Sounds of Marketing- Welcome to the Jungle
Sounds of Marketing ™ – Volume III
Welcome to The Jungle–Guns N’ Roses
Welcome to the jungle
We’ve got fun ‘n’ games
We got everything you want
Honey, we know the names
Marketing, PR and sales people often say ‘It’s a jungle out there’ in reference to the cut throat competitive environment.
Hyperbole? Yeah…but when you are selling something, it is a battle every day. However, we bring a lot of the stress onto ourselves.
Our self inflicted wounds come from a number of key areas. In the essence of space, I’ll only address a few.
We over promise.
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey
We got your disease
We bash the competition.
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
Knees, knees
We complain vociferously when we are in a slump.
Welcome to the jungle
It gets worse here every day
Ya learn ta live like an animal
In the jungle where we play
We want it all…and don’t want THEM to have it, too.
If you got a hunger for what you see
You’ll take it eventually
You can have anything you want
But you better not take it from me
When we’re on a roll, everyone knows it
And when you’re high you never
Ever want to come down, down
YEAH!
When you think about each of the above weaknesses, they result from a lack of discipline and self esteem.
We overpromise because we are afraid the prospect will say ‘No.’ Instead of admitting weaknesses early and focusing on strengths, we take solace in the chinks in our competition’s armor. We love the thrill of the sale, but aren’t disciplined enough to stay positive in a down cycle. Our self esteem issues prevent us from understanding our win doesn’t have to mean someone else’s loss.
In order to avoid these pitfalls, remember why you chose this field. You are in marketing, sales or PR because of your natural communication skills and charisma. Manage those strengths to avoid the inevitable ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ that come with any profession.
Have the confidence in your company, product or service to ask questions, listen, point out your strengths and admit your weaknesses. Believe me, the prospect sees the good and bad in all of our offerings…and plays us all by focusing on the weaknesses.
Lastly, and most importantly, believe in yourself. You’ve been told ‘No’ at least three times for every ‘Yes’ in your career. The fact that you still managed to get out of bed today accounts for something!
Stay positive and only think of the lyrics below when you close the office door and rock out…go ahead…you know you want to…
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you down
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
It gonna bring you down-HA!
David M. Mastovich, MBA, is the president of Massolutions, a Pittsburgh based Strategic Marketing firm that focuses on improving the bottom line for client companies through creative marketing, selling, messaging and customer experience enhancement.
