history of the sales funnel
DESCRIPTION
Ever wonder how salesmen got such a bad reputation? Why the worst of them seem to only want to sell things you don't need at prices you can't afford? Why modern, professional salespeople are so good at understanding their customers and making a purchase effortless? The answer has a lot to do with how the sales process has developed over the last hundred years. Take a look.TRANSCRIPT
A history of the modernSales
Funnel**abridged
By Brian Reynolds
The 1950’s Dawn of the TV Era
1800’s - 1950 “Snake Oil,
Carpetbaggers & the General Store”
Characterized by its intimacy and isolation, in this period it’s rare to buy anything from someone
you wouldn’t see in church on Sunday. In those cases where an outsider emerges
with the promise of “something new” there’s no way to find them once
they’re gone.
One Salesman
One Customer
“Marketing” as we know it
doesn't exist because there’s
no reliable way to reach
a mass
market. Sales are limited to
the reach of your voice and
because customers are rare
they are all pressed with an
equal lack of mercy.
America sees the birth of a broad middle class, the
capacity of media to reach every home in the country and the beginning of the modern consumer age.
!Bolstered by the twin forces
of Madison Avenue “Ad Men” and a completely
opaque market, salesmen assume you need what they
have and build a clumsy process to extract as much
money from you as possible. Suddenly their
audience is huge and tequniques designed for
20%-Qualify
40% - Close, close, CLOSE!
30% - The Show
Visit any disreputable used car lot and you’ll see the last practitioners of this craft. Heavy handed and reliant on the salesman’s informational edge this “Funnel” relies on media to grab the unfiltered masses, a cursory introduction and financial assessment before the press of product and CLOSE
begin.
10% - Building Rapport
The 70’s, 80’s & 90’s I’m not a ‘Salesman’, I’m a
‘Consultant’.By now everyone hates the
word “Salesman”. It defines someone who tries
to get you to buy things you don’t want for prices you can’t afford without
bothering to ask you if you need them. Guru’s like Zig
Presenting - 20%
40% - Build Trust
30% - Assess Needs
Confirming/Closing - 10%
Direct Mail Your Address
Anywhere, State, USA
Hello?
Ziglar, Tom Hopkins & Brian Tracy work to transform the very structure of
sales to make it a more reputable profession. Meanwhile direct mail,
A Simple Conflict By this time professional salespeople preach the gospel of ‘Trust’, ‘Rapport’ & ‘Common Ground’ but there’s still a
deep inequality at the negotiating table. It remains a challenge for customers to get clarity on what the fair price is for goods & services. Some companies convince themselves that anyone can be successful with enough training only to find out that not everyone can be “trained” to build trust.
small numbers of prospects fail utterly to distinguish between the sudden glut of prospects, good and bad. Sadly, it doesn’t matter.
Television streams limitless buyers to the troth & the blunt hammer of old methods focuses on forcing everyone to buy.
Get Attention HereThen
1-800 numbers, telemarketing and multi-level systems make huge strides forward. A level of refinement is arriving and
smart businesses construct methods for customers to self-select and push themselves further down a funnel for the first time.
So what’s the story now?
Consumers Win! Why today’s businesses are
scrambling to prove they care.
Consumers have become comfortable
going around salespeople. They shop
for products in stores only to buy them
cheaper online. For the first time buyers don’t have to take
anyone at their word because competitive shopping for almost every product and service is available at the click of a mouse. Social media speeds this along. No company can hide from a
bad review, no salesman can assume the customer is uneducated and no single channel can deliver mass eyeballs.
Soo…
…many……channels.
And it’s
WAY BETTER like this!
Why?
TAKE A LOOK:FOR CUSTOMERS
FOR MARKETERS
FOR SALESPEOPLE
FOR BUSINESSES
Pressure Evaporates
!
Consumers have never had so
many choices and better
still
they can research onlin
e to
weed out companies and
services that aren’t
meaningfully unique so that
they can build comfort with a
company in advance of talki
ng
to anyone who works there.
Trust Becomes Assumed !
It used to be that the majority of a salesperson’s energy went into building the relationship or twisting arms. The relationship is still the most important thing, but now Prospects are self selecting not just because of the product, but because they have learned about the company’s culture, gotten word of mouth all in advance and validated their view of the salesman as a thought leader all in ADVANCE of the first phone call. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but the floor has been raised.
The only eyeballs are Qualified Eyeballs !
For decades advertising was about the mass market but unfortunately that meant that the
majority of people that saw your ad were people who couldn’t use your product. Businesses
were paying to get in front of the wrong people. Modern content marketing has changed that. It may be true that it takes more Time & Work to attract a customer, but it's never been CHEAPER to get in front of them and customers have never been so willing to engage back. Wise businesses
know their customers better than the customers know themselves and can speak to niche needs that build tremendous credibility without in a way that’s dirt cheap and sticks
around far longer than a 30-second spot.
Everyone, Everywhere can hear you… for free. !
There will always be a place for super-bowl ads but the way to a customer's heart is in targeted, highly tailored content. A blog post detailing a workout plan is better at building trust in high end running shoes than an ad in sports illustrated. Search engines and social media will do all the work for you if you understand your customers well enough and speak to their needs. The best part is that good marketing will last forever. You don't have to pay to play the ad over and over. Instead good content marks you as a thoughtful, trusted partner and it builds on itself year after year.
About the Author
Brian Reynolds is an entrepreneur and corporate consultant. He specializes in advising companies on how they can beat their competition in getting to the future.
!An Innovation Engineering Black Belt, his time is spent
helping companies grow in highly profitable ways.Additionally, he speaks and lectures publicly on the impacts climate change
will have on the business community and how individual companies can turn the climate crisis into a business opportunity.
For more from Mr. Reynolds including contacting him for :
www.Linked.com/IN/BrianReynoldsofNJ Twitter @BrianofNJ
www.Facebook.com/BrianofNJ