring people to me? No one’s heard of us! It’s a big draw back when no one is heard of you!”
I felt that way to in my early years selling. I wanted to have all warm calls. I wanted a friendly face of recognition when I introduced myself…” OOOHH you’re from XYZ. We love you guys!”. But as time went by I realized I didn’t want to be the Fed Ex or UPS guy. I didn’t want to rep for Pfizer. I wanted to build MY own business within a business. I wanted to build MY brand, which built my personal value, my self-esteem and gave me control of my life.
As you go on in years, you realize that all the branding and name recognition doesn’t mean squat if you can’t deliver. And we have all found after the Mortgage Meltdown that recognition can be a bad thing…look at Angelo Mozilo today.,
In Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith points out that “before you write an ad, rent (yes rent…cause everyone gets the same list) a list, dash off a press release – fix your service.” Look at your own behavior. You may have tried out the brand first, but if their service sucked you not only didn’t go back , you told everyone about them because you knew that everyone knows about them, you share that connection, so you are eager to discuss that which you have in common.
The key, Beckwith says, is “to make everyone a marketing person. Every act is a marketing act”. Those businesses you keep visiting are the ones you are made to feel important at. You got more than you expected in service, not tangibles but feelings. You felt better after interacting with them; you felt they were your advocate. It may have taken you longer to find them if they weren’t a brand, but once you did you felt like you were one of the chosen few: a lucky member of the club.
If you are tapping into the laws of scarcity, your membership becomes worth a premium. Customers are invited by referral. If someone of quality gives you a name, you treat it differently than a bathroom wall or telephone pole posting. If someone is willing to vouch for you, state that they have used you and are willing to support you, most terms can be overcome. General branding or yellow page/direct mail approach doesn't act as an invitation; it doesn't make the customer feel special. Therefore the leads are unqualified and the premium isn't there.
Remember these words as you take your new found money and try and buy your way into keeping the faucet turned on; it's just not that simple. Just plant the seeds now, cultivate them continuously, and reap the harvest in the fall.
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