Marketing for Layman from a layman

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I have made my decision I’m not going to “Sell”. And my decision is Final. That was my notion about sales job. While I was doing my masters I was firm about not entering into "Sales Job”. I always believed that sales is a process involving two parties and even if you put your best foot forward still there is no assurance of “closing the deal”. I wanted to work independently and gain rewards for my own effort and my reward will not be linked to someone’s “agreement”.

My dream crashed when I ended up in the business what I dreaded the most. My indecision leads me to a sales job in a premier bank. The worst that could have ever happened at the start of my professional life. As they say “You can overcome fear only by doing things what scares you”. This happened to me unwillingly. It was God’s ploy to assist me in winning over my biggest anxiety.

I was struggling in the beginning because of my attitude towards my work. But gradually things started becoming clear. And I was gaining confidence everyday about the system. It made me realize that things aren’t as bad I thought as it would be. My small stint actually made me understand the system which I’m about to share.

Sales involve exchange of goods/services for a monetary consideration. Marketing is all other activity which supports the process of selling. A sale is a scientific process. It comprises a set of task to be performed to achieve a desired result. Marketing aids in facilitating the task to be performed. The steps in a sales process are as below:

Generating leads with the help of marketing effort
• Providing information about the product
• Negotiating the terms of sales
• Exchange of goods for a price

The process requires a focused effort on the part of an individual at every step to close the deal. Now let me explain it with a simple and an effective analogy. The sales process is like a marriage proposal. The steps are detailed below.

STEP 1: Generating leads

First you need to assign parameters for the person who you want as your life-partner (Segmenting). For e.g.: Ethnicity, profession, religion, caste, size etc. Similarly in a sales process you look for a market segment to position your product. Segment in a sales process can be based on geography, Income-class, profession, gender etc.

The following options are available to get leads for marriage, he/she post an add (advertisement), ask a friend for (references), visit matrimonial (intermediaries), ask a relative/friend (warm leads). Similarly, in sales process different marketing strategy is adopted to target different market segments.

Later, the prospective candidate is short-listed for further talks. Similarly, in a sales process, we shortlist prospective customers in the desired segment.

STEP 2: Providing information about the product

The subsequent step is communication. In case of marriage you provide your bio-data (Broachers & portfolio) or meet the prospective candidate (Direct marketing) to explore more about each other. In sales, you set-up an appointment to inform the client about the usability of your product/services with reference to the client needs. If both the parties are convinced, we move to the later stage. And if not the process fails and we restart from step 1.

STEP 3: Negotiating the terms of sales

Any condition prior to the closure needs to be discussed. Like in case of marriage the date, venue, place of stay and any other condition. In sales, the guarantee, paper-work, mode of delivery, time of delivery and any other condition. Once this stage is reached and both the parties have mutually agreed to the terms and condition, 90 % of the work is done. If the process fails after this point, it’s stupidity.

STEP 4: Exchange of goods for a price

On the day of the marriage every effort needs to be taken to ensure not to upset the other party. All promises made during the “talking-stage” needs to be adhered. In case of sales, the product is inspected, the agreement is signed and the actual delivery happens/promised.

The above is a gist of how marketing works. You can build on the same and think about finer point & nuances of a marriage and try to relate it with sales/marketing.

Marketing in Digital world

Internet is an alternate world where the traditional business is happening in web-form. The process primarily remains the same but the method changes. In years to come, every transaction will happen online and it’s always better to update ourselves with the future. It was believed that sales process is predominantly a complicated sequence of events. But when it’s simplified it can be mastered by any individual with basic intelligence. Initially people were reluctant to share their business secret. But today we realize unless we don’t share we don’t grow. New ideas and concepts are introduced in the process every day. And new people are adopting the digital medium to learn and earn. So why should you stay behind?

Internet is full of junk unless you know how to identify the right from the thrash. I value human mind and the power it has to judge right from wrong. If you find my article meaningful and worthy, I urge you to explore the vast world of online marketing.

Remember Google is not the answer to all your question/problem. Sometimes you need to take an extra effort to know the truth. Let me do the extra-effort and introduced you the “fail-proof” system of online business.
#layman #marketing #marketing and sales #marketing blog #online marketing articles #online marketing secrets
  • Profile picture of the author Warrior X
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