January 17, 2018

Don’t automate too soon

Everyone seems to be running towards marketing and sales automation.

Auto-responders, sales pages, and online “funnels” seem to be the magic bullet for those seduced by the dream of passive (or at least automated) income.

I see the above as ways to scale – once you’ve made sales.

You can’t beat meeting the people you serve, or hopping on a call.

You’ll find out immediately if your offer makes sense.

You can twist and turn and follow your nose when it’s a real-life conversation with a real-life person.

You can refine your pitch and offer until it flows, and you’re able to answer the common objections before they’re raised.

You’ll see or hear when your offer and message start hitting the mark.

Before you know it you’ll be making sales – without a website, sales page, autoresponder, or one of those online funnels that’s all the rage right now.

Case in point… I’ve been selling landing pages to my AdWords clients for the last year. A year in I suddenly realised we’ve built and rented out about a dozen of these.

We’re making sales of landing pages, without having a landing page to sell them from.

Engage your market in hand-to-hand combat.

Spend your money on diesel and coffee.

Welcome the high friction – it’s where your steel is sharpened.