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Sales vs Marketing: What’s The Difference?
Sales gets you where you want to go. Marketing is why you want to get there. Meme by Alex Bogusky Does selling feel sleazy to you? If so, there’s a good chance you don’t understand the difference between sales and marketing. Using the example above, these two signs give you very different reactions. In the split-second that you see the hitchhiker, you make a flash decision whether to pull over. That immediate reaction matters. Selling and marketing will give you [...]
Don’t Build A New Audience, Find An Existing Audience
It is much easier to find an existing audience than to carve a new one out of the crowd. Your future customers are already congregating somewhere. Go there and be valuable, make relationships, and gain customers. Photo by WoodysPhotos on iStock I think of marketing myself like I am a vagabond peddler. I have a selection of interesting trinkets in my bag. Going from village to village, I make trades (and offer value) that villagers don’t often see in their [...]
8 Icebreakers to make an Unofficial Start for your meeting
So, thank you for coming. Um. We’ll get uh…started…in just a few — hang on, I can’t see my slides anymore. One second. Hey, can you see my slides? I can’t…uhhh…oh, hi there, we’ll get started soon, I’m just…um… Has that ever happened to you? Maybe you were the host of the meeting, with a big ball of tension in your stomach, trying to troubleshoot the tech quickly enough to get back to your anxiety over everyone's boredom, and the [...]
Personal Brand vs. Business Brand: Which One Is Best for You?
This is a very personal question, and since it’s also a business question, there is no single right answer. Some say a personal brand is best, while others say a business brand should remain separate from your personal identity. They’re both right, sometimes. The Origins of Branding A brand was originally a symbol that was seared onto the side of livestock. The brand declared ownership of property. Photo by Charly_Morlock on iStock Over time, a “brand” has evolved to represent the identity [...]
The Best 3-Part Elevator Pitch
Make your bio sticky, clear, and short Photo by ismagilov on iStock The best elevator pitch I ever heard was from Cory Huff. Cory has a website called theabundantartist.com, and when I met him at Pioneer Nation, I said, “What do you do?” He replied, I help people sell their art online. Sticky, clear, and short. I immediately thought of everyone I knew who was an artist, struggling to sell their art online. And I sent every one of them [...]
Follow the 4-Step Marketing Cycle to Make Selling Easy
Selling is only pushy if you haven’t done enough pulling. Photo by Camrocker on iStock My first sales job was selling donuts door-to-door. Every Saturday morning, I would knock on the doors of strangers, introduce myself, and make my pitch. Within a few minutes, the stranger would either hand me five bucks, or shut the door in my face. Every sale was a struggle — until I learned about the 4-Step Marketing Cycle. One Saturday, I decided to try [...]