Stop Calling It Sales, It’s Marketing, Dammit
There’s a dangerous misconception floating around like a greasy sales flyer stuck to your windshield: that marketing and sales are the same thing. They’re not. Never were. Never will be. And if your agency or your cousin Jimmy’s “media company” tells you otherwise, run.
Marketing is not the close. It’s the courtship. It’s the wink across the room, not the wedding. It’s the reason someone walks into your store or hits your website before they ever pick up the phone. Sales is the handshake. Marketing is why they showed up in the first place.
And yet, business owners keep mixing them up like a confused bartender throwing ketchup in a Bloody Mary. Painful to watch.
Let’s set the record straight.
Marketing Is Everything That Happens Before the Sale
You know what most people do? They start “marketing” when they’re desperate. Phone’s not ringing, pipeline’s drier than an Arizona sidewalk, so they throw some cash at Google Ads and pray. That’s not a strategy. That’s a panic attack with a credit card.
Marketing, real marketing, is the entire engine that gets someone to know you, like you, trust you, and eventually choose you. It’s your brand, your message, your voice, your story, your offer, your timing, your presence, your follow-up, your everything.
It’s how you communicate value before anyone even asks what you charge.
It’s Not About You. It Never Was.
This is where most people choke.
You spend all this time building a product, crafting a service, perfecting your thing, and when it comes time to market, you make it all about you. “We’re award-winning.” “We’ve been in business since 1972.” “We love serving our customers.”
Cool. You and 400,000 other businesses.
The hard truth? Your customer doesn’t give a damn about you, until you show them that you give a damn about them.
Want their attention?
Start here:
- What are they afraid of?
- What do they really want?
- What problem are they trying to solve while juggling kids, meetings, debt, and bad coffee?
When you answer those questions better than your competition, you win. That’s the game.
Strategy First. Everything Else Second.
I’ve been doing this since 1991. You know what’s never changed?
The minute you skip strategy, you bleed money.
People come to me all the time saying “We tried Facebook ads. Didn’t work.”
No shit, Sherlock. You boosted a cat meme with your logo on it and called it a campaign.
Marketing without strategy is like building a house without a blueprint. You’ll spend a ton, swear a lot, and end up with a lopsided shed no one wants to live in.
Before you do anything, answer these three things:
- Who exactly are you talking to?
- What do they care about that ties directly to what you do?
- Why should they trust you over anyone else?
If your answers are vague, emotional, or riddled with fluff, stop and fix that first.
Know Your Market Like It Owes You Money
This is where you separate amateurs from pros.
The average business owner throws darts at the “target market” wall: “We work with everyone,” they say proudly. Translation? They work with no one very well.
Real marketers obsess over customer behavior. They know where their buyers live, what they binge-watch, what keeps them up at night, and what actually makes them buy.
You need to listen harder than you talk.
Read the reviews. Run the surveys. Spy on your competitors’ ads. Become a digital detective.
Because until you understand their pain better than they do, you’re just another ad in the feed.
Your USP Isn’t a Tagline. It’s Your Sword.
Your Unique Selling Proposition isn’t a cute phrase for your About page. It’s your weapon.
It’s what slices through the noise.
A great USP makes the customer stop scrolling and say: “That’s me. That’s what I need. Now.”
Here’s what a strong USP looks like:
- It names the exact problem.
- It promises a real solution.
- It makes it obvious how you’re different.
Here’s what it’s NOT:
❌ “We offer great service.”
❌ “Your trusted solution.”
❌ “Fast. Reliable. Friendly.”
Please. Those are napkin doodles. Get sharper.
In Summary: Quit Chasing Trends. Build a Damn Strategy.
Look, I’m not here to sugarcoat. I’ve watched smart people burn thousands on shiny objects and short-term tactics, all because they didn’t start with strategy.
If you treat marketing like a vending machine, insert ad, expect customers, you’ll lose. The winners treat it like a system. A living, breathing engine that runs on audience knowledge, messaging clarity, and relentless execution.
Want to stop playing marketing roulette? Start thinking like a strategist.
📞 Want the Playbook, Not the Guesswork?
If this hit a nerve, good. That means you’re ready for real change.
Let’s talk. No sales pitch. Just a 45-minute strategy session where we look at what’s working, what’s broken, and what needs to happen next.
