Are You More Sales or More Marketing?
Over the last several weeks, I am noticing an important economic trend with many service businesses that I want to make sure you are aware of.
Here it is- you can not get by on marketing alone, you have to sell more than you have been doing in the past and probably more than you are used to.
Your Fortune Is In Your Follow Up
If you are an entrepreneur on top of your marketing, you have a great website with valuable content that you keep updated, you regularly get out your newsletters and you love to go networking and connect with people face to face. Recognize these are all great marketing activities and they are not sales.
To have a successful, profitable and sustainable business, you must recognize that there is a huge difference between sales and marketing—and right now is the time to increase your attention on selling.
Know The Difference
Marketing activities are those things that you do to get the word out, create exposure, introduce your product or service to people. Sending out an email announcement, sending out postcards about a special offer, participating in a trade show or advertising are all marketing activities.
When you follow up with a phone call and ask someone if they saw this month’s special you sent out and would they like to take advantage of this great offer- now that is selling. When you ask someone at an event if they have heard about your company-that is marketing, if you ask them if they would like to hear more about what your company can do for them and you sit down with them to have an conversation about how you can help them now that is selling.
Selling is asking for the appointment, the order, or the contract. Marketing are all those activities you do to find people or companies to sell to. Make sure you understand the distinction. Marketing activities are a lot easier and sometimes a lot more fun like when you go out networking and meet so many fabulous people.
I encourage you to evaluate if you are doing more sales or more marketing these days and I want to you to check in with yourself and ask you if you are mostly marketing. While marketing is great and sometimes you can get clients and sales from just sending out emails, you can significantly increase your sales if you start picking up the phone and asking for the business. Up your sales activities this week and let me know how it goes.
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