Why do sooooo many folks despise sales and marketing?

In part, it’s the mechanics of the process…

Salespeople are all too often pushy and overtly aggressive, in their drive to power through with their hard sell.

And on the marketing side, there’s a seemingly endless font of dubious claims, which leaves consumers bewildered and distrustful.

A bad combination, for sure!

But there’s also the emotional factor…

People HATE to be sold. But they LOVE to buy!

As a buyer, selling is something that’s done to you. It’s passive and foisted upon you, like it or not.

Buying, on the other hand, is your choice. You’re actively involved in the decision. Because you’re the one doing the buying — rather than being sold.

So, this explains the situation on the buyer’s side.

But as a business owner, you still need to market your business and sell your services. Meanwhile, to do so, you have no choice but to make bold and specific claims, which stand out, but may inspire disbelief or outright distrust.  And, of course, you must overtly ask for sales.

This bumps us into a uuuuuuuge stumbling block for most professional service businesses…

Boring Marketing Gets Ignored, While Bold Marketing Raises Red Flags

Ho-hum marketing messages — the kind consumers have seen countless times before — make zero impact.

But at the same time, bold marketing that makes strong, specific claims raises red flags. Suddenly, consumers’ spidey-senses are tingling.

Which prompts the question: “Are these claims LEGIT, or are these jokers just trying to take advantage of me with a load of hot air?”

And when such questions arise, you’ve likely lost that business. Because once the seeds of doubt are planted in a prospect’s mind, there’s almost no coming back.

So, What’s the Solution?

It’s two-fold, really.

First, Always Exercise TRUTH in Your Marketing.

The more alluring and definitive your marketing messages, the greater the impact that messaging is likely to make.

But your messaging must be 100% TRUTHFUL. No sideways leans or clever conditions or bait ‘n switch trickery.

Just straight forward: We Do What We Say delivery on every single claim your marketing messaging makes.

Secondly, Be Authentic.

This is a MUCH tougher concept to nail down. In fact, a library’s worth of books has been written on mastering this concept in business and marketing.

For our purposes, let’s frame authenticity as a tool to inspire trust.

Bold claims don’t seem disreputable if they’re presented sincerely.

For example, FedEx promises “next day delivery.”

That’s a bold and specific claim. They will get it there where you want it to go. And they’ll do it one day.

They don’t hype up the promise. They don’t over-sell the results. They simply make good on their marketing claim: Next Day Delivery.

Meanwhile, that’s a bold and specific claim FedEx makes good on tens of thousands of times worldwide every day.

And as a result, FedEx is the reigning leader of express package delivery. If you need it right away, and you need absolute assurance you’ll get it right away, you use FedEx.

Taking up FedEx’s mantle, your marketing claims can be bold and specific, and still come across as authentic. If your claims are presented property…

That is without glitz and fanfare. But rather as: This is our business. This is what we do. And our track record proves it.

Struggling to Craft Authentic Marketing Messaging?

Making your marketing communication sound both alluring and authentic can be tough. But with two decades of helping a variety of professional service businesses do just that, I can show you the way!

Want to find out how? Let’s chat! 310.466.7893 | ryan@ryananys.com