Your Most Effective Marketing Strategy
I grew up working in a pawnshop. I understand how merchandise is bought and sold. I worked in advertising (and owned my own agency) for 25 years. I saw what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve been a marketing consultant for a dozen years. I’ve gotten very close to clients and understand their frustration with the impact of marketing.
Marketing is a complicated dance which takes years to be effective. You need visibility. You need a differentiated product. You need a pricing strategy. You need great packaging. You need to work towards making your product or service a true brand.
I view the effort visually like an upside-down pyramid. You need to do all of these things all of the time, but the key to success is the point at the bottom of the pyramid. That’s where you or your representatives actually talk to a prospect. If you handle that interaction poorly, all of the marketing that led up to it is was wasted. If you handle it OK, business will be OK. If you handle it extremely well, you’ll need your own drive-in window at the bank.
To get that drive-in window you need to learn how to present effectively. It is your most powerful marketing skill. It is more important than advertising, location, and even pricing. It is not a coincidence that good presenters do well, run companies, and become President. But there's still hope for the bad presenters, too.
There are two kinds of bad presenters. One kind knows they are not good but write it off because they weren’t born with the “gift of gab”. They don’t try to improve because they believe it is fate. I bring good news to these lost souls. Making an effective presentation is like learning any new skill. If you have someone teach you how to stand, how to deliver, how to package your information, you can become a very good presenter.
The other kind of bad presenter thinks he is a great presenter. He never shuts up when making a pitch. He never listens to the prospect. He uses every cliche every created. Even if he occasionally wins business, he’s not winning nearly as much as he should. He just can’t face reality. Someone needs to step up and break the news to him.
Bad presenters need good trainers. Actually, we all need someone impartial to evaluate how we present and to make us better.
Change starts by recognizing the incredible importance of that point at the bottom of the pyramid and understanding that the ability to persuade people has more to do with you, and the way you speak, and the eye contact you have, and your posture and voice than it does with all of the other things that go into marketing.
Most importantly, change can happen because presenting well is just learning a new skill.
