September 14th, 2011 
Bill Rowe
Marketing Terms
Are you hurting your business by using marketing terms too frequently?
In the Internet/Network Marketing industry there are a lot of marketing terms that get used quite a bit. In an industry that is supposedly meant for the little guy, the average Joe, to be able to start up their own business, we need to be aware of who we are talking to. The person just getting involved in our industry won’t understand a lot of these marketing terms we use. And it could very well turn them off. They have enough of a learning curve up front as it is.
With that in mind I thought I would list a few ways to say the same thing as some of the marketing terms say, but in a way that will make it easy for everybody especially the novice to understand.
Let’s talk about comp plans. We talk about binaries, a matrix, forced matrix, unilevel, and so on. Really, who cares?!? I mean to the novice, all they really want to know is are they going to get paid when they do something. They will learn the marketing terms as they grow in the industry. A lot of people try to explain a comp plan in too much detail using a lot of marketing terms. Just let them know how many ways they can be paid, and for doing what, in your comp plan and company and teach them the rest as the questions about it arise.
Inside the industry people talk about sponsoring, up lines, down lines, etc. Instead of using marketing terms like these, how about talking about your organization, or your new members organization? Maybe instead of using the term sponsoring, talk about how they can get other people involved in their business.
How about prospecting? Here’s one of those marketing terms that has alway bothered me. When people get a new rep or team member, the first thing that comes up is getting prospects. This is important, but the way we talk about it could have a very positive effect in that team members business. How about not calling them prospects. They are people, human beings. And people don’t like to be sold to. And by using the term prospect, we condition our minds to be in a selling mode. Everyone you talk to really is a potential prospect. But instead of thinking of them in marketing terms such as a prospect, think of them as a human being. Listen to what they are saying and learn about them. From that information you will be able to find out if you have something that will answer a question or solve a problem for them and then be able to help them.
There are more marketing terms that we use everyday within our industry. But to the person who has never been in this industry these terms seem like a foreign language. If we talk to people in everyday terms, not only will the novice understand what you are trying to say, but so will the seasoned marketer.
Once people are involved in the industry for a while they will come to understand the marketing terms that we use and become more and more familiar with them. Don’t use so many marketing terms when talking to people and they will better relate to you and you to them.
marketing terms
marketing terms
marketing terms
