Which Came First… Sales or Marketing?

by Brian on April 14, 2010

Was it sales or marketing?

Marketing came first.

How are you going to sell something to someone, when they don’t even know you have something to sell?

That’s where marketing comes in.

A lot of people make marketing a lot harder than it has to be.

My basic definition of marketing is: “Letting someone else know you have something.”

There are a ton of different types of marketing methods out there and most of them have a place.

There are some stupid marketing methods too…

My favorite type of marketing is Direct Response Marketing.

Direct Response Marketing is completely measurable and quantifiable.

There are many forms of direct response marketing and they all carry the same characteristic… Their goal is to get the person who views the marketing material to take action and contact the marketer.

One very basic, but often overlooked, technique is to use well placed calls to action.

Call to Action

A call to action is a polite command that tells the buyer to take a specific action…

  • Call Now
  • Click Here
  • Fill out this form to get your Free X
  • Search for X here
  • Buy It Now
  • Order Here
  • Download Now
  • Do you have X questions? If you want answers go to ‘your website’ right now

If you don’t tell your buyer exactly what to do to buy from you, your buyer isn’t going to know what you want from them.

If you use a business card and have a website, one thing you can do is put a call to action on your business card.

For example:

  • If you are a real estate agent you could put… “Search the MLS for Free at ‘your website'”
  • If you are a contractor… “View a gallery of my finest work at ‘your website'”
  • If you are a restaurant owner… “Get a super secret special discount only at ‘your website'”
  • If you are an artist or a writer… “View my portfolio and client list at ‘your website'”

You should always strive to put a call to action on every piece of marketing material you produce.

What are some calls to action that have worked for you?

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