There are a lot of parallels between marketing and sales. And all too often, the same mistakes are made in both areas as well. One frequent mistake is the hard sell.
The hard sell is when you really push your product or service in a forceful, insistent way. It's something that comes from traditional sales and marketing. In Sandler, we don't believe that's a good technique.
One of our Sandler Rules talks about how prospecting shouldn't be about hard selling. It's Sandler Rule #8: When Prospecting, Go for the Appointment.
Prospecting should be about uncovering whether someone is qualified to have a conversation about your product or service. It is not about actually selling it.
The same thing is true when it comes to marketing! Depending on how you frame it, marketing is either another form of prospecting, or it feeds into prospecting. Either way, it's not the place in your sales cycle for actual selling yet!
We've talked before about marketing your monkey's paws, and that's definitely a good idea. But even then, your whole point is to start a conversation with a qualified prospect.
After all, how can you determine if someone is a true prospect without having a conversation with them?
It's easy for marketers to get caught up in tracking milestones like social media audience size or hits on a website. But ultimately, the goal of marketing is to have conversations with more and better qualified prospects.
Are you tracking how your marketing is helping you have more, better conversations?
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Mike Crandall
Sandler Custom Growth Solutions
Mike Crandall is a Speaker, Consultant, Coach and Trainer focused on Sales, Management, and Leadership Development.
He's also the owner of Sandler Custom Growth Solutions, a world leader in innovative sales, management, and leadership training. They offer consulting, coaching, and training for individuals and organizations serious about professional development and growth.
Mike is the author of "Motivational Management The Sandler Way" and has written a sales column for several years.
Tim Priebe
Tim Priebe is a public speaker, author, columnist, and the owner of T&S Online Marketing. He helps businesses that are worried they don’t have the expertise or time required to invest in doing their own digital marketing. He helps them plan where and how much to invest and often helps execute the plan.
Tim’s company helps with websites, social media, blogging, email newsletters, Google rankings, and online video. Tim is the author of several online marketing books, including "102 Tweets," "Blog a Week," and "Online Marketing Mindshift."
