The false assumptions that ruin your marketing results

Unsure why you’re attracting too few sales or too few clients? It could be down to false assumptions. Allow me to explain.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, ‘if the words don’t add up, it’s usually because truth wasn’t part of the equation’. Here’s my marketing equivalent, ‘if the numbers don’t add up, it’s usually because truth wasn’t part of the equation’.

In other words, when your sales numbers don’t add up the way you expect, it’s usually because false information entered the equation. False information, rooted in a false assumption, to be precise.

Here’s a very common example of what I mean.

Failing to check the source

Small business owners are often poorly advised. If they wrongly assume the advice is correct when it’s false, and then follow the advice, they’ll lose money, waste time and miss opportunities.

The golden rule here is to always check the source of advice, before you act on it.

For example, if a sincere friend gives you marketing advice, make sure they have the marketing background required. As Jim Rohn used to tell us, sincerity is not a test of truth. It’s possible to be sincerely wrong!.

Equally, before you pay for advice from a marketing provider, check them out. As you may have already discovered, there are plenty of ineffective marketing providers out there.

The easiest way to check a marketing provider out is to look at how they market their own business. Effective marketing providers attract clients via referral and reputation; so people already know us and our work long before they hire us. Less effective marketing providers are unable to attract enough clients or get enough referrals. You find them at networking events hunting for clients or on Linkedin pestering people for leads. That’s a huge red flag.

Here’s another cause of false assumptions.

You need more sales, not more leads

Imagine the following scenario.

A small business owner urgently needs more sales or more clients. However, they make a false assumption. They wrongly assume they need more sales leads or client leads.

Their focus is now on lead acquisition tactics, when it should be on sales / client acquisition tactics. As a result, they get leads, maybe lots of leads, but few additional sales or new clients. In short, they got what they went for, leads, but they went for the wrong thing. They should have focused on bankable results.

For those who don’t know, in most cases you can attract clients or customers massively faster without spending time or money on lead acquisition or advertising. Only after direct, faster options have been deployed would I consider lead generation.

What next?

When it comes to marketing your business, make it a habit to never assume anything. Check your sources. Ask relevant questions. If you do, you will dramatically increase your chances of finally getting the results you deserve.