What is A Soft Sell Marketer and Why Do We Need Our Own Conference? — Part 1
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Register now for Bridging Heart and Marketing —
the first-ever soft sell Internet marketing conference.
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As you can see, at the top of this page, we’re producing Bridging Heart and Marketing, the first-ever Soft Sell Internet marketing conference, February 22nd, 23rd, 24th 2008, at the Westin Los Angeles Airport, paving the way for those Internet marketers who have not yet had a home in the Internet marketing community.
Okay, so what’s this all about?
Well, the question we get asked (but far less frequently than you might imagine) is – What is a soft sell marketer?
Our best answer is – we are soft sell marketers. But it took some time to find that out.
We began Internet marketing two and a half years ago, after very successful careers as psychotherapists. We bought marketing courses offered by the most successful Internet marketing gurus. We attended weekend workshops and several conferences. And the techniques and strategies we learned were powerful and effective.
Yet, there was always something missing. A feeling like we were outsiders, not quite fitting in.
Our discomfort had little to do with the marketing gurus we studied with. They were very successful and very generous. But we could never shake that sense of being somehow off — out of place.
And we weren’t alone. Others we talked with at those conferences expressed the same dissatisfaction. Not everybody, but enough people to recognize a need that wasn’t being addressed.
Typically the people we talked with were involved in self-improvement, health and healing, lifestyle enhancement, marketing: relationships, parenting, coaching, prosperity, interior design, medicine, artists, musicians, authors, linens and lingerie marketers – and more.
What defines Soft Sell marketers is their preference for relationship building and their determination to make their customers feel like they’re being included in a buyer/seller partnership for the betterment of both.
And yes, they are definitely interested in making an income commensurate with the value they offer. But the dollar transaction is not the exclusive and not the primary objective of the sales they make.
In talking with these people — like-minded colleagues — who were not ‘in-your-face’ marketers, less aggressive and more inclusive, we began to feel at home.
That’s when we began to see a need that’s led us to where we are now, producing Bridging Heart and Marketing.
This is the first part of the story. We’ll post Part 2 tomorrow.
I can only say, “Thank you for filling a much needed gap in marketing!” I too have experienced that hard sell – hard topic disconnect that all the other marketing gurus promote. I deal with helping professionals who are uncomfortable promoting themselves to confidently, professionally, and effectively create profitable visibility and credibility. That means dealing with soft topics like marketing reluctance, interpersonal skills, and education-based promotion strategies.
I took your Soft Topic Copywriting Course, which was marvelous, and was immediately hooked. This “Bridging Heart and Marketing” approach is the new wave – the complementary marketing piece what has been missing all along. I can’t wait for your February conference. I feel I finally have found my place … and I owe it all to you. 2008 will be a great year for soft topic marketing! Thank you.