To thrive, every organization needs one crucial element: customers. Whether through digital outreach, traditional sales channels, or direct interactions, it's the customers who drive the organization forward.
To sell products or services effectively, an organization needs two key components: a customer who trusts the product/service and a salesperson who believes in the organization or brand and pushes the product to the end user. When it comes to digital sales, there are many factors to consider. Sales is an art executed scientifically, backed by data and marketing.
What does it take to sell effectively? Success hinges on four critical factors, which I call the 4Fs: a strong Product, a compelling Brand, skilled Salespeople, and effective Marketing. Over my 18-year career, whether I was selling condoms or condos, I've learned that each product requires a unique strategy. For instance, selling high-end real estate demands a focus on personalized service and trust-building, whereas selling consumer goods like condoms relies on brand recognition and accessibility.
In today's market, especially in a country like India, where customers are neither fully digital nor completely traditional, achieving the perfect balance of these factors can feel like a nightmare. Yet, once that balance is achieved, sales can take off like a rocket.
Many companies believe that having a unique product or service that solves problems should naturally drive sales. Is that approach right? Some companies focus solely on marketing, pushing customers towards DIY journeys that lead to sales. Is that approach right? Others build extensive sales teams or go fully digital. Is that approach right? And then there are those who rely on partnerships, leveraging others' strengths and sharing the benefits. Is that approach right?
Oh well, here's my simple answer: they're all wrong. The 4Fs, or as I like to call them, the 4 Fuckups, must be perfectly balanced for any product to sell. In today's world, where customer loyalty is as mythical as a unicorn, if you don’t get these 4Fs just right, sales will never take the path you desire. They'll be sluggish, occasionally flaring up depending on your marketing budget, and eventually flattening out.
Branding is another myth. Branding today is customer perception. It doesn't need vintage in most cases, except in traditional businesses like gold and real estate where legacy matters to some extent. If branding were bound by vintage, we wouldn’t have unicorns appearing within three years of operation or those that have never seen the light of profit.
Most companies make the common mistake of focusing on things that may work while crafting their sales strategy instead of finding the winning combination of the 4Fs. In today's economy, where customers are always looking for alternatives, it's tough to win the sales battle without a comprehensive strategy addressing Product, Branding, Sales, and Marketing. Find the perfect balance of the 4Fs, and bingo—you’re on a sales rocket.
There’s a lot of noise about digital sales and DIY strategies. I’m thankful to all the digital gurus out there with no knowledge of sales. If you throw a stone in any market crowd, there's a 7 out of 10 chance it'll hit a digital marketer. Contrary to popular belief, digital sales can be more challenging than traditional sales. The lack of face-to-face interaction means you must be even more precise and strategic in guiding customers through their digital journey. And don't forget, digital sales require burning cash and a product that allows crazy customer acquisition costs to fuel your digital sales spree. In every review meeting, you’ll see confusing presentations from digital marketers about how CPC and CPL have dropped. But when you do the math, you'll realize your customer acquisition cost has gone rogue.
Digital sales are undoubtedly the future, but our customers' mindset will remain hybrid for the next decade. They’ll look at a brand’s digital footprint but won’t trust it completely. They’ll follow influencers but might not buy. They’ll listen to a telecaller but won’t commit without reassurance. They might be charmed by a smart salesperson but won’t buy without checking the digital presence. It's the customer's dilemma. They have options, they have learnings—as if Google wasn’t enough, now they have ChatGPT too. In today’s information age, where information itself is sometimes a product of imagination, how do you sell? The answer is a perfect balance of the 4Fs.
So, the next time you plan your sales strategy, remember the 4Fs and get them right to hit the jackpot. And if all else fails, just remember that selling condoms and condos have one thing in common: they both need to be done with utmost care and precision!
