I recently read the book How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey J. Fox. I really enjoyed the book and think it will be beneficial for any small business owner, anyone in marketing or sales, or any network marketer. It’s easy to read, well organized and loaded with great tips.
How to Be a Marketing Superstar: Top Jeffrey J. Fox Quotes
What I want to do in the rest of the post is share some of my favorite Jeffrey J. Fox quotes from the book. Each quote is in bold and italics. At the end of each quote I will share my own two cents about it. Enjoy.
# 1: 95 percent of all salespeople never ask for the order.
Every time you do a presentation you must ask for the order. Even if someone is interested in what you are selling, they won’t buy from you unless you ask them to.
# 2: Every single job in a company must directly or indirectly help to get and keep customers.
All good CEOs, executives and managers understand that it’s everyone’s job to get and keep customers.
# 3: Paychecks come from the customer.
Regardless of what type of company you work with, everyone is paid by the customer! Without customers there wouldn’t be a business.
# 4: The right customer is always right.
Twenty percent of your customers will generate 80% of your revenue. Make sure you treat the 20% very, very well. When there is an issue, fix it immediately. Even if your customer is wrong, it’s your job to make them feel right.
# 5: Good customers are loyal.
A good customers loves the brand and does not consider shopping with competitors, even if there is a cheaper price.
# 6: Not loving a brand is usually hurtful to a brand. Hating a brand is a death sentence.
Good news travels fast and bad news travels faster. As a business owner, your ultimate goal is to create raving fans who are over the top passionate about your company and its products.
# 7: Customers don’t buy products; they buy the benefits they get from the products.
Nobody buys a drill because they want a drill. People buy a drill because they want a hole. When you are “selling” focus on the benefits of your product, not the features.
# 8: Price your products or services according to the value the customer receives from the product.
Products should be priced based upon the value they offer the customer, not how much it cost to manufacture.
# 9: Cutting price instantly cuts profit, because costs stay the same.
Do not offer your customers discounts. If you do, it will cut your margins and your customers will always expect you to offer them discounts.
# 10: Good competitors don’t compete on price.
The average mom and pop business can’t compete on price like Wal-mart does. This simply means you must think outside the box and differentiate yourself by offering better service, better quality, more flexibility, more options, etc.
# 11: Always communicate the consequences to the customer of going without your product. The fear of loss is a much stronger buying motive than the potential to save.
Show people what they lose by not buying your product or service from you, rather than how they will benefit by using it. This will lead to increased sales.
# 12: The single most important ingredient for a successful business is having a customer. A customer is more important than the business idea, the technology, financing, management, or anything else. Marketing superstars get and keep customers.
Your customers are your business!
# 13: Customers (people) buy to feel good, or to solve a problem.
When you talk with customers, appeal to their emotions. Find out what their problem is and offer your product or service as a solution to their problems.
# 14: Salespeople will greatly increase their sales if they do two things: (a) always show the customer the dollarized value of the product’s benefits over the entire life use of the product; and (b) on every sales call, ask for the order, or for a commitment to an action that leads directly to an order.
This is pretty simple, yet very effective advice. However, most sales reps don’t do it.
# 15: Technology does not sell; marketing sells.
Just having a website, app, or fancy technology isn’t going to do it. It’s your marketing process that will make the difference.
# 16: Nothing sells itself.
If your products sold themselves, your company wouldn’t need you.
# 17: Advertising messages must be grounded in the benefits of the product.
Features tell, but benefits sell. Whenever talking with someone, always focus on the benefits of your product or service.
# 18: Customers don’t care about the marketer; they care only about themselves.
Your customer only cares about what’s in it for them. Put yourself in their shoes during the sales process and focus on how they will benefit.
# 19: The advertisement is not about you, it is about the benefits of your product to your customer.
If you use advertising, make sure it is designed for your prospect, not to brag about yourself.
# 20: You must understand your product’s point of difference and factually state the difference(s). Use numbers. Provide the customer with facts and data.
You must know WHAT makes your product different from your competitors and you must show this difference to your prospects and customers if you expect them to buy from you.
# 21: Quality is defined only by the customer, not the market.
It doesn’t matter what you think about your product. It’s what your prospects and customers think about your product that matters most.
# 22: Your job is to train the customer to instantly recognize your company.
You want your prospects and customers to recognize your brand from the competitors.
# 23: How can you fix or improve the customer experience, get an edge on competitors, and innovate if you don’t know what the customer knows?
You need to get inside the head of your prospects and customers so you know what and how to offer them things.
# 24: No one should wait if they have a pre-scheduled appointment.
Always be on time for appointments. Never keep your customers or prospects waiting.
# 25: Do not make it harder than it already is for your customers to do business with you.
Make it as easy as possible for your customer to buy from you. Eliminate any hoops they must jump through.
# 26: And know which products, no matter how old, make the money.
Know which products or services your company offers are the most popular and best-sellers and focus on those.
# 27: Salespeople are critical. Great salespeople are invaluable.
One or two sales superstars can really put a company on the map.
# 28: The sales force doesn’t call the shots. Marketing calls the shots.
The purpose of marketing is to find prospects your salespeople can sell to.
# 29: Run ads that sell your product.
Test out different ads and find a few winning ads that generate sales.
# 30: Customers prefer to do business with people who remember their names rather than people who don’t.
Learn how to remember people’s names whenever possible.
# 31: The marketing superstar attacks the marketplace in a downturn.
A bad economy is still a good time to sell. When your competitors slow down is when you should double or triple your efforts.
# 32: When times are tough, you out-sell, out-promote, and out-advertise your competitor.
When the economy is in shambles and times are tough, do the things your competitors aren’t willing to do.
# 33: Ask the customer, “If you were president of our company, what would you change and why?”
Find out what your customers like and don’t like about your company. This is a great source of new ideas and improvements.
# 34: Give customers more of what they like and less of what they don’t like.
Find out what your customers like and offer them more of it.
# 35: Marketers should prowl the archives and resurrect successful past promotions to see if the central idea might still be relevant.
Study your old marketing campaigns to see if there is something you can bring back that worked well at one point in time.
# 36: Senior, successful salespeople should remember their early days when they had few, if any, customers, little experience, and no prospects.
Never forget what it was like to be a brand new salesperson.
# 37: Money is only made when someone sells the product at a profit, and when the selling company collects the money.
This is simple, but profound advice.
# 38: The road to profits, to marketing success, starts with the customer, the market. The most important factor for success in business is having a customer.
As I mentioned earlier, without customers you won’t be in business long.
# 39: Marketing superstars focus, focus, focus on what their markets want.
Find out what your customer wants and give it to them.
# 40: The marketing superstar never lets up.
Get in the trenches. Stay in the trenches. Never leave the trenches.
# 41: Not doing something is easy.
Do the things you know you should be doing even when you don’t feel like doing it.
# 42: Marketing superstars turn negatives into positives.
Turn your ice into ice cream. Things will never go exactly as planned. Be flexible and turn mistakes and setbacks into opportunities.
# 43: There is constant contact with customers.
Keep in touch with your customers frequently and never stop, or they will forget about you.
# 44: Marketing superstars plan with absolutely clear, measurable specific goals; not just short-term, one year goals, but those critical to implementing strategic vision.
Set short-term and long-term goals and have clear action plans to help you achieve them.
# 45: Change is understood to be a constant.
Nothing ever stays exactly the same. Be flexible in your approach.
# 46: Bureaucracy is the enemy.
Make things as easy as possible for your customer to buy from you.
About Jeffrey J. Fox
Mr. Fox is the author of 8 books. He is the owner of Fox Consulting. He is a respected trainer and speaker in the sales and marketing industry. Jeff is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School. Visit his website to learn more about him.
About the Book
How to Be a Marketing Superstar was published by Harchette Book Group in May 2003. It features 172-pages. The ASIN is B0055DYB0W. It is now an out of print book, but can be purchased on Amazon in Kindle format. As of December 2015 it has 26 reviews with a 4 of 5 star rating.
Final Thoughts
In summary, How to Be a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey J. Fox is a great book. Overall, I give it an 8 of 10 and consider it a must read for any network marketer, marketing employee, salesperson, or small business owner.
What do you think? What was your favorite Jeffery J. Fox quote mentioned above? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
There is one quote here that I have somewhat of an issue with. #4 says that we should treat 20% of our customers very, very well. It is my belief that we should treat 100% of our customers very, very well. Maybe I am misunderstanding the quote, or the book has more information around that quote, but I believe we should always have top customer service with all of our customers.
Again, all the information Mr Fox provides here is great and I still have this book on my list of must reads.
Treat everyone well, but over deliver with your top 20% of your customers.
I was not real familiar with Mr Fox until now, and I must say that I do really need to get this book and read it. Sometimes marketing can be a huge puzzle and Jeffrey helps us line up the pieces from the sound of these quotes.
Some of his quotes that resonated with me were: #16, Nothing sells itself. I always giggle when someone says that a product or service is so good that it will sell itself, so then I ask them why the company needs them and why are you trying to prospect me? That usually throws them into a tailspin. #42, turning negatives into positives is the name of the game.
All of these are great quotes. Thanks!
Yes, this is a great book. Thanks for the comment.