As we get ready to roll in the new year, selling digital marketing solutions will continue to be a top priority and requirement for success.
To say there is one thing that will influence your success or failure at selling digital marketing solutions is a fairly bold statement… and I am going to make it.
Pete Pitcher and Connie Consultant both work for Mel Manager at Digital Solutions Inc. but have different approaches.
This is Pete Pitcher's approach:
This is Connie Consultant's approach:
Connie takes this approach with each of her targets. In a few weeks, she has met with five of these ideal prospects and has presented solutions for each.
Mel Manager decides to reward the salesperson with the best sales activity and new business revenue and calls both Connie and Pete into the conference room. Who do you think will receive Mel’s recognition?
If you answered Connie, then you guessed correctly. Not just because it’s what I think would happen but because it’s what does happen… all the time.
I could easily have substituted at least a dozen real names for our fictitious Pete and Connie. I’ve heard this story from managers again and again over the years about salespeople who focus on selling solutions to win more business compared to those who choose to pitch products. And not only do they win more business, but that business is healthier – those accounts spend more and have higher retention rates than those who are pitched and buy that single product.
Digital marketing comes in a number of different platforms—from email to display to search, social media, and more. Every digital product can deliver results… it comes down to how you use it.
So, if you focus only on the products you have to sell rather than the solutions you can deliver, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Ask all the Pete Pitchers out there. Those guys are useful only when they happen to have the digital product that fits the previously devised marketing plan.
Digital hasn’t stopped evolving; the technology, data, and inventory available will continue to grow and change. The Connies of the world are much less at the mercy of specific digital products… because they have the expertise behind how to make digital work. That’s where success lies.
*Editor's Note: This blog has been updated since its original posting.