You Can’t Sell to the Unsellable

In a perfect world, everyone who wants your product or service would beat a path to your door, because they know your product or service is better than anyone else’s. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that world, so we all need to use marketing to let people know about our products/services and how they can help the potential customer. Some people are harder to convince than others, and then there are the ones that are UNSELLABLE. These people aren’t interested in your product/service, or they have reasons for buying from someone else. Whatever the case may be, your best bet is to identify these people early, after putting in a minimal effort, then moving onto more receptive customers.

Be Practical

Instead of wasting time and effort trying to convert the nonbelievers, focus your major efforts on the people and groups willing to buy. Take the opportunities in front of you and spend the majority of your energy there. This doesn’t mean you need to have tunnel vision and ignore any other possibilities, but you want to focus on a major strength, while having the opportunity to try some different ideas and strategies. It’s a delicate balance that’s simple, but not always easy. Having a few options allows you to test things out and put more effort into the things that give the best results. This includes advertising channels, try some things on a small scale and see if the results are good enough to invest more in.

Be Flexible

Just because you’ve had success in some area in the past doesn’t mean you have to focus on that and ignore everything else. It can be something you come back to now and again, but if it’s not leading to sales, you don’t have to be loyal to it anymore. Advertising methods like TV commercials, radio ads, and billboards used to be the main method to reach a wide audience. These advertising channels were controlled by high costs, limiting the number of businesses with access to them. Now that the internet and social media are so prevalent, most people’s attentions are on their phones or computers. How many of you watch TV commercials or listen to ads on the radio? The top tiers of marketing have been replaced, but some people still hold onto the old ways instead of adapting to the changing environment.

Have a Conversation

The benefits of social media extend beyond the low cost of advertising. Targeting the right people has a better chance of turning them into customers, and opens up the channels of communications. If someone wants more information about your business, they can check your Facebook page or website, look at Google Reviews to see what experiences other people have had, and even have the option to talk directly to you. When the lines of communication open up you have the chance to do two things: Immediately start your sales pitch and turn the customer off, or be helpful and start a relationship. It takes longer to build a relationship, but those customers are more likely to be loyal to your brand, and more likely to recommend your business to others. Automation can be tempting to take things off your plate, but it can’t replace true human interaction. Letting a bot spam anyone who sends you a message isn’t going to help. But if you don’t have the availability to respond immediately, you can use it to get that person’s email address and direct them to your FAQ page.

The key to sales is building a relationship. Building a relationship with someone who’s totally unsellable can be a waste of time and effort. Focus your attentions on building relationships with the right customers and potential customers. It can take some time to figure out how to recognize them, but no app or bot is going to be able to do that in your place. You need to put yourself in your customer’s shoes, and it takes plenty of work, but you’ll see the benefits in the end.