An Ugly Dog, a Beautiful Woman, and a Clueless Salesman The marketing imagination is the starting point of success in marketing. It is distinguished from other forms of imagination by the unique insights it brings to understanding customers, their problems, and the means to capture their attention and their custom. Theodore Levitt Some of us are intensely action—oriented, we are highly productive; a successful day is one, in which we’ve tackled many projects successfully. We are always raring to go, we yearn for tangible and concrete proofs of our hard work, we find it difficult to sit down and study, we find it hard to go on conceptual explorations. We want to sell fast, we want to build our brand as quickly as possible, we want to quickly increase our conversion rates, and that is right, but it is vital to also create the time to learn, as we earn, it is helpful to revisit and learn the fundamentals that under-girds our business. An in-depth understanding of marketing and sales can help us grow our businesses fast. There is a law of sequencing, one thing follows another, so, a correct understanding of some principles can help accelerate our growth, and an incorrect understanding can constrain our dreams, or worse it may kill them. Ignorance and arrogance can foster frustrations, and both can become a millstone, when what we’re really pining for is meeting our business milestones. If we really want enduring success, we must ensure there is balance, as we’re earning, we should be learning, we should be having regular reflections, where we look at how we’re operating our businesses, and how it can be improved. We should be regularly soliciting our customers’ feedback, which is a form of practical, real-life learning that we can leverage in improving our businesses. A lot of businesses fail because they are not generating enough revenue. Revenue, turnover, or sales, is the monetary estimate of the value you’re rendering to the market. If enough money is not flowing into your business on a regular basis, it is likely to have serious problems, because you won’t be able to scale, you won’t be able to meet your obligations, maybe you won’t be able to pay salaries, and you may not even be able to pay rent? How excited would your employees be? I hope you have a landlord who understands. Let’s quickly explore some basic definitions, so that we can appreciate the difference between marketing and sales. Essentially, both are concerned with growing your top line, with increasing your revenue. There are some other secondary objectives, but let’s focus on revenue. I’m sure you are familiar with the term bottom line. Trust me; the basic, simple explorations can have a profound impact on our businesses, especially in this age, where we all seem to be in a hurry. If we don’t have the right foundation, what will happen? Entrepreneur and business types use the term bottom line so often that we do not remember that there is no bottom line (profit), without a top line. As those interested in marketing, our focus should be more on the top line, and we can achieve that if we have a solid marketing and sales plan, which we are implementing in a structured and consistent manner. Do you have a plan or are you just winging it? A lot of us use the terms marketing and sales as if they are interchangeable, but they are not. They have distinct meanings, but both are meant to help us achieve similar objectives. So, they are related. Before we explain the difference, there is a quote by one of the most respected management experts, Peter Drucker, which is relevant, and fundamental to our exploration. He wrote‘…the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous’. It’s a quote that I’ve always found intriguing, it is worth memorizing, and to be honest with you, I’m not sure the eminent guru, is completely correct, but the quote shows that what is primary and foundational is marketing. If we’re going about how marketing the right way, sales will be a lot easier (if not completely superfluous). Think of marketing as preparing your garden, and sales, as when you go harvest some tomatoes or carrots. When you’re preparing the garden, you have a plan, you’re relaxed, you’re thinking of the future. When you need some carrots for a meal, the focus often changes, you want relatively quick results. I guess that’s why some salespeople come across as desperate! If we’ve been working on our marketing, then sales will be a lot easier. Let me give another example. It’s a Saturday; you’re so excited, because you had a busy week. You just want to relax. So, you want to spend some time reading in the park. You were absorbed in reading Stephen King’s Carrie (for the third time) when you noticed this exceedingly beautiful woman beside you. You almost pinched yourself, but you acted like no big deal. She said hello, and you did the same. You have seen her in your dreams before, okay, not exactly, but she’s the kind of woman you’d want to spend the rest of your life with. (Lets ignore the fact that you dont know Nada about her :-)) Your guys will almost bow down for you if they see you with that kind of woman! You were already dreaming of whether you’d like the honey moon in Monaco or Casablanca, when you noticed her ugly dog! So, let’s look at two scenarios: 1. You turn to her and say: will you marry me? Just like that… 2. You compliment her on her looks. Ask her questions about stuff she likes. She’s also a Stephen King addict. You quick craft a plan on how you can take her to the movies next Saturday. You helped walk her ugly dog, but did not tell her the dog is ugly? Your focus is on how to make her happy and how to see her again and again… Which scenario would you use? The first scenario is what most sales-obsessed people may use, while, the sophisticated marketer knows that marketing is seduction, it is courtship, not a one night stand! In truth, marketing and sales work together. Sales are usually about closing the deal. It’s usually person to person. While marketing is more strategic, it is more media oriented, it prepares the ground for the sale. The Yoruba have a saying: He, who throws water on the ground, will step on wet soil. Marketing is ensuring that you’re always throwing water on the ground. The Sales is focused on the wet soil, the reward. I thought I’d just write a few paragraphs, but it just kept growing. Let’s wrap this up. I will continue in another post. I have not forgotten that I promised to tell you about Theodore Levitt – one of those professors who really got marketing, and showed it, not just in his articles, but when he was editor of Harvard Business Review (HBR). He changed the magazine,made it more interesting, increased the readership, and it made more money. More interesting details in the next post…that will be on Tuesday. Have a great weekend. Remember that solid foundations and simplicity are critical to our success in any facet of life. I wish you success ( and bliss). Michael Newman
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 06:03:20 +0000
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