If two equally skilled entrepreneurs start a business, why does one build quickly and the other is thinking about quitting? Maybe because one understands that hope is not a good strategy by itself.

An entrepreneur will always be held accountable for the risks they take and the outcomes. And, this isn’t just in starting a new business; it can be a new career path that you choose.

As a business coach and consultant who works primarily with entrepreneurs, and ministries, revamping their approach to selling and marketing, there is one challenge that I have experienced and often see in others’ endeavors. The problem is defining what is responsible for the marketing, what is a sales funnel, and what to do about advertising.

– Most entrepreneurs, and ministries, have their goals, a vision, and all the right things to be successful – except for sales and marketing systems. These systems may seem unimportant, at first. And, then the challenge becomes more like what areas do we sell in and where to do marketing – oh – and what information is needed for this. Such as:

• brand development
• copy writing
• advertising
• websites
• graphic design
• SEO (search engine optimization)
• Social Marketing, and on it can go.

The typical entrepreneur, and ministry, may just not be sure how to ask for the help they need in these areas. And, most don’t even have the time to think about doing anything more. Sure there are specialty businesses that can help with each area – but, once you put together the information with their help – where is the coordination of:

1. Does it appeal to the customer in all areas of marketing?
2. Does the customer understand, through our graphic designs and copy writing that we can help them?
3. Is the customer’s problem being understood and the solution being explained?
4. Do we look self-centered, confusing, or irrelevant to our clients?

As you answer these questions – think about how you could proceed to expand your growth and income.

1. Change from busy work to focusing on outcomes (This is something most of us need!)

2. Structure is not a common term used for the creative types – but, remember an artist needs marketing, selling, and business skills to get known. So, structuring your communications to your customers will need to be clear and specific enough for them get what you are doing for them and also, clear enough for you to follow on a regular basis (a system). Oh, did I mention clear for SEO?

3. Don’t rely on hope and guesswork – Get clear on your business goals, sales goals and marketing objectives. Write out steps that will become systems of success.

Example: Sales goal – $6000/month – how many products need to sale to reach sales goal: 2 products – how many customers do I need to contact each month to sell 2 products: 100. Then find out how you will find those customers and put another system into place to follow through. This is one of the business achievements that I coach on – it is a very successful effort. But you have to make it work – how – by getting it started and making it a routine – it will become your system.

Systems of selling and marketing keep the marketing rolling – not just for one program.

- How can a business find the substance in customer solutions, keyword search relevance, competitive research, hassle-free purchase processes, etc. The goal of marketing and sales is to generate sales from clients as a profit. And, we might want to look at different types of marketing with lower costs of sales – and those that bring in more sales.

If this is a bit overwhelming – why do you think people work with a business coach? People will invest in coaching to develop and refine new skills and behaviors, when: they are tired of dealing with a recurring problem, they want their business to grow more quickly and profitably, and so much more.

Get going and do the research by yourself, or get a fresh perspective on your challenges, with a business coach, and increase confidence with appreciable results in your goals and work productivity.

So what’s your next step? It’s to make use of someone who can show you how to move from where you are to where you want to be.

Here’s the #1 secret to sales and marketing: No matter what veneer we put on it, there is only one reason in the whole world that anybody buys anything. Master that concept and rule the world. I’m working on it – join me.

So here it is: the only reason that anybody buys anything is to feel relatively good. It sounds almost too simple right? Read on…

I call this the Tao of sales and marketing because, like the Taoist model of the universe, first there is nothing, then the one thing, then two things, then 10,000 things. The one thing in my model is the idea of wanting to feel relatively good.

Wanting to feel relatively good gives rise to two things – seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. From those two impulses we get our 10,000 made-up reasons for buying stuff.

Every time I talk about this, I make some people uncomfortable. Some like to believe that all their purchases are rational. Of course they are frequently the ones buying cars and houses they can’t afford. People are great at rationalizing everything. Rationalizing is another thing we do to make ourselves feel good.

Brain scan research shows us that every single decision we make starts out in the emotional center of the brain. Even very simple decisions start as a feeling. Then, we rationalize by moving through the logical centers of the brain. Honestly, if people made decisions rationally would we have wars, drug abuse, or karaoke? Probably not.

My wife and I bought a house right after we got married. The price was good, in a good neighborhood, and I knew that the equity would grow fast. But the real reasons we bought were more emotional. It made us feel like we were really married to own a house. I feel better paying mortgage than paying rent. I have a greater sense of ownership of my home than I ever did with an apartment. It may have made logical sense to buy the house, but logic is not enough to get somebody to buy.

A critical part of the Tao of sales and marketing is the phrase, “relatively good”. You might just say, “better”. We can’t always make somebody feel truly good. However we might be able to take away some of their emotional pain. This is a gigantic motivator for people. Here’s a Marketing Comet Principle: The cure to any ill will always outsell the prevention.

How much could you get for a carton of orange juice on a ship of people afflicted with scurvy? Probably you could become the richest person on the ship. However, I don’t think you’re going to increase the perceived value of orange juice at your grocery store by slapping up a sign that reads, “prevent scurvy!” Not too many people in America feel the pains of scurvy and would be willing to give up their life savings to get a carton of juice.

How to use this in your sales or marketing efforts:

There are many ways to use this principle, here are a few:

1. Make people happy when they do business with you.

2. Find out what people’s most painful problem is and offer to solve it.

3. Persuade with emotion, and give them logic to rationalize with

4. Pay attention to the emotional impact of your marketing materials

5. Communicate with people in ways that make them more comfortable

Sales and marketing are ultimately about engineering emotion and state of mind – getting people emotionally ready to buy.

J D Moore – Marketing Comet

Copyright 2005 Marketing Comet

I hate sales and marketing. But in fact, I love them too. My theory is that 99% of entrepreneurs and business owners feel the same way.

Let’s talk about this funny phenomenon. If anything about your business involves these two activities, I think you’ll find it to be very freeing to understand your gut feelings about them and find a new m.o.

Why? Because what you feel about marketing your service or product affects your success. I see this all the time with my clients, whether they are business owners or health professionals. They are often afraid to promote and sell. They fear being perceived as pushy. And this holds them back.

Trepidations about sales and marketing are understandable. Promotion of any kind can be so icky, can’t it? But it doesn’t have to be.

Think about this for a moment: almost everything you do in your business involves sales and marketing. There. It had to be said.

Are any of the following techniques a part of your regular business activities? Each of these is a marketing or sales strategy.

• Writing and emailing a business newsletter
• Running a special or offering a discount
• Asking a client how you can help them
• Writing a blog post about your market niche
• Asking a question on your Facebook business page
• Clicking “Like” on the Facebook page of a business that could send you clients
• Starting or participating in a discussion in a LinkedIn group
• Conversing on Twitter
• Publishing a press release
• Following up with a past client
• Asking for a testimonial from someone you worked with
• Requesting a referral
• Offering a free report to your site visitors who sign up for your newsletter
• Asking whether your client would like to pay with a credit card or PayPal

Okay I threw that last one in there because most of the other items in the list are in the marketing category. But at some point, we all must ask for the sale. There are many ways to do this, and of course it depends upon whether the sale is occurring online, in an office or store, or over the phone. Fear of asking for the sale, though, is a show stopper. No sales equals no business.

The secret, in my book, with each and every marketing and sales activity you participate in, is integrity. If you love your work, and you can make great things happen for your clients, operating from integrity is easy. You simply engage with your clients, learn about their needs, and offer something that can solve their problems. It could be guidance. It could be a product or service. Closing the sale is simply the last step.

Marketing and Sales Strategy Today

You do need a marketing plan and sales strategy if you’re in business. Many volumes have been written about marketing methodology and sales strategy, and if you are in business I recommend reading marketing articles and books written within the last year. Why? Because the game has changed. The activities are essentially the same, but the methodologies have evolved.

What caused the recent, rapid evolution of sales and marketing strategies? Very simply:

1. A down economy in which people are more discerning with their dollars;
2. The blossoming of social media.

Sales and marketing today are about authenticity, integrity and engagement. As a business owner, you must be willing to learn the rules of engagement, to show up with authenticity and integrity, and to get into the game with social media, carry on conversations, share information, and create lasting relationships based on trust.

Your sales and marketing strategy today must include learning and mastering inbound marketing, utilizing the power of Facebook for business, and creating a content strategy that helps to tastefully build awareness of your brand and help those looking for your services to find you. When you are doing these activities regularly and with integrity, the clients come to you.