Sales and Marketing - Different and Powerful

People often confuse the two or assume they are one and the same. They are different and powerful.

You use marketing to bring you qualified prospects and use sales to close the deal and build relationships with people. In other words, the definition of marketing is everything you do to reach and persuade prospects to give you a chance to sell them. Sales is what you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract.

In the world of internet marketing, the marketer drives people to the website, and the sales person is the one who forms a relationship with the prospects and closes the deal.

Good marketers and sales people have one thing in common: they both begin by putting their customers first and developing strong customer relationships.

To be effective at both marketing and sales, you need to identify your target market and understand their needs.

What are their hot buttons and core emotional desires? People buy with their emotions and justify with logic. So before you start rattling off a bunch of features, ask yourself, ""what does it mean to them specifically and how will it benefit them?"

Seven Reasons People Buy
Good marketing and sales start with understanding what your customer wants.
If you know what people want, then you're 90 percent of the way there.
So how do you find out what people want?
Talk to people one-on-one. Listen to the requests they make, the questions they ask and their complaints. Also, look at the information they make public on forums, blogs and other social media. These are a goldmine of information about what people want.

Supplement your research with an understanding of the 7 reasons people buy:
1. Make money
2. Save money
3. Save time
4. Save effort
5. Improve health
6. Increase pleasure
7. Elminate pain

Why Don't People Buy from You?
In most cases, negative emotions are a lot more powerful than positive emotions. Too often, sales focuses on why people should buy from you vs. why people don't buy from you.

There are typically four reasons people won't buy from you.
1. They don't know you
2. They don't want what you're selling
3. They don't want what you're selling more than what they would have to give up to get it
4. They don't believe you

Make their concerns and doubts the focus of your attention first.

This is especially important in network marketing, given how skeptical most people are about this industry.Its funny that most network marketing companies say "we don't sell products we just share information". That helps people who are afraid of sales feel less intimidated by the process. But the truth is that network marketing does involve sales. It also requires marketing.
Be honest, upfront and straightforward with people. Not only will this earn trust, but it will allow you to differentiate yourself. The bigger you make your claims (about your business or product), the more you blend in with everyone else. Tone down your claims and show genuine concern for people's interests. Its a win-win solution.