For decades, pushing at our prospects was a marketing mainstay. We were taught to
– We pushed promotions, calling it lead generation.
– We pushed me, me, me taglines, logos n more, calling it branding.
– We pushed every possible news about us, calling it PR.
The list goes on…
Push marketing worked for a long time. But no more…
Prospects Push Back
Today’s prospects enjoy nearly limitless (and objective) information about us. They can gather facts, opinions and every piece of data they want or need- without us even knowing they are snooping around.
When we push at empowered prospects – they push away from us and toward a vendor that isn’t being pushy. Think about it. Do you like someone who pushes when they sell to you? Why would your buyers be any different?
The truth is we were all trained to be push-happy. It’s the way we’ve always done it – and still do. Welcome to Gravity!
Here’s an exercise to see if you’re pushy. Go grab your marketing plan. For each action – ask yourself, “Is this a push-based approach?” You might just be surprised…
But If We Can’t Push???
The answer comes in a simple shift in the way we think.
Instead of pushing ourselves on our buyer – focus on attracting our buyers, enticing them to want to chat with us. We can simply switch our priorities.
How do we attract them? We focus on them, we treat them as partners and friends. We earn their respect.
Here are a few ideas on how to be alluring.
- Listening to what our prospects are concerned about, the problems they want to solve, the opportunities they want to capture.
- Conversing, as in a 2-way interaction. Instead of pushing that big bad whitepaper at your prospect, try a 1-1 discussion. Isn’t that what social media is all about?
- Engaging by focusing on them. Hone in on their specific needs instead of blanketing them with blah blah.
- Educating by sharing our expertise, our experiences, by suggesting important things to think about, alternative solutions and more. And don’t expect anything in return.
Today’s buyers independently move through 70+% of the buying cycle as they gather information, review that data and make their choices. Then they invite you to a meeting. Maybe.
Something tells me we can’t push our way into their wallets anymore.
