Here’s the most common lie I heard people tell themselves when I was doing day-to-day publicity for high tech companies.
I call it the “spreadsheet marketing lie.”
It goes like this:
“The widget market is huge. It’s a one-billion dollar industry. If we get 1/10 of 1 percent of that market, we’ll make one million dollars.”
The trouble is that it doesn’t matter how big that market is if they don’t need your product.
Do you need another spreadsheet?
Or word processor?
Or a book about your topic?
If the answer is “no,” then all the time, money and energy isn’t going to convince someone to buy it.
Get real.
Get real goals.
Do real tests.
Get real education.
Then hit the marketplace.
Bottom Line: Internet Marketing can’t work if you have blinders on your eyes.
Save time
Great point Dan. When I got my first sales job, they gave me a “1/100 calls will close” statistic and told me to start calling as many people as possible. I asked if I was more creative in my approach and took more time qualifying / researching / creating relationships, could I increase that statistic?
Their response?: Just do your job, Justin.
That reminds me of the Mandarin Orange Fallacy, discovered in my distant youth. If there are, say, one billion people in China and just 0.1% of them like oranges, and you sell them all an orange on a subscription plan, one orange per month, you will soon be a billionaire, and employing half the people on the planet to grow your oranges for you. Stands to reason, huh? Just send me $999 and I’ll tell you how to do it…