Sept 24th, 4.30 PM – I was preparing for an interview, and Mr. Kethan (M.R.K) posed the most obvious question ever!
M.R.K: Have you ever attended a marketing interview, and uttered the word sales?
Me: Countless times!
M.R.K: And the interviewer jumps to “Tell me the difference between Sales & Marketing”?
Me: Yes, and we always had “pull and push” answer at the tip of our tongue!
M.R.K: Let me give you a new perspective today! You have been a student all your life, right? Have you ever fallen asleep in a boring class?
Me: I have done engineering and MBA!
M.R.K: Thanks! That answers my question. So, now imagine yourself in a class. Rules being –
1. No attendance criteria
2. Within the first 2 minutes of the class, you are allowed to walk-out of the class and nobody judges!
Me (thinking): I’m in!
M.R.K: Think of the below scenarios –
Its your first day in class and below are the rules
- NO Attendance criteria
- During any class, you may leave within the first 2mins or door remains closed for an hour
Senario 1: It is your first class, and a man walks in looking at the floor, with his shirt out, a straight face, and a fat book in the hand. What would you do?
- Stay
- Leave
Senario 2: It is your first class, and a man walks in looking at you, smiles. He sports an elgant blazer, formal shoes, and a fat book in hand. What would you do?
- Stay
- Leave
Senario 3: It is your first class, and a man walks in looking at the floor, with his shirt out, a straight face, and some ballons in the hand (an activity, maybe?). Also, your best firnd has just walked out of the class! What would you do?
- Stay
- Leave
Senario 4: It is your first class, and a man walks in looking at you, smiles. He sports an elgant blazer, formal shoes. This time the fat book is replaced by a set of ballons. Also, your best firnd has just walked out of the class! What would you do?
- Stay
- Leave
Senario 5: Did you hesitate for a moment, thinking of your best friend, for 3rd or 4th senarios ?
- Stay
- Leave
Tell me what you and your friends think about it?
— 24 hours later —
Me: The results are out M.R.K!
M.R.K: You’ve got pretty studious friends, I must say! Anyway, let’s analyze these results in a simple manner; just to get an idea of what could have been the thoughts of these respondents.
195 responses: 54 unmoved by changes.
Therefore, our study set: 141
50 out of 141 (>35%) prefer listening to a person with a smile on the face, rather than a frown. Acceptable, as you except a pleasant and promising time ahead!
Now, let us look at the most important set to us.
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We were able to change the minds of 78% of the people introducing a hope of excitement!
Me: That’s a good conversion, I guess!
M.R.K: You do? Now, let us apply this observation to sales. Replace a credible source (a lecturer) with an unknown salesperson. The smile is obvious, as it is the first rule of Sales! But, is every smiling salesperson entertained? The 45 who left seeing the textbook will now go up to 70 maybe!
How many times have you walked away before a salesman even approach you?
It is all the more tough to convince a potential customer, without talking a word, to listen to you. And all this in spite of the busy schedule that they carry. With less than 2 minutes in the real-life scenario to make the first impact.
Now let us introduce a lucky draw coupon to the scenario (the balloons), quite a few would stop and fill that in the hope of something interesting. The levels of interest vary from person to person, and directly proportionate is the time they give.
This is where marketing concepts come in handy for a salesperson.
Before you think of selling your product or service, think of how you can grab the attention of the potential customer!
Make your personality a PRODUCT, the way you look a POSITIONING, and the visible offering (a coupon, a freebie, or even a business card that can give you credibility) is the PROMOTION. Once all this falls in place, you have all the attention to convince him. Let the customer decide on the time he invests – that’s the PRICE!
Tom Peters, a master at branding has advised each person to become a “brand”!
So, just build yourself as a brand to the customer, and you’re no longer selling, but advising them on what to buy!
Me: Seems far-fetched, man!
M.R.K: Brand Ambassadors work on the same principles, man! They just got more time before the pitch! So, are they Selling or Marketing? Think about it! You’ll fetch it soon!
