Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/60637
The Seductive Sin ofMarketing and Sales Certainty By John Graham If there's one sin in marketing and sales that's more harmful and that dwarfs all others, it's "certainty." Yet, nomarketer or salesperson gets a job without paying tribute to it for fear of coming across as weak and ineffective. At one point, the average marketing man- ager enjoyed an 18-month tenure, the point at which their "certainty" ran out of gas, suggest- ing, perhaps, that they may not have known what to do next. It may be the same story with those in sales. When a colleague met the new sales manager, he knew the guy would be gone in six months. This turned out to be a case of arrogant cer- tainty that was betrayed by incredible disorgan- ization and a trail of broken promises. It's the perfect set up for failure. This is not a rant on inadequate marketers and sales executives. Rather, the focus is on the far more vexing problem of coming to terms with the reality that there is little place for certainty in mar- keting and sales today.Unfortunately, too many business owners and corporate executives look for and expect certainty, an impossible outcome that foreshadows inevitable failure. Here are several suggestions for coping with what can be described as a marketing and sales crisis. • Certainty is an illusion. With all the smartphone excitement, some marketers seem to hold that having an app, for example, leads directly to the pot of gold at the end of the rain- bow or, if not that, the thinking seems to be that not having an app is a sign of negligence, of uncertainty. Yet, having an app and customers actually using it can be quite different. Even though the average smartphone has 120 apps, we're told that only five are used regularly. How many times have you said, "What does that one do? Why did I download it?" Just because a marketing activity is popular or "cutting edge" doesn't mean it will produce the desired results in every situation. Expecting marketers to hit the bull's eye every time is un- realistic. If there's anything that can be called "marketingmagic," it's continual experimenta- tion and testing. • The curse of short-term expectations. When someone says, "F-150," just about everyone knows it's a Ford pickup truck. And why not? Ford has showcased the iconic F-150 series name for six decades –– and the truck has been a best seller for more than thirty years. Expecting marketers and salespeople to de- liver instant results is becoming increasingly lu- dicrous. The NPR (National Public Radio) audience, which tends to be older, is the de- mographic that's most attuned to radio. To begin to attract a younger audience, NPR now streams music, without charge, from every NPR station in the nation, a rich offering for its prospective customers and a long- term investment in the future of its brand. Those companies that are struggling with a "meeting the MEDALLION CARPET MILLS Call Toll Free (800) 346-8325 For Free Samples Carpet Made Specifically for Manufactured Housing 13'7" & 15'4" Widths Carpet - Vinyl - Pad Factory Direct Pricing No. 14 on Get It Quick Page numbers" crisis may be suffering from a short- term strategy. Along with meeting immediate challenges, making a commitment to creating tomorrow's customers should be a top priority. To miss capturing themnow maymean they are gone forever. • Don't talk to customers, engage them. Many salespeople are absolutely certain that if they can just get in front of a customer, they can make the sale. Today, that's a dead end goal if there ever was one. The huge shift is to engagement. Salesmanager Jeff Short of K&WTire Com- pany, Inc., a wholesale tire business in Lan- caster, PA, read an article that advocated getting rid of "elevator speeches" as a way to im- prove listening instead of talking about yourself and your company in a sales situation.After the 10-member sales team had reviewed the arti- cle, Short asked them to come up with six questions they thought would help get cus- tomers talking. \ 25 CarpetArmour Carpet Protector - "Shield your carpet from stain, dirt & wear." C - Easy Application 18" Wide Carpet Armour Stock # CS-180200 18"x200' CS-180600 18"x600' CS-181000 18"x1000' Excalibur I Applicator 23.5" Wide Carpet Armour Stock # CS-24020023.5"x200' CS-24100023.5"x1000' Excalibur II Applicator *Free Shipping Call for the name of your nearest distributor. For easier application use the Excalibur Applicator. * on qualified orders V.P. Products & Sales Inc. 800-462-1775 FAX 800-462-1779 219 Challenge Ave., Prattville, AL 36067 www.vpproductsandsales.com No. 15 on Get It Quick Page APRIL 2012 23 THE JOURNAL