Internal Business Partners:
Marketing and Sales
Every business needs sales to survive. Sales need marketing to attract and engage potential customers so they can be converted from lurkers to paying customers. This is a fact for every business.
Your business is no different.
Do sales happen without marketing? It is possible, but not probable!
We’re going to help you distinguish the difference between marketing and sales. Then, we’ll share how these activities help improve your business’s performance and ultimately generate revenue.
Making Money in a Small Business
Generating revenue is fundamentally scientific. It is validated through statistics.
In-person business usually has a sequence like this:
You see X number of people – X number who aren’t serious – X number who aren’t ready to purchase + X number who are ready to buy = Sale
Online business usually has a sequence like this:
X number of people see your offer – X number aren’t serious – X number who aren’t ready to purchase + X number who are ready to buy = Sale
Did you notice the difference? It’s simple. It’s the first step: you saw them in person or they saw your offer online. Everything else is the same.
The only difference in these two examples is the approach. Regardless of its oversimplification, the above process is always the same.
A sales sequence, or system, is always the key to any successful revenue stream.
Marketing Attraction
Marketing isn’t the same as sales. It’s all about promotion.
Marketing doesn’t create sales; it feeds sales. It creates visibility for many to see what you have for sale.
Simply stated, marketing feeds people to the first step in your sales sequence.
Many Small Business Owners who haven’t been in business for 15 or 20 years get marketing and sales confused. I understand why. If they came into business in the past 10 years, the marketing sequence has become more sophisticated and appears to look like it’s sales. It is not.
A-HA!: Technology has created a great shift in adding steps to our marketing process, which now qualifies leads for sales. In the past, this was always part of the sales sequence. Now qualifying potential customers happens in the marketing and sales process.
Marketing is about gaining great visibility to your offering. In the 21st century online business approach, it also includes qualifying a candidate through a marketing sequence. Why? To ensure that when a salesperson or Small Business Owner approaches a potential customer, they aren’t wasting any time because they are working with hot leads instead of lukewarm leads.
Sales Sequence
In the oversimplified version of a sales sequence I shared above, you may have noticed how it is a deductive process. In sales you keep deducting all the visitors or lurkers to get to those who are ready to make a purchase—today.
This process isn’t new. It really hasn’t changed.
What has changed? Since the internet came online, customers are more knowledgeable and have conducted their homework before they show up announcing that they are interested in your offering. In other words: Potential customers are educated and know what they do and don’t want. The day of the sales schmooze is over.
Effectively Melding Marketing and Sales
Marketing is the first step. It creates visibility by pulling from the masses. Sales is where you capture your customers’ money.
NOTE: 21st century businesses are designed to have a marketing process “court” potential customers through the know, like, and trust phase of the relationship building so customers purchase when they are ready.
Some of today’s businesses are quite sophisticated and have seamlessly provided a sales and marketing process in one swoop! They don’t confuse if they are in a marketing or sales phase of the process, but they are making this into one continuous process. If done well, most people don’t realize they are in a good process.
Marketing and Sales Action Item
Marketing and sales are a different process; however, they are partners. The two need each other.
Your business needs you to understand the difference and how they are coupled together. Once you understand and improve each step of how you generate revenue, your business’s success rate will skyrocket!
If you want a great cheat sheet of how this is done extremely well in the 21st century, read Kelly E. Andrew’s chapter in “Brilliant Breakthroughs for the Small Business Owner – Volume 2.” Kelly is a master at doing this well. I’ve never seen a better way of explaining, guiding, and providing tips on how this is done effectively.
It’s simple: Get the book and follow what Kelly shares. Bonus: You’ll get to read what seven other experts share about winning big in small business! Enjoy creating your brilliant business.
Feel free to ask any questions or make any comments you have regarding your business’s strategy to generate revenue.
Brilliant Breakthroughs, Inc.
Making it possible to Simplify, Transform,
& Optimize Small Business Success!
For a 40 minute no-cost consultation,
go to: Let’s Shine Brighter!
Maggie Mongan, #1 Bestselling Business Author
Master Business Coach & Trainer
Brilliant Breakthroughs, Inc.
Direct Dial: 262-716-7750
LinkedIn: MaggieMongan
P.S.: Create brilliant outcomes through making better decisions in real-time.
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