Inspiration. Motivation. We all need it.
I think sales and marketing professionals need it more than most.
Rejection is part of our job description. For every successful campaign or closed sale, there are dozens of unanswered calls, failed ads and rude responses.
But we don’t do this for the accolades. We do it because our product or service actually helps our customers.
Don’t forget that.
When I'm in need of a quick boost, these are my favourite quotes to pull up.
"Your culture is your brand."
Tony Hsieh
You might be selling to other businesses, but they’re still people. And people connect with people. Your company culture – that is, the way your people interact with one another and with your customers – is as important as your product knowledge is to making that connection.
Company culture can differentiate you from your competitors, too, and give customers a reason to buy from you. It makes your entire staff – from sales people to customer support – relatable and memorable.
Show that culture in every interaction to boost your authenticity and connect on a human level with your buyers. No opportunity is too small, here. The tone you use to respond to customer support requests, the notes you include with customer orders, the attitude you have when following up with debtors – these are all opportunities to showcase your brand’s culture and make a personal connection.
And if you’re an employer, you have an even bigger responsibility within your company culture. How you treat your employees directly affects how your employees treat your customers.
"Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart."
Joe Chernov
Marketing isn’t about you. It’s about your customer.
Great marketing builds bridges, strengthens relationships and fosters loyalty because it serves your customers. It educates them, informs them and entertains them – but most importantly, it connects with them where they are.
Great marketing doesn’t actually challenge a buyer’s beliefs. It reinforces them. This is where many marketers fail. Your customers are smart, experienced and have industry knowledge that you don’t. Respect that. Create marketing and sales content that actually helps them in their everyday lives, and they’ll repay you with attention.
“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.”
Frank Ocean
Whether you’re a salesperson or a marketer, the results you get for your customers are the only things that matter.
Not your last sale.
Not the fact that your blog post went viral.
Because when you help your customers, they remember. They tell others. They become loyal. And your job gets a lot easier.
I see this all the time from salespeople and marketers – and I’ve made the mistake in past sales conversations, myself: puffing chests. We talk about how successful we are. We act like we know everything about everything. And the result is … missed quotas. Failed campaigns.
Because we haven’t actually helped anyone.
Keep the chest-puffing to a minimum. Your product or service is designed to help your customers. Your job is to facilitate that.
“Treat your customers like they own you because they do.”
Mark Cuban
This is a painful one for many people. But it’s the quote that we live by here at Showcase Workshop.
Your job, your company, your ability to pay wages – this is all because of your customers.
When I hear companies talking about customer-facing initiatives being too expensive or not scaling, I know they’re not focused on the most important thing. The customer is always the most important thing. For any business, anywhere.
Putting your customers’ interests first isn’t always easy. Or cheap. But it pays off in spades. It magnetizes your business.
This is why we have a 24-hour guaranteed response rate for helpdesk emails. It’s why you can always call us on the phone and get a real, live person. These things matter to our customers, so they matter to us.
What matters to your customers?
“The best marketing doesn't feel like marketing.”
Tom Fishburne
There’s a reason why some people watch the Super Bowl solely for the commercials.
Or why Hasbro, the makers of the Chewbacca mask made famous by “happy Chewbacca” lady Candace Payne, went out of their way to thank her for her viral video.
Because believe it or not, those are experiences. Well-done Super Bowl commercials are like enjoyable mini-films or hilarious skits. The “happy Chewbacca” video was a simple expression of immense joy that was absolutely contagious.
Sure, those things drove sales. But it wasn’t because the product was so compelling. It was because the story was so good, the experience was so enjoyable and the interaction with the brand was so gratifying.
“Good marketers see consumers as complete human beings with all the dimensions real people have.”
Jonah Sachs
Your buyers aren’t nameless, faceless beings. They’re real people, with real lives, real desires and real needs.
This is why a robust buyer persona can be so helpful to sales and marketing teams. Because it brings the buyer to life. Salespeople can envision the person on the other end of the line. Marketers can create content for a specific person that actually works for most of their target buyers.
The way to your customers’ hearts is through understanding their lives. Why they do the work they do, who they go home to at night, how they got their education and experience.
Your customer is not just a credit card. They’re a 3-dimensional human being, and all of your sales and marketing efforts should be founded on that.
Feeling more motivated and inspired, now? I sure am!