If you’ve ever sold anything, currently have something for sale, or are planning on selling something in the near future, drop what you’re doing right now and pay very close attention.
These 8 lessons on marketing and sales are nothing less than pure gold.
These ideas will help you hone in on your market, discover how to communicate with them and how to persuade them to buy.
There’s also an infographic you can post on your site or print out. Enjoy!
Marketing Lesson #1.
The force that creates sales, that powers our present economy, is desire. – Eugene M. Schwartz
Eugene teaches us that in order to get someone to take action, we need to first build up desire. People will only act when in their best interest – whether that’s moving towards pleasure or avoiding pain.
When desire is built to a certain point, it overcomes all obstacles (and objections) such as price and uncertainty. This is why stores world wide create the anticipation behind black friday. The frenzy is caused by building up the desire to get the best deal on this one day.
Marketing Lesson #2.
People don’t buy from clowns.- Claude Hopkins
The more creative type will frown upon this “rule” but there’s a lot of truth to it. Can you use humor in marketing? Of course you can, but you need to do it right. What is funny to one person, might not be funny to the next.
Getting a giggle or a laugh from your audience is a great way to gain trust and seem more human in this digital world. But remember that this is business. There is money being exchanged for value (goods and services) and your audience want to know they’re dealing with a professional individual.
Not some clown…
Marketing Lesson #3.
Marketing begins before the product is created – Seth Godin
Marketing genius Seth Godin strongly believes in listening to your market. Study it. Do your research. Interact with your people. Find out what their frustrations are before you start thinking about your “great idea”. That great idea will not sell if it’s not what your audience wants (or needs).
Marketing Lesson #4.
Over and over, I’ve seen otherwise sharp marketers launch a product because they want to sell it, not because anyone wants to buy it. - Gary Bencivenga
The most common marketing mistake entrepreneurs make is creating something they think is “cool” and trying to sell it. Gary’s marketing lesson falls right into the previous one. Marketing is not only something you do after the product is created, it’s something that should happen before and during product development as well.
This is why I encourage you to start with a mini-product first. Test the market. Find out if they’ll buy from you and what type of information they want to buy. Then focus your efforts on creating what they want.
Marketing Lesson #5.
The fact is, everyone is in sales. Whatever area you work in, you do have clients and you do need to sell. – Jay Abraham
One of the many obstacles of starting your own online business is the fear of selling; the fear of asking someone to hand over their hard-earned cash. If you have that fear, you have two options.
Option 1. Learn to overcome it. Option 2. Quit. Period. If you want to make money, you will have to market, you will have to make an offer and you will have to sell. It’s one of the most valuable skills you can have.
Marketing Lesson #6.
If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. – David Ogilvy
Get in tune with your marketplace. Think how they think. Know what their struggles are and more importantly, know how they express those frustrations. The moment you can clearly describe someone’s problem better than they can, you gain their trust.
You will be viewed as the expert. You will be the leader they’ll follow and they will go to you for advice. Then you can use your copywriting skills to lead them to your desired action and closer to their goal.
Marketing Lesson #7.
There is no problem that can’t be solved with a world-class sales letter. – Gary Halbert
Your people will have problems. They will be looking for solutions, and they’ll find them. Whether it’s your product or a competitors product, your market will do whatever it takes to resolve their issues.
Gary’s advice is to use sales letters (and great copywriting) to get people to buy from you. No matter what makret you’re in, some form of sales letter and great copywriting can be used to get people to act. Learn the skill or at least the basics and you’ll be fine.
Marketing Lesson #8.
Nothing happens until the copy gets written. – John Carlton
Let go of the fear. Let go of the uncertainty. Let go of the self-doubt and just focus on fixing other people’s problems. Write the headline. Then write the introduction. Describe the problem you’re trying to solve.
Introduce your product and along with all the wonderful benefits. Tell them the price, about the bonuses and the guarantee. Make the offer because if you don’t, you won’t make a cent. And finally, tell them why they should act now.
If this doesn’t happen – nothing happens.
Check out the Infographic