It is certainly true that a pushy salesperson sells. Anyone who has bought razors, socks, or even phone directory listings over the phone knows this. Sales does not have to be pushy, however—there are other types of really good salespeople who do not chase you constantly. Today, we are going to talk about marketing that is not pushy.
Like a vacuum cleaner salesperson, it follows you on the subway, on the radio, and on TV—advertising is constantly present. It does not matter whether you are Skyping or reading the morning paper; it is always there, nagging. Nagging is, after all, the traditional weapon of marketing. Through nagging about diapers or sale items, hammering in beer slogans or ICA-Jerry, you are meant to be persuaded to choose the right product. This is how things have been sold in the past—not by us personally, but by the business world as a whole. This is particularly exhausting for company executives; the sheer number of salespeople calling is such that even genuinely good products are routinely turned down.
After a few shorter experiments, we at Brath have completely opted out of outbound sales. We do not call anyone who has not asked us to. There are several reasons for this, but it is not a moral stance, as one might be led to believe. It is a business decision—it gives us less than our other efforts. Our customers either come to our site from search engines or via recommendations from other satisfied customers. That may sound like slow progress? We are probably growing the fastest in the industry, so one can apparently do just fine without a corps of cold callers.
Marketing does not have to be intrusive either. If, instead of trying to force yourself on your customer in the middle of dinner, you choose to be there when she is looking for exactly your product, you have already won a great deal. If you are also the one who is most visible when customers are searching, you will make money. Stop intruding and be welcoming instead—at least give it a try.
PS.
I would like to end with a thought. If online phone directories are as incredibly good as they try to make them seem, why do the directory companies not just list themselves and let the customers come flooding in?
