Sales and marketing are key when it comes to growing your business. But if you can’t devote the same energy to both, which one should come first? How do you ensure that you work smart, not hard, to achieve the intended business outcomes?
Work smart, not hard: Devising the right marketing strategy for your business
Prioritizing marketing and devising the right marketing strategies makes the sales process easier and more effective. So what does good marketing look like? We’ve outlined the 10 marketing commandments for you.
- Money follows attention.
As Grant Cardone remarked, “I’d rather have a million followers than a million dollars.” So, the question is, how do you get the attention of a million people? Working smart requires you to develop your marketing expertise.
- The best-known always beats the best.
You might be working hard to sell the best product out there, but if nobody knows about it, you will never be able to share it with the world. Know that life is a game and winners know how to play it like a pro. Devise your marketing strategies around increasing awareness around your product.
- Assume nobody sees it.
The truth is, the majority of your posts and emails don’t reach anyone. Why? People are so exposed to content that they are unlikely to see your post. Also, the Facebook algorithm certainly doesn’t help. So, start posting 2-3 times a day. Don’t worry about over-posting; just post one more time and make another attempt to reach your audience.
- Attention is the most valuable currency.
It’s an attention economy. If you want somebody to listen to your story, you have to get their attention first. At the end of the day, who you know is more important than what you know.
- Strategize, rinse, and repeat.
Repeat successful actions. Be a hard worker in this aspect: You have to track what’s working and do it again and again.
- Quality comes second to speed.
“Perfect is the enemy of done.” You have to realize that your content is never going to be perfect. Just get it done and get it out there.
- Marketing is senior to sales.
Once you put marketing before sales, you start working smarter, not harder.
- Frequency comes before greatness.
You need to consistently keep showing up and practicing in order to achieve greatness.
- No one thing can blow a deal.
If you are closing a deal and you believe in your product, nothing can spoil the deal. So continue to work smart, not hard. Keep asking questions, providing information, and following up.
- Be omnipresent.
Working smart means you have to be everywhere. If you do all of the above, you are going to be omnipresent.
Work smart, not hard, to scale your business.
Remember that marketing comes before sales. Once you have your marketing plan intact, the money will follow. Learn to see beyond your limitations and obstacles: focus on abundance, not scarcity.
You need to be known and seen in order to be successful. Working smart requires you to assume that nobody sees your marketing messages. Call one more time, send one more email, and post it again.