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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Always Be Selling

Pop quiz, hotshot.  Are you a buyer, seller, both, or none of the above choices?  

Relax, everyone fails this quiz the first two times.  It's a trick question because nobody gets to sit on the sidelines for this one.  I used to view selling as something only salespeople did.  You either had a knack for it, or you didn't.  My thinking was based on a lack of relevant--which can also be read as "any"--information.  Just about everything we do is a negotiation, and everyone is selling something.  Some work harder at it than others, and as a result, do a much better job.  We usually refer to those people as sales people.  No matter what your level, a large part of life is selling.  It took me a long time to grasp this, but now I understand that selling isn't just for boiler rooms any longer. 

Even in this post, I'm selling you on the idea of the importance of selling.  If you buy into that philosophy, then we each potentially benefit from the transaction.  That's the best kind of thing to sell.  Second best is a private limited time opportunity to invest in a bridge.  There is no third best.

I heard someone not too long ago say, "good stories come to those who can tell them."  I wonder if the same applies to sales.  I plan to do an in-depth study of the world's best sales people to find an answer.  I already have calls into Ronald McDonald, Donald Trump, Mr. Clean, David Ogilvy, and Erica Feidner.  No one had responded by the time this post went to the printer.  Epson dot matrix for the win!

Every experience is an opportunity to sell better and hone your skills. AcMo is focused on selling everything and anything, including the wall fixtures, if it will turn a profit. Operating expenses are steep here, and the bills won't stop.

One of the reasons you aren't more familiar with AcMo's products is a result of our failure to produce anything marketable for more than ten people.  Once our engineers and new marketing team (introductions to come at a later date) decipher that puzzle, expect to see our products everywhere.  

The TGE™ is the lone exception to our trail of failure.  The first prototypes are rolling off the line within the next few weeks.  We're excited to put one on our test vehicle and see what happens.  We're hopeful torque gaps will be eliminated but not by flat lining the engine.  By the way, anyone who would like to join our beta test program with the TGE™ should contact us soon.  Spots are filling, and no one should be forced to endure torque gaps.  Save yourselves from torque gap derived acceleration. 

I've learned a lot of relevant information during the brand power building courses I started right after I identified weaknesses in my own brand.  I identified these weaknesses the moment they were brought to my attention in yet another angry email. In fact, I am 23% more brand aware now than I was at the beginning of the month. I don't have to tell you how that upward projection will look in one year.  I'm also glad the marketing department will be handling the processing of angry messages from this point forward. 

Two of our case studies involve Ferrari and Coca-Cola.  I suspect the professor--which is nothing more than a face and strange voice attached to the screen of a telepresence robot--can't be bothered to craft compelling course material, and these were the first two companies that popped into his head moments before the lecture.  

Ferrari and Coca-Cola have two of the most recognizable brands in the world, and they still force their products into the public's consciousness on a regular basis.  I used to think marketing at that level was self-sustaining, but now I think it is a subliminal trick. The marketing materials become so ubiquitous that we just take the presence of them for granted as something that always was and always will be there like McDonald's or the great pyramids.

Coca-Cola needs such massive marketing efforts since the possibility exists that Coke (the drink) contributes to a reduction in intelligence.  Their customers may forget to keep drinking it without constant reminders.  Ferrari is different in that the majority of its fans can't even afford to buy their vehicles.  It is quite a trick that an aspirational brand of that nature is able to ensnare so many people.

The courses have provided sales tools that enable me to sell without selling, and to maximize the power of subliminal suggestion, similar to Coca-Cola and Ferrari (not confirmed).  

The robot and I have had several debates about the legality of subliminal selling, most of them ending with the robot wedged above the ceiling tiles.*  Those robots are much heavier than they look.  Until I have confirmation, there is a moratorium on subliminal selling here at AcMo, at least as far as you know. If you can't resist the urge to buy something after reading this post, it wasn't because I sent out a subliminal sales call.  Probably not anyway, but just to keep the lawyers happy, buy more goods.  And there are a lot of lawyers to be kept happy, so buy more than you think you should. 

Remember people, always be selling.


*The telepresence robot is above locker 249 outside Janitorial Services if anyone cares.  I imagine he's just about out of charge by now. 


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