The Death of Personal Marketing ?

There was a new article posted today by Paul McCord called "The Death of Personal Marketing" and I wondered what others opinions were on the article.

Personal marketing done right has, does and will continue to thrive in the future and there is a LOT more to personal selling than educating the consumer.

Originally Posted by Houston Personal marketing done right has, does and will continue to thrive in the future and there is a LOT more to personal selling than educating the consumer.

Houston,

You're right. Personal marketing has worked in the past. To a large extent, it works today. The future is going to be substantially different.

As I mentioned in the article, personal marketing isn't going away. It will simply have to become ancillary to developing a public reputation as an expert. It becomes secondary to supporting the image and reputaton the salesperson builds. There is more to personal marketing than education, but we are moving into--actually already there--an enviornment where consumers no longer need salespeople for most of their purchases. And if they do choose to work with a salesperson, they are looking for the cheapest price on the solution they've already decided upon or they want someone who has the image and reputation equal to the experts they read and listen to via the media.

When I speak with executives, one of their concerns is how to stop the commodization of their industry. And this is true whether I'm speaking with executives in the financial services, IT, consulting, mortgage, real estate, insurance, data processing, and most other industries.

The problem is they can't stop it. All they can do is prepare for it by either giving in or finding ways to decommoditize their own products or services. The way to decommoditize a product or service is to reverse the process and turn it back into a decision that is based on expert advise.

The problem then becomes the salesperson, not the company, must be viewed as an expert. Marketing won't do that because everyone else is making the same claims. When everyone is making the same claims, no one believes anyone because the noise is too loud. The salesperson simply becomes a faceless salesperson in a sea of faceless salespeople, all trying to sell the same stuff, to the same people, at basically the same price, the same way.

This is the reason the USP is basically dead as a strong marketing tool. Years ago the USP was a powerful tool. It was a new concept to sales taken straight out of the pages of Madison Avenue. It worked and it worked very, very well. Today, everybody is encouraged to develop their own USP. However, no matter what you sell, there are only a few dozen or maybe a few hundred ways to express what you do--no matter how unique you try to be. With thousands upon thousands of salespeople in each industry using their own version of the same statement, it loses its impact. Prospects have heard it all before. This isn't to say it isn't helpful for salespeople to develop a USP. It is simply to say that it no longer has the impact it used to and that is was intended to have.

Differentation for salespeople has always been difficult. Even more so in a world where salespeople are perceived to be not needed by more and more consumers and where consumers have become numb to marketing. How then do you differentiate yourself? One way--publicity, becoming recognized as an expert, by literally taking yourself out of the crowd and putting yourself in a different group.

Unfortunately, commodization is a reality. One that is growing and will continue to grow. Of course, in a commodized world, consumers still want and need products and services, they just believe they no longer need or want someone they perceive to be biased involved in the purchase.

Originally Posted by pmccord As I mentioned in the article, personal marketing isn't going away. It will simply have to become ancillary to developing a public reputation as an expert.

What are examples of the "personal marketing" that you're talking about Paul?

Originally Posted by Mikey What are examples of the "personal marketing" that you're talking about Paul?

I gave a number of examples in the article, but here's a short list: cold calling; fliers; signs; emails; direct mail letters; magnetic signs on the side of your car; postcards; virtually anything that promotes you that is designed to highlight you, your product, your company.

as I mentioned, these are useful for supporting a public reputation but becoming increasingly ineffective by themselves because increasingly consumers are coming to the conclusion they don't need salespeople because they can get "expert" advice without the attached prejudice of someone seeking a commission from magazines, books, TV, radio, etc.

Cold calling, direct mail, etc. (personal marketing) are channels or delivery methods for a message. I don't believe these channels or delivery methods are at risk of dying anytime soon.

The delivery channels are the way salespeople market. Their message must be carried someway and it is the channel that gets the message out. The message is virtually identical from one salesperson to another.

How soon they die is dependent upon what you mean by soon. They are already in the process of dying. As I said, it will take years, but the process has already started.

The problem isn't with the channel--it is with the consumer--many, and a growing number all the time, don't want to deal with salespeople. They'd rather do it themselves based on the information they gather from sources they trust. The point isn't the channel, its the way people make purchasing decisions is changing--and we can't stop it or slow it down. But we can recognize it and make the necessary changes to take advantage of it.

Originally Posted by pmccord The delivery channels are the way salespeople market. Their message must be carried someway and it is the channel that gets the message out. The message is virtually identical from one salesperson to another.

Do you agree that the problem isn't with 'personal marketing' but instead the 'message' being sent via 'personal marketing'?

Not really. The problem is a growing number of people don't want to deal with salespeople. It isn't a problem with the channels, nor is it a problem with the salesperson's message in the sense of what we're talking about (the typical salesperson's message is a totally different topic and within the way prospecting and marketing is done today by the majority of salespeople it's a huge problem, but that's another thread). The problem is a shift in the way people buy. Salespeople are no longer needed except to fill out the paperwork--and many companies are making it so that even then they aren't needed.

The role of the salesperson as provider of information and advice is being replaced with media--tons and tons of media that offer expert advice on every subject under the sun. So, when the salesperson's expertise and counsel is no longer needed, the only thing the prospect needs is a place to buy and the best price they can find.

And, again, this isn't to say there won't always be a segment of the buying population that wants the expertise and advice of a salesperson. There will always be that segment. But it is shrinking. And even then, they are increasingly wanting to work with someone they believe is as knowledgeable--and objective--as the experts they read and listen to.

Originally Posted by pmccord Not really. The problem is a growing number of people don't want to deal with salespeople. It isn't a problem with the channels, nor is it a problem with the salesperson's message in the sense of what we're talking about (the typical salesperson's message is a totally different topic and within the way prospecting and marketing is done today by the majority of salespeople it's a huge problem, but that's another thread). The problem is a shift in the way people buy. Salespeople are no longer needed except to fill out the paperwork--and many companies are making it so that even then they aren't needed. The role of the salesperson as provider of information and advice is being replaced with media--tons and tons of media that offer expert advice on every subject under the sun. So, when the salesperson's expertise and counsel is no longer needed, the only thing the prospect needs is a place to buy and the best price they can find. And, again, this isn't to say there won't always be a segment of the buying population that wants the expertise and advice of a salesperson. There will always be that segment. But it is shrinking. And even then, they are increasingly wanting to work with someone they believe is as knowledgeable--and objective--as the experts they read and listen to.

Paul, I have to agree with you on this. It started in the mid 90's with the automobile buyer becoming more informed on product. I am sure that if you looked at consumer magazine sells, they have gone down due to the internet. It has be become a "consumer aware" society (sales practices, some of them, are often mocked - ie Seinfield's "what do I have to do to get you in this car today")

You are right, there will be those who want the personal attention. But in a society that has their kids in 3 sports, 4 clubs, and sets play dates - time is important to the consumer. I have heard people say they do not want to go to a store to purchase anything due to the time spent with a sales person going through the norm of upsales, etc.

I would have to say, as I know you know, that the internet changed sales.