How Romantic Comedy Sales Solve Problems

I was recently reminded about the essence of sales by national sales consultant Paul Castain and local sales trainer Dan Boe .  And while each lesson is a critical one, combined, the lessons are enlightening.

At Dan’s course, “Inner Fire Presentations,” I was reminded that “there is no sale if a problem isn’t being solved.” In other words, our sales efforts require that we connect with a problem the prospect has, find a solution and present it as the most reasonable choice. For example, as a former art dealer in art destination Carmel-by-the-Sea, it was common for people to walk into the gallery, find a piece they liked but express the problem of having “no place to hang it,” or “no money to buy it.” My job was to help them find a solution for that problem so the art could be taken home to be enjoyed at length. The gallery scenario is extremely basic, but also foundational in understanding the sales situation.

In support of this concept came a recent post by Paul Castain in his “sales playbook.”  He reminded his readers that bad news sells more than good news. Bad news, as you can see, is a problem and creates more problems.

Have you heard any bad news lately? The economy, for instance? Lost homes? Stressed bread winners? The foreign war on two fronts? False reportage created by the media that created bad news? (The Balloon Boy episode, for instance.) But it isn’t only bad times that promote bad news. You have no doubt noticed that the major mass media are full of bad news at all times. What is our role in this?

Romantic Comedy Marketing is about bringing good news, that is, love and joy, not because it sells product and services, but because it solves a deeper problem of relatedness. We promote long-term relatedness, hope in the end result, and a lighthearted touch because people that we deal with matter to us.

Romantic Comedy Marketing is an approach that looks at people before product and service before sales.

Romcom Marketing teaches us to answer the call to deeper needs: to belong, to matter, and to live well.

I encourage you to check out and develop deeper commitments to those that are committed to these values, such as Dan Boe and Paul Castain. Check out those recommended to you by others you trust.

As a Romcom Marketer, solve the problems created by bad news and use it to our best advantage. Create client friendships that will last through and rise above any difficulty “brought to you by…” the bad news reports.

Or as some optimist once suggested we do, “laugh all the way to the bank” the Romantic Comedy way.

Copyright 2009 Rich Guy Miller

Romantic Comedy Marketing, Chasing Business Away

We are all familiar with the wisdom that pursuing happiness is the surest way for it to flee. Happiness is not something to pursue. It does not come from outside of us; it comes from within. I subscribe to the theory that this is not only true of happiness. It is true with love, play, success, money and business. The harder we pursue them, the more they tend to flee.

This does not mean that we cannot set goals, plan, court or follow our dreams. It does not mean that we should play “hard to get” with success, money or love. “Not pursuing” does not mean our highly desired ends are up to fate…any more than our happiness is up to fate.

Like happiness, love, success, and money are not outside of us. And this distinction is where we often get messed up. For example,

• We are our best source of happiness, not circumstances.
• Love for our own self is our responsibility, not primarily another’s.
• We cannot allow others to define our level of success; that is only ours to determine.
• Money and business, while being part of an exchange of value, must at least begin with our own sense of value that we offer to others.

How often we pursue these things without realizing that we are the keepers of the keys!

I love how Romantic Comedies illustrate our pursuits of love. By being along for the chase given by the storyline, we see the character’s silliness, foibles and ridiculous misunderstandings created by limited information or the character’s limited perceptions. We can laugh at the coincidences and accidents instead of being frustrated by the obstacles and traps.

What business pursuits of yours could be considered humorous if seen from a reader’s, viewer’s or prospect’s perspective? Is trying too hard giving you a vision of watching your prospects escape? Is your marketing so aggressive that the business appears to be trying to be everything to all prospects? Does your estimation of prospects show that you value them more than they value themselves (spending more on them than their purchases warrant)? Do your referrers or does your advertising bring you unqualified clients? There is a multitude of ways to over-pursue.

Romantic Comedy Marketing will explore in our next issues the antidotes to the over-pursuit of business. As an incentive to read the next issues, I offer this: the answers are easier than what you might have been taught in your business courses and they are a lot more rewarding than what you were asking for. As a hint, I offer this: you will hear a voice of confidence, a joyfulness of being and ways to cultivate those qualities that attract business.

Copyright 2009 Rich Guy Miller