Those in business ignore sales and marketing at their
peril. These disciplines are the very lifeblood of any
commercial enterprise, whether a single mother working from
home or a massive multi-national corporate body. Every
business has either a service or a product to bring to the
market, but bringing it is not enough - it has to be sold
as well. To put this another way - consumers, potential
customers and clients have to be both made aware of the
product or service and then coerced into purchasing it.
Without customer knowledge or awareness, there can be no
purchase, and where no one is buying there can be no
profit. Marketing is the science of bringing the right
product to the market, at the right price, in the right
way, at a Nett profit. It is the responsibility of the
sales and marketing team to ensure this happens.
Individuals have their preferences. For some it is search
engine marketing, for others it is email marketing, for
many it is direct marketing. But whatever the preference,
the marketing strategy and all it entails is a vital step.
It is the very root of the success you desire for yourself
and your employer.
Training seminars and events should be attended often by
all those operating in the sales and marketing arena.
Selling is a skill that comes naturally to some, but not to
most. Yet it is possible to master these skills so they
become more like drills. With the right training and
strategies in place, the appropriate successful selling
responses should kick in automatically. With marketing too,
the responses should be creative and limitless.
There is such a choice of media now that for the marketers
it can be overwhelming. The power of the internet and the
universal ownership of televisions mean that a vast number
of people and markets can be reached quickly - almost
instantly. A quick review of what people enter into the
search engines also helps paint a picture of the market
psychology. It is amazing how people type words in an
almost random order. For example, one of the most searched
terms is engine marketing search. I find that amusing, but
over one million people type that in every month. Why do
they reverse the words? I don't know - but it is important
to know that they do so marketing strategy can reflect
these things where necessary.
Some managers will opt to delegate everything to a
marketing agency. The problem here is that many are prima
donnas and will take the opportunity to do what they have
always wanted to do, and use your money to do it. They can
be like architects who do the same. The point is that for
an agency marketing campaign, there must be a tightly
detailed and described brief and a contract that while not
limiting the ideas or creative juices of the agents and
their staff, keeps them firmly bound to what you require.
All this of course should be underpinned by solid market
research.
At its most basic level, both selling and marketing are
about the art of communications and the best choice of
media for the markets to be targeted. Not all potential
customers require the same approach. For example, wholesale
and retail markets will attract different methods of
communication by the sales team. Again, if a product is to
be sold in a store or shop, it is not the same approach as
advertising an article to be sold at auction. The
advertisements for each will appear in different magazines
and other media, and the ads will vary too in design,
presentation and language.
The real secret of success here is to start to do things
differently. The old maxim about being surprised when there
is no change in circumstances while you continue to do
things in the same way stands as an eternal truth. I would
encourage anyone to go and see, hear and / or read what Dan
Kennedy has to say on this subject. A quick Google search
will reveal a wealth of material. My best counsel is that
you should note well what he has to say. Dan is one of the
foremost sales and marketing consultants in America.
----------------------------------------------------
John Campbell's aim is to help people succeed in their day
to day jobs. Discover how to use specific advertising and
marketing secrets to generate all the leads, customers,
profits and business you could only dream about before -
with practically no work on your part. See The Magnetic
Marketing Tool Kit (http://www.magneticmarketingtoolkit.com
) to learn more .......
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