The Marketing Game
As
an Independent Beauty Consultant, you are a
business owner, and as a business owner,
marketing is crucial to your business. Every
business that wants to stay in business must
market itself, its products and/or services –
that’s the nature of business.
So
if you want to succeed in Mary Kay, you’ll need
to market your products and services through
skin care classes, facials, warm chattering,
facial boxes, event booths, referrals, bridal
leads, etc.
Now let’s briefly talk about marketing from a
slightly different perspective because when you
totally understand the game of marketing, you’ll
be able to detach your emotions better and
handle the mental aspect of your business so
much easier.
Let’s discuss big businesses for a second and
how they market. Traditionally, they’re putting
ads on TV, in newspapers, in magazines, on the
Internet, sponsoring events, running promotions,
hiring celebrities, etc. Lots of money in
upfront costs.
And thinking about all the advertisements you
hear or see in a day, how many do you actually
pay attention to? Probably very few, right?
We’re bombarded so much that we typically become
numb to many of them as they fall of deaf ears.
Of
those few that you pay attention to, how many of
them get you to actually say “yes”? A very
small percentage, I’m sure. What I mean by
saying “yes” is that the ad inspires you to act
and get the product or service that it’s
pitching.
And the main reason most people say yes – THIS
IS HUGE - is that the ad pitched something
they were already looking for – whether
it be dinner, a new sofa, a movie, or some
headache relief potion.
Smart marketers
do not
go after people who have no interest in their
products and services and make it their mission
to change the prospects’ thinking so they become
a buyer. And neither should you. That takes
too much effort and has an extremely low success
rate. As if you didn’t know that already! ;-)
As
you market your Mary Kay business, you’re
much better off trying to find people who are
already looking for what you have,
and
offering it to them. Anything
else is like getting in line for an emotional
roller coaster. I suggest you don’t get in that
particular line!
Now here’s the million dollar question – when
you completely ignore an advertisement from a
huge business like Microsoft, do you think Bill
Gates is emotionally crushed? Do you think he
asks himself whether he has what it takes to run
this business? Or wonders whether or not he’s
good enough to succeed? Of course not.
Why don’t he and the marketing directors do
that? Because they don’t ever experience your
rejection. You simply don’t go buy his stuff,
and that’s it. You don’t call up Microsoft, let
them know you saw their ad, and you’ve decided
NOT to buy, do you? The only people Microsoft
really deals with are paying customers – people
who’ve already said yes.
Obviously, this example is a totally different
ballgame from Mary Kay, but let’s go deeper to
understand some very important concepts about
marketing in general that do pertain to you
100%.
What makes your marketing, as a direct sales
business owner, different than traditional
businesses is that most, if not all, of your
marketing will be done face to face with
potential customers and recruits. Instead of
putting commercials on TV and radio, you’re
asking people directly if they’re interested in
what you have to offer. That’s both good and
bad.
The great part is that you have a unique
opportunity to build rapport, create
connections, and let people know you as a person
before selling them your products and offering
them the business. That will always, always,
always produce better results than cold
marketing, where the prospect doesn’t get a
chance to meet the salesperson and really know
the product.
The only bad part, the part that causes most
Consultants and Directors to get frustrated and
question their own abilities, is the fact that
you must experience all the no’s firsthand. The
reason this causes so much pain for people is
they think the prospect’s ‘rejection’ is somehow
a statement about them personally. Wrong.
Remember, most people say no because
they’re not already looking for what you’re
offering. Nothing more. You shouldn’t
decide to stop making it available to those who
are looking.
But understand that all businesses will get
way more no’s than yes’s. That’s
part of the marketing game, and you can’t change
the rules. The best direct marketers in the
world usually get far less than a 10% positive
response. And they’re rich! They just keep on
marketing until they get what they want (catch
the message).
So
if you’re experiencing a lot more rejections
than yes’s, get excited! That means you’re in
business. Nothing more.
Plus, you learn more with the no’s anyway.
They’ll cause you to get better as a business
owner, a marketer, a mentor, a leader and as a
person. That’s a win-win!
Yes’s build your business; no’s build your
character.
Back to the marketing percentages. Most women
tell me they get anywhere between 1-out-of-2 to
1-out-of-5 ratio in most areas of the business.
So 1 out of every 2 booked classes will hold, 1
out of every 5 women you share the business with
will recruit, etc. Understand that from a
marketing perspective, those ratios are
PHENOMENAL!
But even if yours are not that good – let’s say
your ratios are 1-out-of-10 in every area,
you’re still above the curve for most
businesses. Just keep doing the activities that
lead to results until you get the results you
want! That’s it.
Marketing is not an emotional game until YOU
provide the emotion.
The reason this is a hugely important concept is
that most women internalize their selling and
sharing results, compare themselves to the top
Directors and Nationals (a no-no), and beat
themselves up for not being better. And most
women don’t even realize how great their results
are!
So, if you’re in that category, stop beating
yourself up and just keep doing the activities
that lead to results until you get the results
you want. That is one of the major keys to
success in anything you’ll ever do.
Enjoy your marketing journey!
SS
Back To Top
I
am the father of a kindergartner! Holy cow
- it seems like just a few weeks ago that we
brought McKenna home from the hospital.
Amazing. Now she's 5 1/2 years old, the
most incredible little person, and an awesome
big sister with the biggest heart in the world.
