The Difference Between Sales and Marketing and How to Be Good at Both
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How to be effective at sales and marketing
If you own your own business, you have to know the difference between sales and marketing, when to use them and what they should both do well. Read on to learn how this knowledge can transform your business results.
Sales and marketing tips for entrepreneurs
What is the most important thing that sales and marketing should both do?
What is the difference between sales and marketing?People often confuse the two or assume they are one and the same.
In a nutshell, you use marketing to bring you qualified prospects and use sales to close the deal and build relationships with people.
In other words, the definition of marketing is everything you do to reach and persuade prospects to give you a chance to sell them. Sales is what you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract.
When you look at it like that, the sales person would have no one to sell to if it weren't for the marketer.
In the world of internet marketing, the marketer drives people to the website, and gets them to fill out a form requesting more information, or simply buying a product. The sales person is the one who forms a relationship with the prospects and closes the deal.
Good marketers and sales people have one thing in common: they both begin by putting their prospects first.
To be effective at marketing, you need to start by identifying your target market and understanding their needs. For any marketing message to be compelling, it must go beyond the rational, logical thinking and strike the right emotional chord. People buy with their emotions and only after, do they justify their purchase with logic. So before you start rattling off a bunch of benefits or facts, ask yourself, "so what?" Put yourself in their shoes. What does it mean to them specifically and how will it benefit them?
Likewise, good sales start by understanding your customers. Typically, far too much emphasis is put on the product, and far too little on the person doing the buying. What are their hot buttons, their core emotional desires?
Seven Reasons People Buy
Your marketing and sales start with what your customer wants.If you know what people want, then you're 90 percent of the way there.
You have to research what people want. How do you do that research?
Talk to people one-on-one. Listen to the requests they make, the questions they ask and their complaints.
Look at the information they make public on forums, blogs and other social media. These are a goldmine of information about what people want.
Supplement your research with an understanding of the 7 reasons people buy:
1. Make money
2. Save money
3. Save time
4. Save effort
5. Improve health
6. Increase pleasure
7. Elminate pain
Why Don't People Buy from You?
In most cases, negative emotions are a lot more powerful than positive emotions. Too often, sales focuses on why people should buy from you vs. why people don't buy from you.There are typically four reasons people won't buy from you.
1. They don't know you
2. They don't want what you're selling
3. They don't want what you're selling more than what they would have to give up to get it
4. They don't believe you
Make their concerns and doubts the focus of your attention first.
Be honest, upfront and straightforward with people. Not only will this earn trust, but it will allow you to differentiate yourself. The bigger you make your claims, the more you blend in with everyone else. Tone down your claims and show genuine concern for people's interests. Its a win-win solution.
Take Action Now to Transform Your Business Results
If you haven't found your niche, then you are wasting you will not be successful at either sales or marketing! Get your FREE report Ten Steps to Finding and Attracting Your Ideal Niche for a step-by-step guide that will give you the strategic focus you need to succeed. More Great Information on Marketing Segmentation and the Consultative Approach
The Difference Between Sales and Marketing - Lessons from the Corporate World
Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, describes how to blend sales and marketing for optimum results.
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COUNTRYLUTHIER
Sep 26, 2011 @ 10:38 pm | delete
- Nice tips for those of us color blind to sales and marketing nuances. Thanks for including this as a lens.
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Sep 9, 2011 @ 11:55 am | delete
- cindyschulson, great onsights on marketing and sales!
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ksrpraj
Jan 2, 2011 @ 3:25 am | delete
- Wow a wonderful idea of do's and don'ts in sales and marketing. Liked the lens and topped the lens. Will be sharing the lens in my site http://www.sriramsoftware.soon
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javrsmith Nov 7, 2010 @ 8:46 pm | delete
- I'm going to forward this to a few people I know. Thanks!
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Sep 4, 2010 @ 4:33 am | delete
- Thumbs up!
Great lens... very informative. Thanks for the good read.
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cindyschulson Mar 2, 2009 @ 2:49 pm | in reply to Cheryl Lydston | delete
- Thank you Cherly. It's funny because sales is often perceived as a "bad word" while marketing isn't. The truth is, any businessperson or entrepreneur must learn both. I appreciate your feedback. cheers!
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cindyschulson Mar 2, 2009 @ 2:49 pm | in reply to Cheryl Lydston | delete
- Thank you Cherly. It's funny because sales is often perceived as a "bad word" while marketing isn't. The truth is, any businessperson or entrepreneur must learn both. I appreciate your feedback. cheers!
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Cheryl Lydston
Feb 23, 2009 @ 7:17 pm | delete
- Cindy, This is a great article. People often think sales and marketing are interchangeable - you give concise information about the differences. The video also adds value as well. I really enjoyed reading this! Thanks
Cheryl
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cindyschulson Feb 23, 2009 @ 12:51 am | delete
- Many thanks for all your kind feedback. This was one of the first lenses I wrote, and I appreciate that it resonated with marketers from the networking marketing industry and other arenas.
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Dena
Sep 28, 2008 @ 11:55 am | delete
- Cindy, this is a great take on sales and marketing, how they differ and how the work together.
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by cindyschulson
cindyschulson
Cindy Schulson helps solo entrepreneurs identify and attract their ideal niche so they can market themselves effectively and authentically. Read her free... more »
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