You’re driving down the road still hours from your destination and famished. Being that you’re in a small, rural area, you decide to pull off and ask someone what food they might recommend for a road weary traveler. The person appears to be local and, from what you can gather, trustworthy. You exchange pleasantries then express to the local that you would to find a quick, healthy meal to sustain you on your journey. After a brief pause, the local excitedly suggests that the Exxon station across the two-lane highway just started carrying sushi and that, “it’s fantastic – I promise!”
The moment of truth arrives – do you trust the local who is extolling the greatness of gas station sushi or do you snag a small bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a bottle of water? The fact is most wouldn’t trust sushi bought from a gas station – it just doesn’t sound appetizing no matter who tells you how wonderful it tastes.
Many promotional products professionals have prospects that continually ask for – or, even worse, demand – new ideas but never seem to buy. When probed, the prospect will generally explain that the “timing isn’t right” or that they “went in a different direction.” Usually, they will dangle the carrot of “next time” and, all too often, salespeople cling to that promise only to have the situation repeat itself again and again.
You wouldn’t trust sushi from a gas station so why would you trust a prospect that has a history of squeezing you for ideas but never makes a purchase?
When the promise is always better than reality, it’s time to find a different prospect.
Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 17 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, president of the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS), vice president of the Regional Association Council (RAC) board, and PromoKitchen chef, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, and developing branding that resonates with a target audience. He can be reached at bill@PromoCorner.com.