Sell or Die. (Chapter 1)
You're here because you have to be.
This post is part of a complete, open-source resource document called Marketing For People Who Hate Marketing.
You’re here because you have to be.
You don’t like sales, you don’t like marketing, you don’t like any of it. You may even already have a great product or you may already be doing a great service for the community, but you’ve realized that your hard work will be for nothing if you can’t put it in front of more eyeballs. In fact, you may even realize that if you don’t figure out how to market your work, your entire mission might die.
Before we get into Google Adwords, podcasts, newsletters, Facebook Ads, or how to use Eventbrite, we need to address this very important issue: you don’t like sales.
It’s true and it’s okay. No one really does. Why?
When we think of the word “sales,” we also think of words like “pushy” and “con-artist.” We think that in order to be successful, we also have to bend the truth, speak only in superlatives, or pressure someone to do something they’re not ready to do.
The best example is the used car salesperson. The reason the used car salesperson is such a great example is because most of us don’t know enough about cars to challenge them on any of their claims. We have to trust what they’re saying is true and that they’re not omitting any critical details. This, of course, creates some serious anxiety, because cars are expensive and the feeling in our guts just isn’t going away. The used car salesperson is, for most of us, in a position of unaccountable power, which creates a whole number of problems. One of which, is that we learn to distrust salespeople because
The bottom line:
Most of what we’ve been taught about sales is wrong. Most of what we’ve learned from salespeople is wrong–and sometimes criminal.
You don’t have to be pushy. You don’t have to bend the truth. You can keep your values and integrity and still tell others about your work–and feel good about it!
Marketing vs. Manipulation
In order to start feeling good about marketing your work, we first have to define it. Marketing is what helps people find things they’re looking for. Manipulation is an attempt to convince someone they will be happy with something that they don’t need.
Did you see Wolf of Wall Street? Glengarry Glen Ross? It’s full of pushers. People who interrupt you to tell you about what they want to sell. Then, they tell you how much you need it. They pressure you and you almost want to give them the money just so they’ll go away. This is how we’ve seen the role of the salesperson--but that’s not what it’s all about. That’s bad, slimy, unsustainable sales.
Good, sustainable sales is a mutual exchange of value. As a salesperson, my job is you-centric. It’s all about you, the client, the customer, or the attendee. It’s never about my quota or timeline. You can only help someone solve a problem by listening and understanding their problem--then you can start the collaborative process of solving it. And maybe, when you’re done, you actually have the solution.
Trust
The main thing missing from ineffective marketing or sales campaigns is trust.
Remember the used car salesperson example? Most of us don’t really understand cars that well. When we go to the mechanic, we have to trust that they will not only diagnose the problem successfully, but also recommend a viable solution. On top of that, we have to trust that the work they did, the solution they proposed, and the price of the whole ordeal is correct and fair.
Since most of us don’t know much about cars, we have to just hope that they’re being honest. Sure, we can go down the rabbit hole of Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews to try to get a proxy for trust, but we know that businesses can pay to appear at the top of those sites, now. We really are at the mercy of the garage.
Trust is important because it not only creates new business, but it makes the buyer feel good. When a client is confident in your work or product, they will be happy with the price you charge because they understand and appreciate the value you provided. All decisions, even in business, come from emotional experiences. We trust people based on how we feel about them. How we feel about them can only change with experience and time.
The amount of trust required varies from business to business and market to market. If you’re selling me a $15 iPhone case on the internet, I only need a relatively small amount of trust to buy it from you. I probably want to know that you have good customer reviews, that you have a return policy, and that your payment portal is secure and protected in some way. Paypal has become the solution for this problem for many online businesses. We only have to trust Paypal once to know it’s legit. After that, any site using Paypal will make us feel more confident in our purchase.
On the other hand, if you’re trying to sell me a 6-figure, multi-year contract for a custom web application where I’m a government agency with lots of security parameters and strict privacy requirements, well, that’s going to take more than a digital badge on your website.
Stop trying to be a Master Negotiator.
Let’s start with the “startup pitch” as an example. There’s this strange belief among new founders about how their startup “pitch” is going to work.
Here’s how most new founders think it’ll go:
The idea is that I tell you my startup concept and how amazing it’s going to be with my master presentation skills.
Then you decide that it is, in fact, amazing, and you pull out your wallet.
Then, I convince you that it’s really worth a lot of money with my master negotiation skills.
You are hypnotized by my pitch trance and agree to invest a gajillion dollars.
Obviously, this isn’t at all how it happens.
What actually happens in a pitch is this:
The entrepreneur is expecting a 60 minute meeting because that’s what the investor agreed to.
They set up their laptop and projector extra early to make sure everything will go smoothly.
The investor comes in and says “hey, unfortunately, I only have 10 minutes, whaddya got for me?”
Gulp. All of a sudden, the plan has to change. And the pressure is on because the entrepreneur thought they’d be able to have time to use their master negotiation skills.
What the entrepreneur doesn’t realize is that the purpose of this meeting isn’t to get a deal. The purpose of the meeting is to start a conversation around a concept that the investor might want to ask deeper questions about. The investor needs time to ask questions, consider the project’s worth, and develop feelings about what might happen in the future. They also need time to develop a relationship with the entrepreneur so that they can . . . TRUST business will be handled in alignment with their own values.
It’s the same in the startup world as in the sales and marketing worlds. Your job isn’t to present all the right information and use your master negotiation skills to win deals ahead of your competition. Your job is often to start the conversation and continue to ask questions and see where you can best be helpful. That’s it.
Negotiation is not adversarial. Good negotiation is the conversation that develops the trust required for a collaborative solution.
There’s this lie among marketers that if we use the right words, in the right order, the human brain will react in precisely the way we want it to. There are formulas and formats and templates and all kinds of techniques for this. Negotiation is not trickery. Negotiation is the process of figuring out a win/win situation.
If you find yourself working with people who believe that life is a zero-sum game (which is the idea that there can only be winners if there are losers), you need to find new business partners.
Bring value first
In most situations, the way to gain trust through marketing is by doing something valuable first. It can be low cost to you, that’s okay, but it has to be actually valuable to someone else. You know those swag bags you get at conferences? Yeah, that’s cheap marketing.
A better example would be sponsoring an ad-less playlist on Spotify. If you know your audience is on Spotify and you want to run ads, you will have much better success making potential buyers feel good about you if you “sponsor this ad-free playlist” than if you interrupt the playlist with your ad.
Sneak peek:
We’re going to talk about this later on, but this is a perfect example of standing out among a sea of look-alikes with an “anti-ad.” You’ve gone against the grain by figuring out what the customer actually wants: no interruptive ads. And you gave it to them!
By bringing value to others first, you’ve done a few things. First, you’ve supported the community of people with whom you’re going to be doing business. Second, you’ve taken a risk by making an investment where you don’t get to control the outcome.
Now I’m going to say something that makes lots of slimy sales people squirm in their seats:
Marketing, sales, advertising, PR, and all other approaches require you to take some risk.
There is no guarantee of anything–even if there’s a technique you’ve been successful with in the past, no one can predict the future. So, please, beware of the person who promises that they can get you results with their “tried and true” method. They may have a track record of success, but it will end eventually, just like everything else. Before starting any approach, you have to understand and accept the risk. If you don’t trust the people on the project, you can bet it’ll fail.
In order to bring value first, you need to take some risks. One of the first things you’ll have to do when designing a marketing plan is figure out what risks you are willing and able to take at this stage in your business. You might not be able to afford digital ads or a fancy marketing agency. That’s fine. There are options for you, where you are–I promise–but you’re going to have to start bringing value one way or another.
No, sorry, your product is not for everyone.
One of the biggest, first mistakes that new marketers make is thinking “hey, we sell coffee and chocolate, our product is for everyone!” Or “hey, it’s so great that we sell lightbulbs, because our product is for everyone!”
Unfortunately, it’s really, really not.
Normally, when I say this, the first reaction I get is “okay, we get it, our coffee isn’t for people who don’t like coffee. We just think it’s for everyone else.”
And unfortunately, this is still wrong.
Apple computers aren’t for everyone. Yes, they’re computers, which anyone can technically use, but they are designed around a specific kind of user. A user who is focused on creating art, challenging the status quo, and who believes that design shouldn’t just be for architecture. Apple computers are for people who want to pay more to have a computer that manages files for them, will plug and play more easily, and allows the user to do what they bought the computer to do–instead of downloading drivers and messing with settings. This means Apple computers are certainly not for users who do work that requires lots of customization and modifications to the computer. It means that Apple computers are also not for people on a shoestring budget or who don’t care what the machine looks or feels like when they interact with it, since they don’t use it that often.
Here’s another example:
Starbucks coffee isn’t for everyone. In order to make all their coffee taste the same, Starbucks roasts all of their beans just a little too much. This means the nuances in flavor are burned away and they’re left with a consistent flavor that is still miles above a diner, drive-by donut shop, or any other coffee house that serves Folgers all day. This compromise in flavor allows caffeine addicts to know that every Venti Americano will be exactly the same, no matter if they’re waiting for a flight at EWR or if they’re outside Pike St. Market in Seattle. Starbucks also knows that taking a risk on a new coffee shop is too big when their customers are in a rush, so they can charge a premium because it has the Starbucks logo on it. This consistency of product is how many fast food establishments begin their growth as well.
The bottom line:
Your job is not to sell to everyone, that’s impossible. Your job is to understand who your customer truly is and why they need what you have. Most of the time, we miss the little things that turn out to be the big things–and unfortunately, your customer often won’t know the true reason. They will lie to you without knowing they’re lying.
This is one of the most important, unintuitive truths about marketing.
Chapter 1 Recap:
If you don’t figure out a way to feel good about marketing your work, your mission will die.
The way you’re thinking about sales is wrong. It’s 100% possible to market your work and feel good about it.
Marketing is helping people buy things they want. Manipulation is tricking someone into buying something they later regret.
Sales is built on trust. People decide things based on how they feel.
Negotiation is a collaborative problem solving conversation, not a win/lose scenario.
Your product isn’t for everyone. Your job is first to understand your customer.
This post is part of a complete, open-source resource document called Marketing For People Who Hate Marketing.
NEXT UP - Chapter 2 - Define Your Terms
We define some terms so that we can talk about which approach is right for you.
What is Antipattern Media?
Antipattern Media is a creative agency the helps social-impact driven businesses grow their triple bottom line.
We believe in “mixed martial media,” which is the use unconventional, multidisciplinary techniques from old school direct response marketing to guerrilla marketing to community development to modern digital advertising.
Unlike most creative agencies, we combine outside-the-box thinking with real, measurable outcomes you can trust, like “return on ad spend” (ROAS).
Ways to engage us:
Diagnostic Report & Roadmap - We’ll run our multi-point diagnostic and provide you with a roadmap for growth.
Fixed Scope Project - We’ll scope a project with a specific outcome to a deadline and budget that works.
Retainer - After we run the diagnostic and create your custom roadmap, we’ll execute for you. We will be the functioning marketing arm of your business.
Engage with Antipattern Media: