Pretend you’re dating

Salespeople and marketers routinely make mistakes in business which they would never make in dating.  For instance, on a first date, most of us wouldn’t  think of putting our arm around someone and saying “Let’s go steady.”  Because we know that the other person doesn’t know enough about us yet.  It’s too soon to ask for that level of commitment.  But how often does a salesperson ask for a prospect’s business at their first meeting?  How often do you get blind letters soliciting an order?

If you are interested in only dating people with a college degree, or people who like to dance, you’ll quickly figure out where people in your target population congregate, and you’ll develop an approach to determine if they meet your criteria.  But how often have you been approached by a salesman who’s cold-calling, or going door-to-door?  And how often have you received an email advertisement for a totally irrelevant product (such as cat food for a dog owner)?

Most of us wouldn’t try and win someone’s affection by reciting a list of our accomplishments and capabilities, or, worse yet, by listing all the other people we’ve dated.  But we’ve all been on the receiving end of sales pitches which focus solely on a company’s accomplishments and capabilities and a list of their customers, with no interest shown in you, the prospect.  If you were dating, you’d consider someone who did this to be insensitive and ego-centric.  Is a company any different?

Most of us recognize that an interactive approach aimed at identifying commonalities of interest is more likely than a hard sell to lead to a long-term relationship.  It’s too bad so many marketers and salespeople haven’t learned that lesson.

Conclusion:  If you think of each prospect or customer interaction as a date, and react accordingly, you are likely to leverage your personal experience to make your sales and marketing efforts more successful.