Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Seth Godin has pleaded for people to stop asking him for donations. I’m there too. Really, even if I love ya, I know where to go now to give you more, if needed. I don’t need four emails a day – or even one. I’m a jittering, addicted wreck as it is (”Just one more teensy peek at Huffington Post and then I promise! I’ll quit!”)

Seth recommends that instead of asking for money, the emailers start asking us questions, engage with us on the issues, keep us involved. (And I’d bet we’d keep donating money too…Duh-oh!) I agree that:

If I ran a campaign, I would immediately stop asking for money. I’d ask for ideas for what to do if I got elected. I’d ask for a house party to listen in on a conference call. I’d ask for names of possible voters or I’d look for volunteers to drive to the polls. I’d get petitions signed or ask people to prioritize six ideas for the rest of the campaign or for things to work on after I got elected.

And so it goes with customers too. When does “follow up” turn into “Oh God, he’s calling me again?” There’s a time to stop selling and start engaging/listening. (Actually good “selling” is engaging and listening.)

(All that said, I think I’ll pop over and donate a bit more to that nice guy in Wyoming. His mailers make me laugh…but then he’s only sent me three.)

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, sales