The Secret To Sales? Think Like A Marketer
We all know marketing has changed dramatically in the past decade, thanks to the rise of social media. But what’s less understood is how that shift impacts the way we sell. “What’s happened is the sales team is getting left behind,” says John Jantsch, author of the new Duct Tape Selling: Think Like a Marketer – Sell Like a Superstar. The marketing department is blogging, tweeting, and podcasting its head off, and as a result, “there’s so much content and near-perfect information [for customers]. We can research and find out all about a product before we dream of picking up the phone” and talking to an actual person. So if sales representatives want to stay relevant, it’s time to change how they do business.(click to tweet)
Part of it, says Jantsch, who is also the author of Duct Tape Marketing, is starting to think more like a marketer. That doesn’t mean coming up with broad-based creative strategies for the brand, but it does mean “personalizing it for the prospect,” he says. “That’s where the current disconnect is. We’ve got all this information and we’re drowning in it, and we need someone to make it valuable to me and my situation [as a buyer].”
The first challenge is making contact with the prospect. “The sales person has to get involved earlier in the buyer’s journey,” says Jantsch. “They need to become an authority so they’re looked at as an expert. They’re not going to get invited to the party otherwise, because the buyer is now making a great deal of decisions even before” marketing hands the lead over to sales.Becoming viewed as an authority by potential customers means salespeople should follow some of marketing’s playbook. “Content creation is a big part of developing your reputation,” says Jantsch, “and it’s also the most time-consuming. I like to ease people into it. You can add value simply by sharing information. Years ago, my first job out of college was selling – almost like a Willy Loman-style traveling salesman. I always brought marketing into selling. I’d have my hot list of prospects and I’d make sure to do extra reading in their industry and their community papers and I’d clip out articles I thought would be interesting to them. I can’t tell you how much that simple thing made me stand out, and it’s still true today. We now have access to all that information, but the person who tells me 10 things I should be reading is the one I’m going to listen to…If you can produce, share, or curate content that will make my life easier and give me a leg up on being more effective or efficient, I’m going to look at you as somebody of value.”
Jantsch also suggests that you should be a lot more proactive than most about seeking out your next customers. “I think a lot of salespeople and companies have had the normal approach that we go out there and try to find customers and convince them to buy from us,” he says. “What I’m going to suggest is that you go out and find the right match – the ideal client that you can service and build a relationship with – and not wait for them to come to you. I’m telling salespeople to go pick their customers, as opposed to waiting for anybody who suggests they have a need and then trying to fill it (click to tweet)…From a long-term standpoint and a value standpoint, you’re better off spending as much time and effort as you can finding the right relationships.”
Jantsch recognizes this isn’t easy. “This is a long-term approach,” he says. “Some people get hung up – they go out and tweet and like something on Facebook and publish information for a week or two and say, That didn’t work; I didn’t get any new clients. You have to have a mindset that it’s got to be part of your habits and how you build a reputation – that I want to sell stuff, but in the end, I want to develop a reputation for being an authority in my field, because I can take that show on the road anywhere.” Not everyone will be willing to put in the extra work. Creating content or other brand-building activities like public speaking “is probably 25% of their time,” says Jantsch, “and maybe it’s done at night when they’re off the clock. This won’t be for everyone, but I’m talking about the superstars. They know that if somebody is looking for a solution and they don’t find your name when they’re looking for information online or talking with someone, half the battle is lost.”
Jantsch makes a point I also discuss in my bookReinventing You: a strong personal brand is a form of career insurance. “Having a reputation as an authority is something that becomes an asset that you own, and it goes beyond the whim of what the company wants to do when a new sales manager comes in,” he says. “When it comes time to go to your next job or start talking to another company, being able to visibly demonstrate your authority is something that should be pretty bankable.”
How are you building your reputation as an authority? Do you agree it’s important to start thinking like a marketer?
The first challenge is making contact with the prospect. “The sales person has to get involved earlier in the buyer’s journey,” says Jantsch. “They need to become an authority so they’re looked at as an expert. They’re not going to get invited to the party otherwise, because the buyer is now making a great deal of decisions even before” marketing hands the lead over to sales.Becoming viewed as an authority by potential customers means salespeople should follow some of marketing’s playbook. “Content creation is a big part of developing your reputation,” says Jantsch, “and it’s also the most time-consuming. I like to ease people into it. You can add value simply by sharing information. Years ago, my first job out of college was selling – almost like a Willy Loman-style traveling salesman. I always brought marketing into selling. I’d have my hot list of prospects and I’d make sure to do extra reading in their industry and their community papers and I’d clip out articles I thought would be interesting to them. I can’t tell you how much that simple thing made me stand out, and it’s still true today. We now have access to all that information, but the person who tells me 10 things I should be reading is the one I’m going to listen to…If you can produce, share, or curate content that will make my life easier and give me a leg up on being more effective or efficient, I’m going to look at you as somebody of value.”
Jantsch also suggests that you should be a lot more proactive than most about seeking out your next customers. “I think a lot of salespeople and companies have had the normal approach that we go out there and try to find customers and convince them to buy from us,” he says. “What I’m going to suggest is that you go out and find the right match – the ideal client that you can service and build a relationship with – and not wait for them to come to you. I’m telling salespeople to go pick their customers, as opposed to waiting for anybody who suggests they have a need and then trying to fill it (click to tweet)…From a long-term standpoint and a value standpoint, you’re better off spending as much time and effort as you can finding the right relationships.”
Jantsch recognizes this isn’t easy. “This is a long-term approach,” he says. “Some people get hung up – they go out and tweet and like something on Facebook and publish information for a week or two and say, That didn’t work; I didn’t get any new clients. You have to have a mindset that it’s got to be part of your habits and how you build a reputation – that I want to sell stuff, but in the end, I want to develop a reputation for being an authority in my field, because I can take that show on the road anywhere.” Not everyone will be willing to put in the extra work. Creating content or other brand-building activities like public speaking “is probably 25% of their time,” says Jantsch, “and maybe it’s done at night when they’re off the clock. This won’t be for everyone, but I’m talking about the superstars. They know that if somebody is looking for a solution and they don’t find your name when they’re looking for information online or talking with someone, half the battle is lost.”
Jantsch makes a point I also discuss in my bookReinventing You: a strong personal brand is a form of career insurance. “Having a reputation as an authority is something that becomes an asset that you own, and it goes beyond the whim of what the company wants to do when a new sales manager comes in,” he says. “When it comes time to go to your next job or start talking to another company, being able to visibly demonstrate your authority is something that should be pretty bankable.”
How are you building your reputation as an authority? Do you agree it’s important to start thinking like a marketer?
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