The New Southern Standard

I’m sure I’ve written about this topic elsewhere. Several things have been building over the previous few months that are prompting me to discuss it again.

Here are the 3 scenarios -

1) A retired executive looking to start consulting

2) A person selling a utility vehicle

3) A nurse opening up a new facility

(Granted, #2 isn’t really a business, but it’s the same model - trying to sell something.)

I’ve been working with all of these people. What do they have in common? Lots of things, but the most important one is the Field of Dreams syndrome.

In one case, an ad was taken out in the newspaper for one week. There were no calls so the ad was discontinued. In another case a television spot was run. There were many calls, but no sales. In one case, a brochure was hastily written with the copy listing the vast number of achievements and awards. A few people were sent the brochure and no one bought.

A marketing professional can pinpoint multiple problems with the situations above. What is the common thing among them? They all succumbed to the ‘Field of Dreams’ syndrome.

Each thought that when their product hit the streets, a long line of people would suddenly start beating the door down. In reality, a customer is highly unlikely to make a purchase the first time they see an ad. And, as a corollary to that rule, when someone is learning about your product, they do not want to hear about you, they want to hear about themselves. They don’t want information about your product, they want information about themselves using your product.

For all the business owners, the cause of the problem was the same. They knew everything about the product and how great it was, but they neglected to realize that their customer’s did not. They didn’t allow time for the customer to learn about the product, give them space to make a decision, or factor in the complicated issues in making a buying decision.

Most likely you are an expert on your product. You quickly decide the value of the information and make a decision. Remember that the customer has no such expertise. It takes time for people to make a decision.

This is not the ‘Field of Dreams.’ You can build it, but you should allow ample time for people to come.

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