It doesn’t matter what the marketing or sales opportunity that you’re in is, there are always a few things that remain constant in order to achieve success. In this article I would like to talk a about 7 tips to creating success within the marketing or sales industries; actually these tips can be used by anyone involved with business.

Here are 7 simple tips to creating success within the sales and marketing industries:

1. Be Punctual

There is nothing worse than someone that is always late; it’s rude and unprofessional. If you’re supposed to call or meet someone at a certain time then you’ve got to be punctual. Showing up on time shows that you’re professional and you respect other peoples time. No one will ever take you serious if you’re constantly showing up late.

2. Warm Up the Client

The best way to warm up a client is to become their friend. In a way I would rather have people view me as their friend than just some sales person or business man. When you’re able to find some common ground with a person you’ll have a much easier time transitioning into you your business.

3. Knowledge

You’ve got to know your product and business inside and out. Remember that people aren’t just buying a product they’re buying you; the second they see that you don’t know what you’re talking they’ll decide right then and there that they don’t want to do business with you.

4. Adapting To Your Buyer

Every one of your buyers or clients will be different from the other. You can’t say or do the same thing over and over; you’ve got to adapt to your buyer and make them feel comfortable and relaxed.

5. Trust

Building a trust bridge between you and your client is one of the most important things you can do. This can be done by accomplishing the things that I’ve mentioned so far. Once you’ve established that trust you don’t want to do anything that could ruin it.

6. Have a Plan

Don’t be one of those business men or women that think they can “wing” their presentation. Have a well thought and organized plan and you’ll see that your presentation will go much smoother.

7. Closing

If you do all the things that I’ve mentioned above then closing will be easy. The key to closing a sale is make sure your clients understand why they need whatever it is that you’re selling. Once they feel the need for your product or service closing the sale will be the easiest thing you’ve ever done.

Believe it or not, you can learn a LOT about sales and marketing living in a small town.

Not lessons for what to do. But lessons for what not to do.

Here’s what I mean:

As much as living in a small town suits my introverted, Big Foot-hunting ways, it’s sometimes painful watching the local businesses commit suicide.

It’s like they do the exact OPPOSITE of what smart businesses do.

In fact, it totally reminds me of “Bizarro” Superman. Bizarro Superman is like Superman’s exact opposite who lives in the backwards Bizarro world. In other words… Up is down, down is up, he says hello when he leaves, says goodbye when he arrives, has freeze vision (instead of heat vision), flame breath (instead of frost breath), etc.

And that’s exactly how many of these local businesses operate.

For example, we got Bizarro customer service.

Instead of making you want to come back and even tell your friends… you get yahoos at the counter purposely making people stand in line for several minutes while they talk to a friend in line or on their cell phones.

We also got Bizarro hotel staff.

Instead of hiring competent people who, you know, tend to do a good job, some of these locals ONLY hire cronies and family members who KNOW they can’t be fired and treat people (especially tourists — the town’s “bread ‘n butter”) like lepers.

Heck, we’ve even got Bizarro INVESTORS around here.

This one dude’s pouring $30 million smackeroos into a new, high-end hotel/spa/thingy seemingly without much accountability or strategy.

Believe it or not, a chamber of commerce person actually said:

“We don’t need customers, we got $30 million.”

Dumb.

Anyway, here’s the point:

All of this is the exact OPPOSITE of what (most of us) do in marketing — where we test, measure and bend over backwards to make customers happy. And it really puts things in perspective.

It also proves the late Earl Nightingale right when he said:

“If you want to succeed, just look around at what everyone else is doing, and do the exact opposite.”

That simple advice has served me well for a long time now.

And it can serve you well, too.

When you see the “bizarro marketers” out there doing things you know are hurting them, even if they have “goo roo” status, do the opposite. Fight that urge to blindly follow people, and do what’s right.

Do that, and you’ll probably never go wrong.

The best sales and marketing happens when you are honest.

Here are the top 3 reasons why you should make sure you are meticulously principled in all of your sales and marketing activities:

1) Passion

People marvel at how the gifted sales or marketing professional effortlessly communicates benefits and value while spellbinding customers and compelling them to act. Imagine a bottled up monster inside of you and every other top sales and marketing professional, a monster that just wants to leap out of you and make your customer listen to what you are saying. Why? Because it is that good. Why? Because you know that your product or service is going to help your customer immeasurably. Why? Because you have been principled in all of your communications and dealings with them.

Principles lead to power, inner power. The power of conviction and of doing what is right will always overcoming the willy-nilly and wishy-washiness of secret agendas, distorted sales and marketing and seeking to mislead customers even in the slightest. Just don’t do it. It doesn’t work. If you do it, stop it. Change and let real success come into your life, success that is built and bred on honesty and fair play and creates a snowball of business that will grow and grow until it grows out of control. Start by telling the truth and making sure the customers knows exactly what they are getting.

2) Credibility

If you are a proverbial “snake oil” salesman – and I don’t know what that means either although I am sure you have heard that expression too! – then don’t worry about this one. If you sell a low-cost commodity in a transactional sale where you will probably never see your customer again then you can pass this bit of advice over. If you are more interested in “one offs” than establishing long-term relationships then skip this and read ahead. This point does not apply to a hawker in a crowded bazaar or a fly-by-night spammer on the Internet for that matter.

However, if you are interested in establishing real and long-term relationships with people in general and your customers specially then read on. There are 3 keys to a business relationship from a customer perspective and these are price, need and trust. The first 2 lie in the hands of the customer more or less but the last depends in a big way on you. Be honest so that your customers learn to trust you. Do what you say, be predictable and forthright. If you find yourself starting to play mind games then stop. It is not worth it. You don’t want that and neither does your customer.

3) Karma

What goes around comes around. You’ve heard that, haven’t you? Do you believe it? Well, chances are that you have experienced it in real life, not once but many times. All great religions speak of the law of sowing and reaping and most every successful person falls back on this as one of the cardinal rules of getting ahead in life. Perhaps you are not into “psycho-spiritual” mumbo-jumbo but here is a thought: why not give it a try? Why? Because it is the right thing to do. Why? Well, why not? From a practical perspective people – your customer included – are more likely to treat you right if you treat them right, right?

The parable of an enterprise built on good values is like a building made on a solid foundation. Examples of “shoddy workmanship” abound in the world of building and architecture as well as every other human endeavor. You will find countless people “shooting for the top” who are too busy to “cross their t’s” and “dot their i’s” along they way. Donald Trump once said that when he sees a car dealership with dirty cars he sees a loser. Think about it: if you run your sales and marketing activities in a haphazard fashion without integrity and honesty, how can you expect to build a world class enterprise? Sure, it is sometimes harder but in the long terms it is much easier, trust me.

The little things sometimes pay the biggest rewards so be unscrupulously scrupulous always!

Never thought I’d admit this, but I think I’m insane.

At least, according to this popular definition bandied about by a lot of sales and marketing “gurus”:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”

Hmm.

I don’t know about that. In fact, I have the exact OPPOSITE definition:

“Insanity is NOT doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Let me explain my “madness” here:

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found stubborn repetition, ESPECIALLY when you don’t see immediate results, essential to succeeding in almost everything. For example, things like…

1. Repetition of learning

I’m a BIG believer in consuming the best books, CD’s and courses 10 times, minimum.

It’s one of the big “secrets” to learning something not only very quickly, but at a much deeper level than your lazy competition ever will.

2. Repetition of following up

Some people think it’s nuts to write a DAILY email.

Yet, ever since doing so, my sales have exploded, most of the do-nothings have unsubscribed (or I unsubscribed them), and I get FAR more new client inquiries, and other cool opportunities I never would have gotten otherwise.

Doesn’t take a sane man to know one single email didn’t get those results.

3. Repetition of good habits

Imagine eating ONE good meal or exercising just ONE time and expecting to feel and look great. Maybe I’m crazy… but to me THAT would truly be insane.

4. Repetition of doing what works

Lots of marketers get bored of their own ads, or of selling the same product that consistently outsells other products, and then wonder, “What happened to sales?”

Maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t sound “right in the head.”

5. Repetition of words

When you repeat certain words in your ads, speeches, videos, etc, in a very specific way, you’ll find people have a very, very hard NOT listening.

And no… there’s nothing “voodoo” going on.

But if you read great speeches, ads and other persuasive messages, there’s a certain repetition of thought at work.

6. Repetition of attitude

Even a lunatic would agree having a positive mindset helps you better cope with life’s curve balls whizzing at your head.

Imagine the insanity of not keeping a good attitude just because it didn’t “work” the first time?

7. Repetition of action

Let’s face it…

A lot of success is just showing up — ready to work. Of course, if you only show up to work on your business one day per year, because, you know, that last time didn’t produce any sales, I think we’d have to call the men in white coats on ya.

Anyway, as you can see, there’s power in repetition.

Of doing the same things over and over — immediate results or not.

Which is why, in the “asylum” I call my mind, it’s the popular definition of insanity that’s really insane.

Saw a pretty cool movie recently with my wife.

A movie that explains why a LOT of customers don’t buy. And reveals a sales and marketing “secret” that can dramatically increase your profits.

Anyway, the movie is called “Fire Proof”.

It is an unabashedly Christian movie about a fireman and his wife on the path to divorce — but whose hearts are changed by a 40-day “test” the fireman’s father gives him.

Whoa!

I can ALREADY see some peoples’ eyes rolling reading this.

“C’mon Ben! Why are you wasting my time with this!”

Patience, grasshopper.

All will be revealed in a second.

You see, there are many themes running through this movie. Some are obvious (such as, “never leave your partner behind, especially in a fire”.) And some are not-so-obvious.

The sales lesson is one of the not-so-obvious ones.

It goes like this:

When the main character (the fireman) first tries to save his marriage, he only goes through the motions as he follows his dad’s 40-day plan. In fact, he goes the first 20 days without his heart being in it at all — only thinking of what he will gain from his efforts.

His wife (not surprisingly) sees right through him.

She doesn’t buy his act.

And as a result, she DISTRUSTS him even more.

Which is where the sales lesson comes in:

How many of us go through the motions like this when selling? Without truly CARING about our prospects? Without caring about their pain and challenges? Without caring about anything except “sucking as much money as possible from their bank accounts”?

I’m not saying this attitude can’t work.

Especially when selling to the low-hanging fruit (who buy anything).

But most people see right through it. And will naturally distrust you (and not buy from you) as a result. This is why I believe if someone wants to take their business to the “next level” they can’t just go through the motions.

You must CARE about your customers.

Your heart has to be into helping THEM first.

And you have to believe (REALLY believe) what you’re selling is going to change their lives for the better.

I realize this is a little “touchy feely”.

But when your heart is into helping your customers like this, success is almost automatic.

You automatically do what’s in your customer’s best interest. Automatically create (or pick) the BEST products to sell. And automatically do things that POSITION you as someone who cares — and is therefore trusted and believed.

This caring stuff isn’t always “sexy.”

But it works like gangbusters.

And in most cases, your competition is probably NOT doing it.