Robin Robins

[Mark Verhyden]

I know a couple of great salesmen who can sale ice to an Eskimo

Actually the term as I know it is sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo.  Know why?

No, but mine is close and I'm sure that there are several versions of it

You are correct.  There are many versions.  But the distinctions between each approach is important.  After all each Eskimo wants to enjoy the fruits of our modern society.  The snake oil approach is yeah, yeah, yeah I've got something to keep your stuff cold even when it's not winter and its cheap.  The real salesman knows that part of these fruits of modern society is fresh vegetables.  That person knows that lettuce, celery, etc can freeze but are trash when they thaw.  The only way to maintain the quality of the product is to maintain a constant temperature of the product which can only be achieved with a refrigerator.

Same thing with selling sand to a Bedouin.  The camel works fine on sand.  But in modern society the roads are paved with asphalt.  That destroys the pads on their feet.  Cover it with sand and all is well.

[MercenaryRoadie]

I know a couple of great salesmen who can sale ice to an Eskimo

Actually the term as I know it is sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo.  Know why?

No, but mine is close and I'm sure that there are several versions of it

You are correct.  There are many versions.  But the distinctions between each approach is important.  After all each Eskimo wants to enjoy the fruits of our modern society.  The snake oil approach is yeah, yeah, yeah I've got something to keep your stuff cold even when it's not winter and its cheap.  The real salesman knows that part of these fruits of modern society is fresh vegetables.  That person knows that lettuce, celery, etc can freeze but are trash when they thaw.  The only way to maintain the quality of the product is to maintain a constant temperature of the product which can only be achieved with a refrigerator.

Same thing with selling sand to a Bedouin.  The camel works fine on sand.  But in modern society the roads are paved with asphalt.  That destroys the pads on their feet.  Cover it with sand and all is well.

You prove my point on salesmen. Why sale a Bedouin sand when it's all around them and have you every heard of a root cellar? It's where you kept vegetables before refrigerators were invented.

The point was if an Eskimo needed ice they could just walk out side and get it. A so called "good" salesman just means they can justify selling anything to anybody whether they need it or not.

[Rick Savoia]

Back to the original topic, I know this is an old thread but starting this discussion all over again in a new one would be redundant.

A couple of weeks ago I received two direct mail envelopes from Robin Robins within a few days of each other. they were promoting free instructional videos on her web site. As I posted before, she does follow her own marketing advice, almost to the point of great annoyance, as the first letter announced the videos and the second followed up with an urgent reminder to check them out.

Yes, it is annoying, but it is an old tactic, and it works. Well, it didn't work on me because I was already familiar with her program and wasn't interested in watching them myself, but the same tactic has worked on me before.

Nothing to be ashamed about, of course, it's just human nature. The point is, successful marketing does involve a measure of invading a potential customer's space somewhat to get the message out. If you don't do that, few will notice you are even there among all the other businesses just like yours. Years ago there wasn't as much competition and it was easier to stand out from the crowd. Today, you have to shout louder than the person next to you to be heard, and sometimes the only way to get noticed is to be the one who is different from everyone else. Some marketers resort to extreme measures to get attention, and if it means they need to be a little annoying, that is what they become. For them, even if they alienate a few prospects along the way, it is all about the end result: to get noticed and make sales. It's the old adage that there is no such thing as "bad" publicity.

The term 'marketing' leaves a bad taste in some mouths, and I have found from personal experience this seems to be particularly true among techs. However, it is a necessary part of any business, especially in an industry that is saturated with players. You don't have to love it, you don't even have to like it at all. But if you don't do it, your chances of success or even survival is greatly minimized.

I am not promoting Robin Robins here, I am only stating the facts of business 101.