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Tagged: salesmanship RSS

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  Tony 10:54 pm on July 15, 2009 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: billy mays, branding, business building, entrepreneur, marketing (2), pitchmen, salesmanship   

  A marketing lesson from a master 

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  Photo by azrainman

  Truth be told, for years, dating back to waaaaay before he got much media attention, I couldn’t stand the late, great Billy Mays.  Yes, the ultimately likeable guy who was just in the midst of a surge in popularity due to his hit show, Pitchmen.  Yet, for the longest time, the sight and inescapable sound of him made me cringe.

  At the core of my issue with Mr. Mays, I don’t like being shouted at, and here was this burly guy with his neatly trimmed beard bellowing about Oxyclean and Orange Glo like I cared.

  Even his name, Billy Mays…was that a bait and switch play off of the great American baseball hero, Willie Mays, I’d think to myself.

  Well, in the end, I was wrong about the man.  And, in retrospect I’ve learned much in the way of brand positioning and presentation — two areas I’d consider strengths of mine.

  Billy obviously lived by the noble and logical theorem that if you had a legitimate product, good or service that could help others out in some way, then you’re actually do a complete dis-service by not stepping out in a big way.

  No selling from the heels for Billy, he put it out there and MILLIONS of people became satisfied customers.  His products became iconic, as did he.  He achieved massive success, for a guy who started out as a street pitchman, hawking products to passersby on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.  Now, he’s left a legacy as a pop icon, a true salesman, and where it truly counts, a good guy and father.

  I have nothing but love for Billy these days, and I actually have to credit another excellent salesman, businessman and all-around good guy, a friend of mine named Joe, for changing my mind on Billy.  Joe once said to me in response to a rant of mine on Facebook, “How can you dislike a guy who’s always smiling?”

  I can’t…haven’t been able to since Joe said that to me.  Billy appeared to love what he did, loved the people he encountered, and loved life, living it voraciously.

  And when I saw this YouTube video a few months back, I became a raving fan of the Pitchmen star.

  In the end, I know Billy is smiling down on everyone who is bold enough to stand tall and provide value to those who need it.  Sales is at the heart of all business & commerce, and the negative connotation attached to it is unfair.  As the saying goes, everyone loves to buy, but no one likes to be sold.

  Billy was so charismatic that you were entertained to the point of forgetting that he was even selling.  People do like to be sold when they don’t realize it (read: people like to buy from people who have a passion for what they do, belief in their brand, especially if they like and trust them.  They don’t like slimy salesman that aren’t there to service their clients first, but rather are just focused on making a few bucks for themselves.)

  There are many lessons that I’ve touched on in this post, and many others not mentioned, but I guess I’m writing to pay my respects, and as a way to say “thanks” to the charismatic pitchman that made us all smile.  Make THAT your brand and you can’t help but succeed.

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    mfz 2:17 am on July 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Great food for thought!
    Oh, and I think it’s time I try Oxyclean!

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  Tony 7:22 pm on February 11, 2009 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: business, happiness (2), influence, job interviews, meetings, networking, salesmanship, selling, success   

  You give salesmanship a bad name 

  No, this post is not nearly as much about Slippery When Wet era Bon Jovi as the above title might almost indicate.

  What I do want to focus on is a general world view that’s held by many in our society, related to business. See, recently a friend of mine referenced me in his blog post and joked about my inherent salesmanship. Interestingly enough, that kind of struck a curiosity chord with me, as I’ve never held an official sales capacity in my entire stint in corporate America, used car sales aside. (I mean, I surely didn’t think the heinous 3 months during summer break of my early college years when I worked at a used car lot would haunt my into my 30’s…and let’s hope that wasn’t what he was talking about.)

  photo by rick

  It was interesting to me, because I realized that to the people who know me – my coaching clients, good friends and colleagues I mastermind with – I am a salesman. I’m an idea person…and I’m always winning people over with new ideas. I pitch suggestions, ways to improve results, efficiencies, boost traffic, conversions, training methodologies, better branding, yada yada.

  While I would admit to my enthusiasm over these topics, I just never thought of it as selling.

  Which is the main purpose behind today’s triumphant return to the blogosphere after working covertly on other projects for the past few months, neglecting ole’ TZ.com.

  Every communication we have with anyone and everyone is selling of some sort. When we were kids, we had to sell yourself as someone fun, cool or exciting to hang out with in order to make friends. To our parents, teachers and other authority figures, we had to sell the idea that we were responsible, trustworthy, respectful. When we met someone of the opposite sex, we had to sell the idea that we were interesting, good looking and whatever else thought it was they were looking for.

  And so it goes, throughout life…at job interviews, at daily/weekly meetings, at social gatherings and family events. We’re always selling something…an idea, a message, a persona. What’s being sold is at minimum, what we’re about and how we’d like to be perceived. Usually it’s more than that, but never less.

  So, why is the sound of “salesman” (or if I was trying to be PC — “salesperson”) like nails on a chalkboard to many of our ears? Simply, it’s how we’ve been conditioned by being whacked over the head by too many lousy salesmen who use ineffective, in-your-face, overt selling strategies on us, in a commercial heavy society. That’s why. If more people learned to sell in a manner that was congruent with their personality (ala Frank Kern — an absolute master of this strategy), selling would come off as natural, much more powerful and with much less disdain from those being sold to.

  But, just think about the core of what “selling” is really about, and you just may have a new found appreciation for sales (if you didn’t already)…and just maybe, even realize that it’s a crucial success skill for anyone who would like to get what they want out of this invigorating world we live in.

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    Louis Price 8:56 pm on June 10, 2010 Permalink | Reply

    Bon Jovi definitely rocks, the best rock and roll band in the planet-”*