Where can we find sales and marketing's number one mistake? Looking at web sites, we see it. Looking at brochures, we see it. PowerPoint, we see it. On sales calls - that is when we see it most. It is amazing that almost every sales and marketing organization makes the very same mistake.

What is this number one mistake? It is failing to follow a rule we all learned in sales and marketing 101.

Think like the prospect.

Some examples may illuminate the problem.

• One software vendor stated they sold to C-Level decision makers. The vendor's web site featured technology. How many C-Level execs think about technology? How many of these C-Level execs know about operating systems and databases, let alone care?
• A vendor bragged about their focus on a specific vertical market. The vendor's home page did not mention that segment, not even a meaningful picture. Prospects think that focus on their kind of business is important. If you were an executive in that vertical and looking for a solution, would you bother to look beyond the vendor's home page to see if they served your segment?
• A vendor stated they had great references, their sales brochure did not mention that other companies used their product, let alone mention their names. Prospects think that references mean a vendor is more experienced and less risky. From the vendor's brochure, would most prospects assume that the vendor had no references?
• A vendor invented a new way to define a business need. They spend a lot of time defining their new idea but no place did they relate it to the vocabulary, used every day, of the buyer. Prospects can only think in the vocabulary that they bring to the situation. Will prospects figure out that this new term defines what they consider their old problem?
• A software company's introductory PowerPoint focused on the great features available in the most recent release. The sales and marketing team were excited about the new stuff but bored with the old stuff. Prospects do not think in terms of "old" and "new", it is all new to them. With the vendor focusing on the new stuff, will prospects know what is in the total product or assume that the "old stuff" is just missing?

If we do not understand, think like and talk like our prospects, are we communicating to our prospects? Communications has two sides, a sender and a receiver. If the receiver does not receive what the sender intended to be understood, communications has not taken place. It is the sender's responsibility to deliver a message that communicates. If communication does not take place, it is always the senders fault. As sales and marketing professionals, we are the senders and it is our responsibility to communicate.

For communication to take place, the prospect must understand our words. Since the prospect only knows their words, sales and marketing must understand the prospects vocabulary or they can never construct messages that communicate. Doing market research using a book or a web site can help with this knowledge, but rarely teach us all we need to know. Fully learning the market requires talking to the market. Existing customers are the best place to learn the vocabulary of the market. Sales and marketing must talk to customers; visit their locations, to understand the vocabulary of these businesses.

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