Duct Tape Marketing

In your selling system, what is it that you need to recognize that you have been afraid to confront?  How many times have you been on a sales call and knew that something was wrong, but lacked the sales courage to do anything about it?
• The decision maker isn't there
• The prospect isn't being truthful
• They have a problem they really don't want to fix
• They aren't going to undo a current relationship
• They don't have the money or resources to invest to fix a  problem

At a time when the economy continues to waver and companies seek further ways to tighten the belt, is this a time to slash marketing? Some companies are reducing marketing spend in line with other organizational cutbacks. Others have practically eliminated their marketing budgets.

Or, is this a time to invest?

“You have to understand that people stand in the shadow of the leader.” This comment came from the top executive of a very large corporate client of ours.  And I had to ask, “George, what do you mean, shadow of the leader?  He replied, “It’s pretty simple, Tony.  People will do what they see the leader do, not what the leader says.”

The profound concept of “Shadow of the Leader” helps us understand where to "fix" problems. The good and the bad of leadership at every level is reflected in the followership of your sales team based on the commitment, work, communication, leadership and management conducted by the sales leaders in the organization.

I recently had the great honor and privilege of visiting our United States Military Academy at West Point, NY.  I was overwhelmed by the courage and passion of those that occupy this post.  They are truly remarkable people and I was struck by how much the disciplines they practice relate to selling. Yes, it might be a stretch to tie what happens at West Point to sales and selling, but not much of a stretch. This group of young people consistently demonstrates at an extraordinary level all of those competencies necessary to succeed in selling:  courage, desire, commitment, persistence and ethics.  They are sales people in fatigues. They spend their day selling others on the connection between athletics and winning on the battlefield.  One of the metrics for success:  bringing everyone back alive.  That is life or death.