i tell people about stuff.
aka sales + mktg.
⏰ Read time: just 5 minute
i tell people about stuff — How to think about sales and marketing to avoid the complexity, pushiness, and quite frankly… douche-baggery… rampant in many of today’s businesses… to create an experience someone actually wants to be a part of.
I… like many people… didn’t care for sales and marketing.
Some words that come to mind might be…
Slimy.
Pushy.
You can probably picture that sleazy used car salesmen in your head…
But really the best word to summarize it is…
Douchey.
I mean look around, what do you see…
“The SECRET To Make a BAGGILION Dollars… No Experience Required”
“Ads not working? Here’s the algorithm hacks you need to know!”
“The Neuro-Psychedilic-Wording to perfectly trick… I mean influence someone to buy!”
It’s loud.
It’s confusing.
And it’s selfish… Not once is the customer treated as anything more than a means to an end…
But as a business owner (or doing sales and marketing for a business) what choice do you have?
You need sales and marketing to get customers…
That way you can make a profit and stay in business.
But…
How do you sell and market WITHOUT being a douchebag?
The truth is (and what took me too long to figure out is)…
Sales and marketing don’t have to be that way.
Sales and marketing is neither good... nor bad.
But, it’s the tactics and hacks that make it feel that way!
Slimy, pushy…
(Still have nightmares about how bad my first sales script was!)
And when YOU (the one who makes it) feels that way...
Imagine how the people feel!
Which is exactly why sales and marketing gets a bad rap!
But despite all this…
Despite how much people say they HATE sales and marketing…
People still LOVE to buy!
I know I do!
For instance… I woke up at 3:57 AM on a Sunday morning just to order special editions of a book series I’m reading… worth it.
Which sound crazy, but I’m far from the only one…
Look at the Swifties out there! They literally stay up til midnight just to hear the title… the TITLE… of the next track on her new album?!
Or how it used to just be common for people to CAMP OUT in front of Apple stores for the launch of a new iPhone.
It kinda sounds like psychotic behavior…
But these are experiences people LOVE!
So, what you really need to be asking is…
How do you create experiences like Taylor and Apple?
Experiences want to be apart of.
Here’s the real real…
When you treat people…
Hear me out…
Like people…
Our business grows?!
Crazy!
So, instead of focusing so much on optimizing a number on the screen…
You focus on leading with empathy. And not just caring to make a sale, but as a real person.
Instead of focusing on the perfect psychological wording…
You make stuff that’s truly great. Like something actually valuable and makes there life better.
Instead of hacking a funnel…
You build a world that people get to experience. You know something fun, mysterious or… interesting in some way!
So, all of that to say…
The frame I constantly orient myself to is —
I tell people about stuff.
But when you orient to that…
All of a sudden, you cut through all the noise of the sales and marketing world…
(Not saying that there’s not a place to some of the tactics out there)
And start making some really really cool stuff…
Just like Taylor and Apple.
For the record…
Personally… Not a fan of Taylor’s music, but marketing is on point 👌
Understand… Not everyone using these tactics and strategies is a douche! There is nuance here. But too much of the nuance makes the message unclear. So, people using these tactics aren’t bad people (not all of them at least). And that a lot of marketing tactics and strategies have a time and place… but an over reliance on them, you lose sight of what matters most… the principles.
