Category: MBAlite

I am revitalizing my 2020 article into a video.

Below is my article in 2020:

What is the difference between sales and marketing?

My answer will differ if you asked me this question today or 25 years ago. When I was with sales in the 90’s, the marketing effort is limited to generating awareness and interests through advertising, telemarketing, etc.. The prospects (or leads as we called it) are then given to us, the sales team, to Always Be Closing by getting Attention, Interest, Decision and Action.

As mentioned in last weeks video, “93% of buying decisions are influenced by Social Media”. Now, Social Media has widened the scope of Marketing that Sales is left to Decision and Action or based on the figure below Evaluation and Purchase.

Our sales report then was based on this funnel, for example :

• Consideration = Number of Leads Visited, ex. KPI = 100 leads visited.
• Intent = Number of Proposals Submitted, ex. KPI = 70 proposals submitted.
• Evaluation = Number of Proposal in the Top 3 of the client, ex. KPI = 30 proposals shortlisted in the top 3.
• Purchase = Number of Sales Closed, ex. KPI = 10 Proposals Closed.

If my batting average of Number of Sales Closed is 10% of Number of Leads Visited then if my Sales Quota can be achieved if I closed 10 clients I need to visit at least 100 leads and so on. As my MBA Sales Professor taught us, the best salesmen in the world are those who are not affected negatively by rejections. To close 10 accounts, you need to be rejected 90 times. If your batting average is 5%, to close 10 proposals you will be rejected 190 times.

To answer my hanging question last week, is Facebook a Sales or Marketing Tool? Based on the funnel, Facebook is a Marketing Tool. If a client decides to purchase, you need to go outside of Facebook to accept the payment. Facebook does not have a payment facility to complete the whole selling cycle. Facebook cannot be used to convince the client to decide and receive payments so Facebook is not a Sales Tool. You need your own eCommerce site or payment process to close the sale.

Sales or Marketing? “If you post it, They will Buy” alone does not work. It is a valuable knowledge especially for online sellers that you also need to “Always Be Closing”, even if you do not like it. Facebook knows this that is why they rate your Facebook Page based on how fast you respond to the Inbox of your FB Page. Notice this description in the About section of your FB page, Typically responds within a ______ thus you need to actively respond to inquiries in your Social Media Sites. Thus you also must not just be sharing and posting, you also must be closing. But how can you go to every group and comments to sell your product when Facebook treats this as an action against FB community standards which could make them block your account?

In the now, majority of the activities is in Digital Marketing. You must be able to bring people who have not heard of your product from Awareness to Evaluation through your Social Media presence. While the sales activities is now left to processing of orders and acceptance of payments. A control freak life me would find this as a disadvantage since my closing of sales is now dependent on how well I plan and implement my digital marketing strategy and not how good I am in selling. You need to have innovative promotions and a well thought of plan just to be noticed. How do you convince them to consider your product solely using Digital Marketing?

Patterned after the Marketing Mix or the 7Ps of Marketing, I will teach you how to do Digital Marketing. Next week we will start with the first P of the marketing mix – Product.

Watch to learn what is the Marketing Mix or the 7Ps of Marketing, here is the 1st P – Product