“The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.” – Henry Ford

Some of the greatest leaders in the world like Churchill and Martin Luther King were great sales people. They had no products to sell but had great ideas. Their ideas made a difference to people, thus gaining them the support of many.

As marketers, our lives revolve around selling, but the art of being a proper sales person evades many. Today, consumers have higher expectations. They are more knowledgeable, more value conscious and less trusting.

If you have a brick-and-mortar business, you have a lot going for you to close that all-important sale. You have the goods, an attractive store, great advertising, and excellent packaging of products.

By contrast, what does an online marketer have? You have the ability to reach out to millions of people from around the world and gain an easy entry into their psyche. You can understand your customers and their concerns, and this gives you an advantage.

Then why are you killing your sales?

Most people fail at marketing not because they don’t know what to do, but because they don’t know what not to do. They make mistakes that cost them their business.

So, what shouldn’t you be doing?

MARKETING MISTAKES #1 NOT LISTENING TO WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY.

Yes! Constantly giving out your message without stopping to see people’s reaction is a huge mistake. When you’ve kept your vocal chords active but closed the hearing mechanism, there’s no way you can learn anything about your customers.

Their desires, needs, thoughts, preferences and wants – you should know everything. The quickest way to build relationships with others is to let them tell you what they’re looking for.

You put out lots of content, you create your social networking accounts and keep posting status updates, but never bother to look at the responses. You have killed your sales.

Keeping your eyes and ears open will tell you all the secrets you need to know. First get to know them by asking them personal questions and then listen to them. Then ask them questions about their preference of products in your niche.

MARKETING MISTAKES #2 PLACING YOUR PRODUCT AHEAD OF PEOPLE

This is something most marketers do and it puts people off instantly. Talking about your product only makes you look like a hardcore salesman whose only concern is to close a sale.

This is where the first step we discussed about “listening” becomes important. Look at what people are searching for. If you’re selling a beauty product or idea, see it from the perspective of people you’re selling it to. In what way is your product delivering what people are looking for?

Is it satisfying the need to save money, to save time, to be healthier or something else?

MARKETING MISTAKES #3 SELLING PEOPLE FEATURES INSTEAD OF THE BENEFITS.

It’s all about features and more features, isn’t it? You think the more features your product has, the better the sales. Today, people associate value for money with performance. They look at the features, but more at the benefits the product offers.

People don’t buy moisturizers, they buy healthy skin. People don’t buy air conditioners, they buy comfort.

When people buy an air conditioner, they look at its ability to cool. Features like Nano Titanium air purifying filter and the antibacterial fan sound great, but what really matters is the cooling capacity and power consumption. You should tell the customer that “it takes X amount of time to cool a room size of X and consumes less power.” The customer is looking at the benefit of cooling and saving on monthly power bills.

A customer’s perspective is always going to be, “What’s in it for me?” Show them how they’re going to be benefited from the opportunity or product, rather than telling them how good it is.

MARKETING MISTAKES #4 LOOKING AT ALL CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE SAME GLASSES.

Even our siblings are not like us. How can you expect all customers to think the same?

While it’s easy for you to convince some to take action by playing on their emotions; some look at the price, value and other factors before they even consider; there are others who gain confidence by hearing stories of how others have benefited.

Each segment needs to be handled in a different way. As a marketer, it’s your job to assess the type of person you’re dealing with and deal accordingly.

MARKETING MISTAKES #5 NOT HANDLING OBJECTIONS AS THEY SHOULD BE.

The first thing that comes to mind when faced with an objection, is “rejection.” You should understand the psychology of the customers. If a customer isn’t interested in what you’re offering, they simply look away.

Objections like “I don’t know if this is going to work” or “I’m not really sure how this works, but I’d like to know more,” should tell you that there is a potential there. Objections are feedback which you can learn from and use positively.

When you see such comments being posted on the social networking sites in response to your product information, answer them and without anger or disappointment. Most objections are a result of lack of information or disinterest created by wrong promotion.

It’s your job to make sure your content, advertisements, emails or conversations elicit interest in your offer. Understand the objections and reduce them by addressing concerns.

Do your best to address all concerns but you must always remember that you can’t please everybody!

MARKETING MISTAKES #6 LEAVING THEM ALONE AFTER THE PROMOTION.

This is the deadliest of all mistakes. You can’t not ask them to take action; whether it’s asking them to join your network marketing downline or buying something from you.

Following them up and using strong calls to action is an essential part of marketing. But you’re successful only when your calls to action lead to conversions. A million leads don’t mean anything if they don’t convert.

This is the reason email marketing is so important. Once someone subscribes to your list, you can’t let them forget you. You have to keep sending them valuable information, and finally send calls to action to click on your link – but in a way that doesn’t bother them.

Marketing Mistakes: Building A Successful Business

The final golden rule of marketing is to keep your existing customers in good humor. Keep them engaged and remember you owe it to them. Following through helps understand any issues with your product or opportunity.

You can make sure your customers are happy. A happy customer will pass on the word about you. Think of your customers as friends you want to have a good relationship with for a long time.

Work towards avoiding all of the deadly six from the marketing mistake list and you’ll see your leads/sales multiply within no time. The smallest step you take in the right direction can bring you huge results.

What did you learn from your worst marketing mistakes?