Popular Sales Myths

Chapter 2: Popular Sales Myths

Firstly, we will tackle a couple of sales myths and how we should change our mindset by dispelling these false ideas from our minds.

The Best Products Don’t SELL Themselves!

Just because you have the best product in the world doesn’t guarantee that you will be rich.

Maybe you have heard of this term: build a better mousetrap, and the world will build a path to your doorstep.

We believe it rings true, because several decades ago, there really weren’t many products around. Yes it is true that there are inventions like the light bulb or the discovery of electricity, but there really weren’t much competition for the Nobel Prize (if you get what we mean). Technology hasn’t reach the stage where innovation and ingenuity is conceptualized at today’s speed.

When the term was coined, there weren’t many ‘better’ mousetraps around.

Today in the 21st century, better mousetraps are built on a daily basis. Just because you have a better product, doesn’t mean that the product will automatically sell itself and make you rich!

In the past, people weren’t swamped with tons of advertising. Anything new or better was easily noticed by the masses because there wasn’t much competition.

Today, if you have a better vacuum cleaner, insurance plan or even a car that can fly, you are fighting an uphill battle against the masses of advertising campaign and customer skepticism that it will take more than a few satisfied customers to make you rich.

You will need to get the word out to the people. You can’t just sit still – you need to focus on constant education. You need to convey the benefits of your new product in such a way that people will want to buy YOUR brand over the other 24,197 competitors out there.

The most important of all, you must learn to stand out! Show them that you are different, better and extraordinary. You must have a unique selling point and you must tell the masses all about it.

Do whatever it takes to ‘shock’ your audience and give them something to remember. There are many ways to make money today but any industry that is profitable will attract many other competitors into the market.

For example:

If you are in network marketing, it doesn’t help if you keep on talking about how good your network marketing company is. It doesn’t matter how great their product is or how well is the company’s background.

If you are with a good company, they probably know how good your company is. But the key question is this – if we wanted to start a network marketing business, why should we join YOU and not the charismatic leader on stage with a thousand downlines in his team? In other words, what can YOU offer that will set you apart from the others? (Remember, people join YOU, not just the company!)

• Is It Cold In Here?

Have you heard of the word – ‘cold calling’? Have you ever wondered why people coined the term ‘cold calling’? Because you will most probably receive a ‘chilly’ response on the other side!

Let’s be totally honest with ourselves here. You don’t like to receive a call from a stranger (unless you are extraordinarily friendly or if they inform you that you’ve just won the lottery). Nobody likes to receive a call from a stranger – especially one who is trying to sell you something.

You can be sure, it isn’t always about the numbers.

Cold calling is one of the most ineffective ways to ‘market’ a product – by intruding into the privacy of a prospect that isn’t too keen on receiving your call. You will also need to overcome tremendous resistance and have nerves of steel (to withstand the rejection). It does nothing to educate the customer about your product and you won’t get very far with your sales force.

In the 21st century, the seller doesn’t go to the buyer – the buyer finds the seller and the ball SHOULD be on the seller’s court. If the buyer is the dictator, they will look down on the seller and it becomes very difficult to communicate the benefits of the product because they don’t have an open mind!

People prefer to seek out their own merchants. All they need to do is switch on Google and type a few words into that little box. They don’t need a salesman to call them up during their dinnertime to tell them how their latest lawnmower will change their life!

• Seeing People… Does It Work?

If you join certain sales organizations or network marketing companies, they will keep telling you to, “See the people, see the people”. However, do you have the slightest guest at how the other party feels about them? Put yourselves in their shoes.

If you are a salesman and you are driving all over town trying to meet up with all your prospects during lunch then you are probably frustrated with getting stood up or meeting up with unenthusiastic clients who are not too happy to see you to begin with.

Just like cold calling, cold contacting these prospects is not the best way to communicate value to them even if it is done face to face. Once again, you are going to them and they are not coming to you.

A lot of network marketing reps run all over town trying to ‘show the plan’ to their prospects, only to result in rejection or an unenthusiastic response.

They think just because they get time in front of their prospects, they will become millionaires if they do it over and over again.

You see, it is hard because the customer doesn’t perceive you as an expert and will not respect you as one. The customer is also not as educated about your product or service; therefore you will be facing an uphill battle to win their attention. Sometimes you may be very nervous because they are in command, and you are not! You might even become worried about your running cost and your ‘conversion’ rate because you have to spend a lot of time going through the no’s before you get to a yes!

Marketing is not sales. ‘Sales’ is not marketing. Don’t confuse the two! Trying to start a business without proper marketing techniques will lead to frustration and failure!

• Advertising Spamming!

There are many out there who paste a whole bunch of flyers, brochures, name cards, sign boards and pointless advertising out there hoping to score some sales or get strangers to call them.

This is soooo… 90s (or even 80s).

Ask yourself this question… If an expert in Internet marketing decides to paste a sign board on top of a tree – do you think his prospects will respect him if they see that sign? Definitely not! Neither would your prospects respect you if you do the same!

It is also pointless to put name cards or flyers all over town hoping that people would see your name card or your flyers and somehow, be impressed by it and call you up with a credit card in hand, ready to buy.

History has shown that any form of advertising without a proper way to track your sales only leads to ineffective marketing or worse – a waste of money!

Unless you are some sort of corporate giant like Coca Cola, advertising campaigns that do not solicit DIRECT RESPONSE is a surefire way to burn a hole in your wallet.

• Desperation Doesn’t Sell

Most sales people are too eager to pamper their customers in order to win over their business. They beg and cajole their customers to buy their products and services while the customer takes full advantage of their ‘need’ to please them only to reject their offer when they are done ‘using’ them.

Make no mistake about this. If you are willing to bend over backwards just to win over your customer, you are in for a disappointment if you put your customer too high up on a pedestal.

Neither would we respect a sales person who gives their phone number, fax number, e-mail address, pager or even their house address in an eager attempt to PROVE how good their customer service is in an attempt to score a sale!

Customers are not stupid. They know that the first thing they do after they sign on the dotted line is to run into a whole bunch of lazy customer service guys or an annoying call waiting song as they get you to hold the line.

If you want to be truly effective in your business, you must learn to separate the wheat and the chaff.

Not all prospects are quality customers and if you bend over backwards trying to please every single one of them, your business will suffer in the end. You would rather work with a few quality customers than to squeeze an unwilling prospect to part with their money, only to wind up with more customer support issues, complaints and bad word of mouth due to dissatisfaction!

• The REAL Truth about Giving Up

You will get this A LOT when you join network marketing companies (or in some sales training).

Picture this – you, a network marketing rep joins a company. They get you all riled up about financial freedom and loyalty to the people who brought them in that they will go all out to do the business!

Now don’t get us wrong…

There is nothing wrong with strong willed determination and one-track minded pursuit of success. It is commendable and essential for getting through the trials and tribulations of running your own business.

The problem surfaces not as a lack of determination but as a lack of feasibility. Some network marketing businesses (and many others in the real world) have a good system while others don’t. If the management isn’t doing their job or the team resorts to unethical or strong arm tactics, then it gives you a good reason to bail out – especially when you are NOT making money or you are building it at the expense of your loved ones and you are not paying your bills!

The worst thing is, some might even manipulate you into a guilt trip telling you that winners never quit and quitters never win!

Now, there are two ways you can look at this:

1. You do not listen to your upline or do what is necessary for success. You do nothing to improve yourself or your financial situation. Your business crumbles or you quit out of weakness or your inability to adapt. At the end of the day, you fail because you don’t want it bad enough. The fault is all yours and you deserve to fail.
2. You’ve followed the system, done everything in your power to improve, developed the success mindset and you are willing to succeed at all costs. In this case, you should quit as fast as you can and find a vehicle that will take you to success faster. After all, it is pointless to beat a dead horse (rather than you being the dead horse).

There is a fine line between the two above. The question is, which category do you CLEARLY fall into?

You have to be very clear about your career. It is very important to work hard, no doubt. But you must work smart as well! If you don’t work hard enough, you deserve to fail – it’s a fact of life! However, if you are already working hard, and you don’t see the results you want, then you MUST change your strategy. Don’t be a fool!