In the marketing and advertising world today, we’re surrounded by cool, woah-wiz-wow platforms, programs, fads and trends.
AI has descended upon us like a God, entrancing people in fascination of in-human possibility, suddenly made possible by technology that craps itself on a routine basis.
“We don’t know how it works. But we know it works. We must not resist. We must embrace the AI. We must assimilate. Resistance if futile. It makes all things good. It makes money go up. In AI we trust.”
The culty obsession with these tools (AI in particular), is perhaps not unique to this time in history, but certainly the multiplicity of these tools IS unique.
So more than ever it’s important to FOCUS on what actually matters. The unchanging foundations of what actually makes every thing work.
AI isn’t King.
TikTok isn’t King.
The algorithm isn’t King.
SALES is king. Old school, simple salesmanship rooted in principles of persuasion and human nature. These principles never change, because human nature never changes. So as long as you’re selling to humans, these principles will NEVER cease to apply.
But what really makes Sales remain the King in the modern age is the fact that in most cases it takes the form of Advertising.
Advertising is defined as: Salesmanship multiplied.
Or as I’ll define it later in this post: “Transferred salesmanship.”
Due to modern technology, more ads than ever are flowing into people’s brains.
Between email, social, push notifications, ads in apps, ads in videos, ads on radio, ads on tv etc…
The technology is so numerous changing so quickly, that it leaves many folks stupefied and bedazzled. The thrill of novelty in the area of advertising mediums has convinced many marketers and advertisers think that the mediums themselves, due to their quasi-ethereal transcendental nature somehow change all the rules of how to make sales or advertise.
These folks fall into a tempting trap that arises once you get all googly-eyed over a technology, they deify the MEDIUM, (the delivery mechanism) to the detriment of every other part of the sales process.
That is one of the most dangerous things you could do in advertising.
While these new technologies and mediums are incredibly powerful, they are, at the end of the day, still only delivery mechanisms.
The internet changes nothing about the principles and strategies of selling. It’s merely a delivery mechanism.
AI generated content changes nothing about the principles and strategies of selling. It is merely a delivery mechanism.
Social media, like wise changes nothing. It’s merely a delivery mechanism.
So many marketers THINK that those platforms and programs somehow change how people act.
But the truth is that very little has changed when it comes to the principles and big-picture strategies.
The tactics may change with the time, trends and new technologies… but NOT the principles and strategies.
The hierarchy goes like this:
Principles (never change) > Strategies (never change) > Tactics (change a lot)
Any advertiser worth their salt knows this. And if they don’t, pack your bags and RUN AWAY, because you’re money won’t be safe with them.
To demonstrate what I’m talking about, I’d like to share with you what I call the “Sales Archetypes.”
But I’m going to do that in Part 2 of this post.
Stay tuned…
