How to (Ethically) Market & Sell Without Sounding Totally Tone-Deaf

In a moment, I’m going to give you the 3-step playbook on how to market and sell in a time when it feels EXTREMELY unnatural to do so (without turning you into the Simpsons monorail guy).

First, let’s get clear on something…..

You need to sell right now.

Your business needs you to sell.

Your family needs you to sell.

Your employees need you to sell.

The whole damn economy needs you to keep selling things, even if less people are buying.

Like I said in Monday’s email…

You don’t need to shut down your business and choose to fail just because people (including me and maybe including you) are hurting.

Are we in agreement? Good.

Second, here’s what NOT to do (don’t be these guys):

Note: The goal here isn’t to shame these companies, but to properly set the stage for who TO do. In reality, I’m rooting for these companies. I’m rooting for all of us. We just HAVE to do better than this.

Here’s an example from Serpwoo:

In earnest, they are attempting to help struggling SEO freelancers get more clients. But marketing your software as being able to find those most desperate in the current pandemic is a big miss.

The critical mistake here is a total lack of empathy for those hurting, putting the freelancer in an awkward position to relieve their own pain by taking advantage of another’s pain.

“Now is not the time to capitalize on fear and pain.” – John-Henry Scherck

Second is a similar example from a PPC agency:

The big mistake here is, again, a total lack of empathy.

What exactly *is* a “saas coronavirus ppc/cro proposal?”

As of today, 21 THOUSAND people have died from this virus and the cartoony logo and rocket ship treat the pandemic virus as a buzzword.

They even double-down on it with the chatbot mentioning “coronavirus tactics.”

The only coronavirus tactics we need to be talking about is physical distancing and washing our hands.

Would an agency ever offer a “9/11 terrorism ppc proposal,” or a “SaaS domestic violence proposal?”

Of course not. (I hope).

Using a global pandemic as a sales tool is wrong…

BUT that is exactly what’s holding YOU back, too.

YOU, friend, are a decent person.

YOU do not want to miss the mark in your marketing and end up like the examples above.

And since we now know empathy matters, it’s only the first of three crucial parts of the playbook for marketing right now.

The 3 Steps to Marketing During the Current Pandemic:

1. Empathy
2. Self-awareness
3. Humanity

A recent email from Levi’s does all three extremely well. First, let’s look at the email:

Now here’s a great breakdown from Marketing Examples:

1. Empathy

People are hurting right now. Emotionally, mentally, physically and financially.

It’s okay to talk about it. It’s not okay to play on those pains to sell.

Empathy means you communicate that you know exactly where people are at and what they’re feeling.

As an example, check out this article. I’ve been inundated with DMs across every network and email replies letting me know how much it hit home.

And I knew it would because it’s exactly where I am right now, too.

2. Self-Awareness

If empathy means communicating where your customers are at, self-awareness is communicating that you know precisely where you are at in relation to them.

Despite reading this email and hoping that it’ll help you market right now, you have to ask yourself, does the world really need what I’m selling?

Likely, yes. We still want/need almost everything we did a few weeks ago.

If not, sell something else. Pivot. At least a little. Struggling to figure that out? Reply to this email and I’ll personally help you.

3. Humanity

Even if you work for a brand, now is the time to put your photo in your email signature, sign things with your name, give out your office phone number, and don’t be afraid to use that extra emoji or sentiment (even if it might be awkward).

And finally, as a guiding principle in all things marketing, and infinitely more important now:

“Don’t speak unless you can improve the silence.” – Animalz

If you don’t have something to say, don’t say anything at all. If your email will be lost amongst an inbox full of others offering bland sentiments on the same topic, just don’t.

Be the signal amongst the noise. Be so human, so empathetic and balance it with such self-awareness that people write 600+ word emails about your emails.

Either way, we have a long road ahead and we’re going to figure out all of this together.

On Monday, I’m sharing something new with the world because I think we need it right now.

PS – I do sincerely hope what I wrote above is helpful for you. Truly, I feel that the only way forward right now is through and I’m grateful to be going through the thick of this alongside you. We got this. ❤️