Today I have a weird sales and marketing tip for you.
In fact, you may even stench a bit.
But if you’re selling a product or service of any kind (especially if you’re selling in person or over the phone) I think you’ll find it very useful. Anyway, here’s the story:
Last week I was walking Zoe (my dog) on the beach like I do every night when about a hundred yards away we saw this big fat skunk. Now usually this is not a big deal. I mean it’s not like she could spray us from that far away.
But there was something different about this skunk.
For one thing, he wasn’t scared of us like most skunks were.
In fact, the stinky baggie came TOWARD with its tail up, as if it wanted to spray us with its stink gun. (Which would actually make my dog happy. After all, one person’s stench is another dog’s perfume…)
Anyway, it totally reminded me of Pepe le Pu.
Do you remember him from those old Bugs Bunny cartoons? Pepe was the skunk who always said charming words to the ladies, wanting to kiss them, hug them and make them fall in love… but, due to his horrendous smell, he chased them away, despite his charm and his loving intentions.
In fact, the MORE he chased the ladies…the faster they ran.
And we see a lot of that in sales and marketing as well, don’t we?
Where marketers are trying to “romance” people with charm, well-rehearsed scripts, and saying all the “right” things… but one look and we see how they stink to heaven. The “stink” can also take any number of forms. For example…
Could be need (this is usually the case).
It could be him arrogance of the seller or marketer (we have a bit of that in the world of Internet marketing, right?)
Or it could even just be the prospect fear of the unknown if the salesperson is new to the business and doesn’t know how to remove that objection before it becomes a problem. (This haunted me BIG from the start.)
Anyway, here’s the point:
If you’re having trouble making sales and can’t figure out why (since you’re doing everything “right”), you may be spraying some sort of “smell” that’s making people flee.
And your number 1 job is to figure out what that stench is.
Otherwise, if you don’t find it, your sales will continue to plummet. And when that happens, it’s like what Porky Pig, Pepe Le Pew’s friend, says…
T-t-t-that’s all folks!