A Lesson in Sales and Marketing

This week I was approached by another Internet marketing company. They wanted to partner by selling our content marketing services to their clients. I was intrigued. I saw dollar signs. Exactly how many potential clients are we talking about? Woot! Sign me up, partner!

But three calls and 2 1/2 hours later, I was totally turned off. I definitely will not be working with them. All this wasted time could have led to a great partnership, had they approached things differently. Below is my experience with them, and tips on how you can avoid losing potential business by listening to your customer and building trust.

Dear “Partner,” You are a frickin’ liar and this is no good.

What exactly turned me off so much that I wrote a blog post about them? They pulled the ol’ bait and switch. Seriously uncool.

They said they scheduled me with a potential customer that really needed my services. SCORE! I canceled a meeting and was late to a business lunch in order to take the call. As it turns out, the potential customer was not a customer at all. They were trying to sell me, their services. Seriously? The interesting thing: I really could have used their services and it might have been a great partnership. But, because I was misled I will not send them business. Ever.

Tip: Don’t pull the “win a free iPad” bull crap, unless you are really giving away a free iPad. If the “partner” I spoke with yesterday had asked, “Lori, can I schedule you with a vendor that has XYZ services that you need”? instead of “can I schedule you for a call with a really great potential customer”? I would have been open to their services. Instead, I feel betrayed. Be honest and clear with your customers.

Know Your Customer

Whether you are on a sales call or interacting via social networks, you must listen to your customer. Don’t monopolize the conversation. Instead, ask questions, get to know them, and do your research. If you are speaking more than you are learning, you are failing. During the 40-minute sales pitch yesterday I was only allowed to briefly interrupt because the other party was so busy explaining why he was super-fantastic. By the end of the call, I had learned nothing, and neither had he.

Tip: Get your customers to talk. Interact with them through reviews, blog posts, Twitter and Facebook. Read their blogs. I am pretty certain that the “partner” I spoke with yesterday is so detached, he doesn’t even know about this blog.

If I have to interrupt you just to ask how you can really help me, you aren’t a guru.

While the speaker was monopolizing the conversation, he spent an enormous amount of time telling me why his technology is the best-in-the-world and why I should be uber impressed. Warning, if you tell me how you are God’s greatest gift to mankind, I may throw up in my mouth a little. Don’t use words like guru, expert, or thought-leader, because I am going to expect really big things.

Wikipedia, the source of all truth and knowledge, states: A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others. If this is you, awesome. If it is not you, don’t make the claim.

Tip: If you want to build trust, make sure you are living up to the adjectives you use to describe yourself.

It’s not about you, it’s about me.

Spending too much time discussing the features of your product bores me. In fact, I am already asleep. All I really care about is me.

Customers don’t care about you. They are only talking to you because they care about themselves, and something you offer that will be addressing a need or solving a problem they have. Unless your product or service sparks an emotional response (i. e. makes them money, eases pain, frees up time, or provides REAL value) they are bored.

Hint: Bored people aren’t going to buy your stuff. I promise.

Final Thoughts

Be honest. Be real. Engage with your customers. Create meaningful relationships. Make sure you are providing real value. People do business with people they know and trust. Get to know your customers, and become genuinely interested in them. Chances are, your business will increase and you will have someone to play golf with. Both are good.