It is hard to hype things up without an audience.
Since the lockdowns happened I noticed myself lose interest in watching live sports, concerts, award shows, or stand up.
Most businesses struggled with their messaging.
Too much of “how can I help you during these difficult times” and not enough of “here’s what I can do for you, why it matter and now I’ll leave you alone.”
At first “zoom calls” and “virtual summits” took over. They tried to fill the gap. Failed.
Most of us now have zoom fatigue and virtual summits (as my friend Elisa summed up are just online versions of MLMs)
Ecommerce did alright. Especially if they were in a position with the right products in the right marketplaces. Most couldn’t sell or market things on their own if their lives depended on it. Take almost any successful product business off Amazon and watch them squirm.
The online course industry also got lucky. Sales went nuts in April and May. I’ve noticed courses selling at 10-100x their regular numbers. Platforms spoke about signing on more creators in one month than in the entire previous year.
Most of this came to a stop already. Sales across eCommerce and online education are still higher than last year but nothing like they were when Covid hit.
The stock market is also losing steam.
We will soon have to get back to the fundamentals.
This means…
For those starting out:
- 80 focus on the sales process
- 20 focus on marketing
For those in the grind:
- 80 focus on marketing
- 20 focus on the sales process
Key Differences:
- Mass of unemployed people entering the online space
- Less ability to get people excited at in-person events and make sales
- Large parts of the sales process outsourced to automation/AI
The ability to persuade will make the biggest difference in 2021.
This has always been the case with most online products/courses and services. The ability of your sales funnel to move people naturally through it… and your sales page to act as a 24/7 salesperson that can close without ever speaking to the prospect. That takes skill.
Now add the incoming competition.
The average will no longer cut it.
A competitive environment always required great marketing.
The biggest problem I see with a lot of business owners now. They think that things will go back to how they were some time soon. Magically. Maybe they will and maybe they won’t.
Taking action always did better for me than waiting on events, circumstances, or other people to do something for me.
This doesn’t need to be huge. Every day do at least one thing to improve your position.
It is compounds.
