The Marketing Secret to Selling $200 Dollar Snake skin Shoes, by an Ex-Teenager

Ahhh, the Marketing Cardinal Sin that continues to be violated over and over and over again, by newbie marketers all over the globe.

They continue to break this rule and it costs them Followers on Twitter, Fans in Business, and ultimately Money and Time.

It’s the most crucial element in Marketing and people constantly just get it all wrong.

Marketing boils down to basic human psychology and behavior and this is something you just can’t overlook, because after all, Marketing is about people and when you wrap your mind around the fact that basic human psychology does not change, it will help you improve your marketing skills exponentially.

Marketing is not about Selling

Marketing is not about Pitching.

It’s about “preparing” people to buy, it’s about walking people through the process, it’s about leaving little “seedlings” in their mind that will then grow to the point, that the customer will eventually “sell themselves”

One great example of this is Coke. You’ll never see a commercial by Coke telling you to flat out go buy it. You’ll never get someone selling coke door to door. You’ll never see someone at the grocery store pushing a coke bottle in your face.

Coke Markets.

They massage you, romance you, entice you.. in magazines, with commercials, and bill boards, with pictures of Curvy coke bottles, covered with irresistible droplets of water, signifying the coldness of a delicious, caramel colored, sweet drink that satisfies your desire and quenches your thirst. Yummm.

Ok, now that you’re salivating, back to human psychology.

What is this basic human principle?

We will always do more to Avoid Pain than to Gain Pleasure.

This is why people like to BUY but they don’t want to be Sold.

Let me explain.

Say, You walk into a shoe store.

Ever walk into a shoe store, and suddenly feel like you were surrounded by sharks? Ya just want to browse around but the sales people, who work on commission, are circling you, like you are chum, and they are just waiting to bite!

Ouch!

Just makes you want to run for the hills and get the heck out doesn’t it?

I know, I used to work in a shoe store. It was my first job at 16 years of age at the local Mall.

By the way, I “Sold” More snake skin sets, (Snake skin High Heels and Handbag combos at a total of $200.00 a Pop) as a “Part-Time” employee than some of the full timers, but more on that later.

However, my manager, Morry, think AL Bundy, Married with Children, but with a Middle Eastern Accent, whether they wanted to or not, whether they asked for it or not, was hell bent on the fact that every single customer, that walked into our store, was to be presented our most expensive Shoes, ($100 per pair).
They were the most hideous pairs of shoes I’ve ever seen in my life.

They were Called French Horns.

I’ll never forget.

They looked like Black Orthopedic shoes for Men.

But Morry the Manager was insistent upon forcing these shoes down Customers’ throats, whether they wanted them or not.

Instinctively, I was against this, “Shoe in your Face” Policy.

But my little paycheck depended on it.

Whether it was a teenage boy, or a mom shopping for shoes for herself, I was to bring out a pair (average male size 8.5) to any “prospect” that came into the store.

I’ll never forget, when there was a little old couple, buying sneakers for “him”. Morry stood behind the register, watching my every move, like a hawk.

He was a heavy set man, with a receding hairline smack down the back of his head. I guess you could call it a bald spot. He was one of those guys who sweats too much!

Imagine having your every move be monitored by a boss like him, Geez!
Anyhow, I reluctantly brought the shoes over to the couple, when they looked at me with a baffled expression on their face.

“What are those? We didn’t ask for those?”

I nervously smiled and said, “oh they are the best shoes we have, I’m sure your husband will love them”.

“But we didn’t ask for these”

I pleaded with my big brown eyes, and looked into their faces and tried to discreetly whisper, “my manager made me bring these out”.

They shook their heads.

The Gentleman went on to take off the sneakers, put his old shoes back on, and then grab his wife by the hand, and said.

“Let’s Go”.

I felt Stupid, Dumb and humiliated.

Left there with 2 boxes of shoes, and a lost sale, I was obviously upset.

And Morry?

Critical of me that I didn’t sell the Gawd awful pair of shoes.

The couple felt cornered, deceived, and pressured, because I broke the cardinal rule, I tried to Sell them.

Sell them despite the fact that they didn’t ask for those pair of shoes,

As far as they were concerned, I was not sensitive to their needs, desires or wants…

In their eyes, it was about ME, ME, ME, trying to make the sale.

I was just doing what my manager said because I couldn’t afford to get fired.

I Violated their confidence and trust in me, by offering them, no, by Pitching them!

Some may say, well there was always a chance that they would have said YES,

True.

But how many customers are you going to lose by being pushy?

See the truth of the matter is, is that I was the Store’s #1 Part Time Sales person, and ironically, I never sold a thing.

Let me explain.

I was always dressed nicely, always polite, and heck, being semi-attractive never hurt!

But I was more interested and focused on establishing rapport with the Customer.

I was interested in What their needs were.

I talked about their family, or how their day was going.

The less threatened they felt by me, the more money they would spend.

They were sold on me.

Heck, I had ladies that all they bought were Snakeskin shoes and matching purses at almost $200 a pop, that would ONLY purchase or come into the store, when they knew I was working.

See, they could have bought the shoes from anyone else, but they were willing to wait until I was in the store, so I would make the commission.

So, what this boils down to is this.

It’s about YOU, it’s always about YOU.

What, as a Marketer, do you bring to the table, and what do you have to offer.

How can you make your customer feel special, make them feel like they Want to buy from you, and not the “other guy” selling the same exact thing.

I won’t lie, as an internet newbie, I forgot for a while, what worked for me as a teenager, but I realized, the more I was just myself, the closer people would get.

The Less I “sold” the more I made.

People want to buy, they don’t want to be sold.

How can you use this lesson in your business today?

How can you approach your sales process differently, to attract more prospects?

Here are some ideas:
1. Write Articles that are helpful to your potential prospects, (kinda like this one)

2. Create Videos with helpful content, or simply telling stories that your prospect may relate to that will help them in their business.

3. Infuse some of yourself in your email correspondence. People love stories. Tell them one that relates to your business that will benefit your prospect or teach them a lesson.

4. Share a cool discovery or a tip that has helped you, on a forum or message board.

5. On Twitter, Re Tweet someones Tweet that was of Value to you, or just post something that doesn’t ALWAYS relate to your business or opportunity.

I definitely find that my connections are always with people who I never tried to sell. I was just being me. And the less threatened a prospect feels, the closer they will move to you.

And Most of all, enjoy the process, the ones that will buy from you, will always show up!

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Barbie Figueroa is a Web Designer & Internet Marketing Consultant, Providing the Solutions to help grow your business online. To Learn more about her services, visit: http://www.5MinuteMarketingMakeover.com  

For Network Marketing Solutions To Grow your Downline with ease, Visit: http://tr.im/ha52 

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