Terrible Tech...


I may be an expert at marketing automotive tools and equipment. But that doesn't qualify me as an automotive technician.

My tool box is full of various Spec Tools rackets and screwdrivers. I have a Ferret Instruments Worklite and a Snap-on undercar creeper. I know how to use them. But that doesn't mean I know when to use them.

A few weekends ago my car was overheating. My local shop was booked for the day. So, feeling handy, I popped the hood and rolled up my sleeves. My first theory was a leak -- so I opened the radiator. It was full.

My next theory was a stuck thermostat. I grabbed my wrench and pulled the two bolts holding the thermostat in place. Antifreeze poured out on my driveway. I'd forgotten to empty the fluid.

With a lot of knuckle-busting, I pulled the thermostat and replaced the hose. I stepped in the car expecting victory. The battery was dead.

I jumped the car. Within minutes it was overheating again.

As I was cleaning up I realized it was the water pump. I popped the hood.

The belt had snapped. So, not only was the water pump not working, so was the alternator. That's why my battery was dead.

I had wasted almost an hour and was no closer to fixing it. A technician who does this everyday would have seen the problem in seconds and probably solved it in minutes.

People who do something everyday are better at it. It's true for auto mechanics, it's true for marketing professionals.

Having Photoshop won't make you an artist. Owning Word won't make you a writer. Being a great salesperson doesn't necessarily make you a great marketer.

We don't just own the tools of the marketing and advertising trade. We use those tools to develop marketing solutions every day.

That's why I spend most of my time doing what I do best -- and leave fixing my car to folks who do it every day.

Need a marketing tune-up? Drop me an email or give me a call. I'd be glad to show you which of my marketing tools can help you reach your sales goals.

- Phil Sasso

Einstein....


The other day a telemarketer tried to bully Pat into getting through to me. He pretended I was expecting his call. I didn't know Albert, but I took his call anyway.

"Hello, Albert! Long time no talk," I answered the phone. "How are you? How are the wife and kids?"

"Did .. uh .. did we talk last week?" Albert replied a little taken back by my greeting.

"No. I don't know who you are or what you're selling," I replied, "But by treating my assistant as you did you've lost the sale already. Sorry."

Click.

You don't have to be Einstein to get what I call the ³Law of Reciprocal Sales Actions². "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction" (O.K. it¹s Newton, but you get the point.) The harder a salesperson pushes, the harder the prospect will pull back.

Hard selling is hardly effective.

It's easy to understand when you¹re the one being sold: The more overly-friendly the salesperson is the less friendly we feel inclined to be. The more pushy they are the more resistance we want to put up. Action/reaction.

It¹s not like an abrasive salesperson wears down our resistance to buy, it¹s more like they just tend to wear on our nerves. And although hard sell works on some people in some situations, it alienates most and loses more sales than it earns. When someone is pushy, human instinct is to back off with the same degree of energy. The more they try to force the sale, the more resistance they¹ll get.

That¹s because we like to buy from people we like and respect, not people who bully us.

How can you help a salesperson determine if they are coming off as aggressive vs. assertive? Role plays? Nah. Most salespeople hate them. And few people act naturally in those unnatural situations. I suggest you observe the salesperson in the field. But don¹t concentrate on the salesperson. Study the prospect¹s reaction. Watch their face in-person, listen to their intonation on the phone. Are they pulling back?
Sometimes salespeople find themselves on autopilot and just deliver their pitch forgetting to focus on the prospect¹s attention and reaction. As an objective third party, try not to get involved in the selling. Think of yourself as a scientist studying and noting reactions.

Gosh, I never expected my high school physics class would tie back into marketing. Maybe I should consider a marketing tip on Newton¹s 1st Law of motion: Inertia.

- Phil Sasso

Slice...


"The crust on this one is just right," said Beth, "The sauce is a
little flat."

"Yeah, I think I like the other sauce better," I replied.

The topic: Pizza. The place: Addison Illinois' 5th annual Slice of
Addison Pizza Competition a few days ago.

For $1 a slice attendees can sample various kinds of pizza from
nearly every pizzeria in town.

"I think the pizza gets better every year," Beth said.

"I just know I try more slices every year," I replied.

Competition is a good thing. It benefits everyone: customer and
marketer alike.

Benefits to the customer are obvious. But how does it benefit the
marketer?

There's several ways, but the main one is that it grows the whole pie
so everyone can get a bigger slice.

For example, look at bottled water. Did you remember seeing bottled
water when you were a kid? I don't. Yet, from 1990 to 2000, U.S.
bottled water sales tripled to 5.7 billion gallons. In 2005, the
total hit 7.5 billion gallons for a total of more than $10 billion
dollars in sales, according to Beverage Marketing Corporation. That's
26.1 gallons per person per year or more than any other beverage but
carbonated soft drinks. And H2O sales keep growing. The competition
is actually fueling more sales by promoting the market segment.

So the next time you find yourself complaining about the competition,
maybe you'd be better off sitting down and writing them a thank you
note. After all, competition is inevitable, so look at the bright
side, they are helping you grow the pie. All you need to do is
sharpen your marketing skills so you slice off a little wider slice.
(Or call me and we can equip you with the tools you need to grow
your market share.)

Back at the pizza competition, John's Pizza swept the juried awards
and Nardi's Tower of Pizza won the people's choice again. But
everyone won in the long run. Think about the hundreds of pizzas
that friendly competition sells for everyone!


- Phil Sasso

Heads Up...


We've begun posting a "Bad Ad of the Week" on a bulletin board here at Sasso Marketing.

This week's "Bad Ad" has an astronaut shaking hands with a child in a wide open green field. The headline: "Be there." The subhead: "For the Grand Opening of our Franklin Park Branch." If you look closely you'll realize the ad is for a bank.

I think it's a big waste of money. The headline and visual don't work together. And it's a confusing message. (If you understand what the astronaut has to do with the Grand Opening, please let me know. Are the bankers saying their tellers are spacey? Are their banking fees out of this world? Are their mortgage rates skyrocketing?)

In a good ad, the headline will attract readers and be remembered. (Relevant humor can work. Like: "We find more leaks than the CIA" for a leak detector.) A good ad has a graphic that stops you for a second longer. (An "invisible man" ad got us talking recently.) A great ad will have a good headline and good graphic working together. (An ad we did once had a Photoshopped image of a blimp carrying a semi truck. Headline: "There are better ways to reduce tire wear." The copy explained. The ad generated double the usual responses for the advertiser.)

Five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy of an ad.* That means if you can get your unique selling message across with just your headline and graphic, your ad will be more influential. But don't neglect the 20% of the people who read your ad. They are most likely reading your ad because they are interested in your product! Give them enough information to move to the next step.

My point? Get your message across quickly with a strong headline and graphic. Let the body copy fill in the details.

Don't and you may end up on our "Bad Ad" board!
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*SOURCE: Engel/Warshaw/Kinnear,1987