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one you believe in, you are almost certain to be e� ective in presenting it. To � x your messengers, � x your message.
Personal Investment: Many of the risks that people fail to take—and the rewards they miss because of it—cost nothing. These risks are personal. Selling a service involves personal risks. But the rewards of all those e� orts will make you wonder, Why didn’t I do that in the � rst place?
The Collision Principle: For all the talk about improving service quality, positioning, research, targeted direct mail—for all the art and science of marketing—much of growing a business is where you happen to sit on a � ight to New York one afternoon. Get out there. Almost anywhere. Let opportunity hit you.
SUMMING UPOur methods for choosing a service are often wild and
seemingly arbitrary—anything but intelligent, cost-bene� t-oriented behavior. This suggests that you cannot expect to seize a market just by creating a provably superior service with a demonstrably higher bene� t-to-cost ratio. People are human—frustrating, unpredictable, temperamental, often irrational and, occasionally, half mad. But you can spot some patterns in people. The more you are able to see the patterns and better understand people, the more you will succeed—and this book was written with the hope that it will help you do just that.
Service Inside OutREVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES OF SERVICE MARKETING APPLY TO EVERY ASPECT OF BUSINESS.
QUICK OVERVIEWSelling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing is a New York Times and BusinessWeek
best-seller, with more than 675,000 copies sold in 22 translations. Named one of the top 10 business books of all time, Selling the Invisible is a required text in more than 200 business schools.
Though some of the thoughts expressed in this book are addressed to larger companies, individual business owners can easily integrate them into their approach with the customer or prospective customer. And as Beckwith explains, these concepts can bene� t those selling a product as well as those selling a service.
APPLY AND ACHIEVE You can’t see them—so how do you sell them?That’s the problem with services. I � rst learned this 14 years ago when I wrote my
� rst ad for a service. It wasn’t a product, so I couldn’t show the service roaring along S-curves on Big Sur, draped on Cindy Crawford or served on � ne china. I couldn’t show the service doing anything, because services are invisible; services are just promises that somebody will do something.
How do you sell that?Years of wondering and 22 years of working as a service and with services—including
with four of America’s premier service companies—led to this book.This book begins with the core problem of service marketing: service quality. It then
suggests how to learn what you must improve, with examples of techniques that work. It then moves to service-marketing fundamentals: de� ning what business you really are in and what people really are buying, positioning your service, understanding prospects and buying behavior, and communicating.
GETTING STARTEDMost people—including most people in business—equate the word marketing with
selling and advertising: pushing the goods. Unfortunately, this focus on getting the
1. You must position yourself in your prospect’s mind.2. Your position should be singular: one simple message.3. Your position must set you apart from your competitors.4. You must sacri� ce. You cannot be all things to all people;
you must focus on one thing.People in services fear positioning more than anything else.
They fear that standing for one thing will limit their appeal. But it doesn’t work that way, for one important reason: People associate.
We tend to think, for example, that attractive people are smarter, friendlier, more honest and more reliable than less attractive people. We associate one positive thing—attractiveness—with many other good things.
It’s how people are programmed. It’s how your prospects think. Say one positive thing, and you will become associated with many.
Choose a position that will reposition your competitors, and then move a step back toward the middle to cinch the sale.
Focus is vital to success. In everything from campaigns for peanuts to campaigns for president, focus wins. No matter how skilled you are, you must focus your skills.
What else position and focus can do for you:
They will make your word-of-mouth more e� ective.• They will rally your troops.• They will get your marketing communications—and the • people who create them—working as one.
HOLDING ON TO WHAT YOU’VE GOT
You can generate signi� cant sales for a service simply by promising miracles. But even if you do a very good job, you have a disappointed client. It isn’t worth getting that business. Don’t raise expectations you cannot meet.
A customer’s satisfaction is the gap between what the customer expects and what they get. To manage satisfaction, you must carefully manage your customer’s expectations.
Thanking your customers for the business and support is crucial. There is no such thing as too often, too grateful, too warm or too appreciative. You cannot thank your client too much. And you probably are not doing it enough. Your parents were right. Say thank you. Often.
Remember to stay present. Advertising and publicity remind clients and former clients of the satisfying service that you once provided, and assure them that you still are around, viable and successful. A product continually reminds its buyers that it is good. With appropriate modesty, you must, too.
QUICK FIXESManage the Tiny Things: So often, and more often
than we imagine, that is the di� erence in a sale. Not superior knowledge. Not superior talent or years of experience. Just something tiny. Like a short thoughtful letter. Sweat the smallest stu� .
Speed: Life is lickety-split. To many people, the world seems driven out of whack with all this speed. There also is no point in arguing; speed is where the world is going. Be fast. Then get faster.
Say p.m. Deliver a.m.: The � rst time you have something to deliver for a client, try this: Say you’ll have it to him at 1 p.m. Then deliver it at 11 a.m. Do it the next time, too. Now you have money in the bank.
Note to Myself: Something suddenly struck me. I grabbed a pen and jotted on a yellow Post-it note the � rst value of my business: Make every client very happy every day. Something from a self-help book: corny and obvious. But it works. It changes how I talk, how I sound, what I say and how well I listen. So do something corny. Put that note by your phone.
Shoot the Message, Not the Messenger: The key to any e� ective presentation is having a clear point of view. If you have
SUCCESS PointsIn this book you’ll learn:
What the new marketing • is and why it is vital to your success
The 18 fallacies • of planning
How to nurture and • keep clients
The one question you • should never ask
Why everyone • should market like service marketers
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Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketingby Harry Beckwith
Recommended ReadingVisit your favorite bookseller to purchase this title. And if you enjoy Selling the Invisible, check out:
You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself by Harry Beckwith
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
About the AuthorA world-renowned marketer and speaker, Harry Beckwith has
inspired countless people with his wisdom and expertise. He has
served as an adviser to 23 Fortune 200 companies and creative
director of Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis, a four-time pick by
Advertising Age as America’s most creative midsized agency. A
sought-after keynote speaker, Beckwith addresses audiences at
business conventions and meetings around the globe.
How Do You Wish to Be Perceived?You can establish your positioning statement by answering the following questions:
Who: Who are you?
What: What business are you in?
For whom: What people do you serve?
What need: What are the special needs of the people you serve?
Against whom: With whom are you competing?
What’s different: What makes you different from those competitors?
So: What’s the bene� t? What unique bene� t does a client derive from your service?
Ask yourself these seven questions—and have seven good, clear answers.
A Field Guide to Modern MarketingA Field Guide to Modern MarketingA Field Guide to Modern MarketingA Field Guide to Modern MarketingA Field Guide to Modern MarketingA Field Guide to Modern MarketingA Field Guide to Modern MarketingA Field Guide to Modern MarketingA Field Guide to Modern Marketing
Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing
One Thing Most Experts Don’t Know
Most companies in expert services—such as
lawyers, doctors and accountants—think their clients
are buying expertise. But most prospects for these
complex services cannot evaluate expertise; they
cannot tell a really good tax return, a clever motion or
a perceptive diagnosis.
But they can tell if the relationship is good and
if phone calls are returned. Clients are experts at
knowing if they feel valued.
In most professional services, you are not
really selling expertise—because your expertise
is assumed, and because your prospect cannot
intelligently evaluate your expertise anyway.
Instead, you are selling a relationship. And in most
cases, that is where you need the most work.
Remember that if you’re selling a service, you’re
selling a relationship.
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Here are some questions that should be included in every review of a company’s marketing:
In our industry, are we second to none technologically? • Among service industries and compared with � rms of our • approximate size, are we second to none technologically?Are we doing all we need today to be second to none two • years from now?Have we carefully considered innovative ways that new • technology can be used to improve our service and grow our business? Make technology a key part of every marketing plan.
PLANNING: THE 18 FALLACIES
Fallacy No. 1: You Can Know What’s AheadPeople cannot predict the future. Experts thought VCRs
meant the end of movie theaters and that television would kill books. Neither of these things happened. Don’t assume you should know what will happen in the future. Instead, plan for several possibilities.
Fallacy No. 2: You Can Know What You WantOver time, you will change your mind about what you
want for your company. But you can still plan. Here’s how:
First, accept the limitations of planning. Don’t assume • that putting eight smart people in a room with good data will automatically produce something. Second, don’t value planning for its result. The greatest • value of the plan is the process, the thinking that went into it.Third, don’t plan your future; plan your people. • Outstanding people who � t your basic broad vision will tend to make the right decisions along the way, not by following a plan, but by using their skill.
Fallacy No. 3: Strategy Is KingIn successful companies, tactics drive strategy as much
or more than strategy drives tactics. These companies do something and learn from it. It changes their thinking. As Tom Cooper, the former COO of Access Management, has observed, “Sometimes, the very � rst tactic you execute changes your entire plan.”
Fallacy No. 4: Build a Better MousetrapWe still believe that if you build a better mousetrap, the world
will start lining up on your porch. But too many examples today suggest otherwise. Execute passionately. Marginal tactics executed passionately will almost always outperform brilliant tactics executed marginally.
Fallacy No. 5: There’ll Be a Perfect TimeEndless analysis and waiting will prove that he who hesitates
is lost. Today’s good idea will almost always beat tomorrow’s better one. Do it now. The business obituary pages are � lled with planners who waited.
Fallacy No. 6: Patience Is a VirtueMost people believe that organizations work on the principle
of inertia: Organizations tend to stay as they are, either at rest or in motion. But it appears that organizations actually are subject to the law that governs sharks: If a shark does not move, it cannot breathe. And it dies. Moving organizations tend to keep moving. Dormant ones tend to run out of air and die. Act like a shark. Keep moving.
Fallacy No. 7: Think SmartDon’t be afraid of coming up with seemingly stupid ideas,
which often turn out the best.Highly intelligent people are the world’s foremost experts at
squashing good ideas. That’s because intelligent people have one absolute favorite use for their formidable intelligence: telling other people, with total conviction and logic, why other people’s ideas will not work. As smart as they are, their memories fail them; they always forget that good ideas often sound ludicrous at � rst.
Fallacy No. 8: Science and DataThat’s because “research” connotes something scienti� c.
But there are no rigorous sciences of human behavior. The social sciences consist, at best, of some well-supported general observations. Mistrust “facts.” And don’t approach planning as a precise science. Planning is an imprecise art.
Fallacy No. 9: Focus GroupsMaybe focus groups can brainstorm for you, but you should
never bet on it. Beware of focus groups; they focus only on today. And planning is about tomorrow.
word outside distracts companies from the inside, and from the � rst rule of service marketing: The core of service marketing is the service itself.
Service has deteriorated in our society. This is partly because companies cannot show precisely that investing more in improving service—whether in training, salaries or increased sta� ng—will earn them more. To improve their pro� ts, companies squeeze costs by squeezing their service until someone—usually a client—screams. To improve your own service, you should begin by assuming your service is bad. It can’t hurt, and it will force you to improve.
Consider who sets the standards for your service. Is it the industry, your ego or your clients? Don’t allow the industry to set your standards. Always aim for higher standards. How can you tell if your service needs � xing? Write an ad for your service. If after a week your best ad is weak, stop working on the ad and start working on your service. If it’s that hard to write the ad, the product is � awed.
When planning your marketing, don’t begin where you left o� last time. Always go back to ground zero and work up from there. Is your service still viable? Is it a service people want? This is the � rst rule of marketing planning: Always begin at zero.
EVEN YOUR BEST FRIENDS WON’T TELL YOU
Why survey?
It gives you an opportunity to sell something or to make • an o� er.It keeps contact with your clients.• It lets you learn from your mistakes.• It helps you � ag possible problem areas and clients.• It keeps you from coasting.• It keeps you from wondering what you are doing wrong.• It tells you what business you are in and what people really • are buying.
Always have a third party conduct your surveys. Your clients will be much more candid. Oral surveys reveal what the people being interviewed think and feel more accurately than written surveys. And never ask this question: What don’t you like about the company or the service? You’re asking someone to admit they made a bad decision in
choosing that company. People won’t do that; people like to look smart. Many companies rely on focus groups to get feedback about their services. But you will get more accurate information by talking to individuals. Focus groups leave too much room for some in the group to persuade others to their way of thinking.
MARKETING IS NOT A DEPARTMENT
Everyone in your company is responsible for marketing your company. More than half of all Japanese companies do not even bother to have marketing departments because they believe that everyone in the company is part of the marketing. The fastest, cheapest and best way to market your service is through your employees. Every employee should know that every act is a marketing act upon which your success depends. Review every step—from how your receptionist answers to the message on the bottom of your invoices—and ask what you could do di� erently to attract and keep more customers. Every act is a marketing act. Make every employee a marketing person.
Examine what your clients are really buying. People in the fast-food business used to think they were selling food. Then McDonald’s came along and � gured out that people weren’t buying hamburgers—people were buying an experience. McDonald’s was right: Fast-food hamburger restaurants are not in the hamburger business. Maybe you think prospects in your industry are looking for hamburgers. Chances are, they want something else. The � rst company to � gure out what that is wins.
Most business schools teach competitive strategy. But, as a service marketer, this strategy will fail you. Here are some reasons why:
Competitive strategy is a product-marketing strategy, not a • service-marketing strategy. It encourages you to frame your market in traditional, • competitive terms. These terms anchor you to the same structure, system and • markets as your competitors.
Many companies fall into the trap of operating in the way that has always worked in the past. But � nding ways to employ technology to give your company an edge is critical to creating the adapter’s edge. Make technology a key part of every marketing plan.
Fallacy No. 10: MemoryOur memories fail us. We look back and see things that were
not there. We cite as proof for something an event that simply did not occur as we remember it. In planning, beware of what you think you remember.
Fallacy No. 11: ExperienceSometimes what you thought you learned can make you
abandon a strategy or tactic that was 90 percent right. Have a healthy distrust of what experience has taught you.
Fallacy No. 12: Confi denceMaybe others are right and you’re wrong—even if you are
certain you’re right. Even when you feel certain, you should question that
authority. Especially your own.Beware of the overcon� dence bias.
Fallacy No. 13: Perfection Is PerfectionPerfectionists can become paralyzed by their fear of not
being perfect. This is how the path to perfection leads to procrastination. Don’t let perfect ruin good.
Fallacy No. 14: Failure Is FailureThere’s little point in killing an idea by saying it might fail. Any
idea might fail. If you’re doing anything worthwhile at all, you’ll su� er a dozen failures. Start failing so you can start succeeding.
Fallacy No. 15: ExpertiseDon’t look to experts for all your answers. There are no
answers, only informed opinions.
Fallacy No. 16: AuthorityIn many organizations, the alphas dictate what the group does
and thinks. But alphas are not necessarily better at decision making. Alphas are just better at getting and keeping power. If you’re an alpha, learn to shut up. Imitate Ben Taylor, the alpha who runs the ExecuTrain franchise in Minnesota. When asked to explain his success, Taylor’s � rst response was “I listen.”
Fallacy No. 17: Common SenseCommon sense will only get you so far. For inspiring results,
you’ll need inspiration.
Fallacy No. 18: FateThere are fatalistic groups, fatalistic people and fatalistic
companies. Some people cannot picture success. Some people are afraid to believe in it because they are terri� ed of disappointment. The New York Mets didn’t have a prayer in the 1969 World Series. They had been laughed at for years. Their relief pitcher Tug McGraw implored them, “Ya gotta believe.”
They started believing.Their opponents, the Baltimore Orioles, wish they hadn’t.You gotta believe.
THE MORE YOU SAY, THE LESS PEOPLE HEAR
Successful marketing starts with positioning. This principle is the focus of Al Ries and Jack Trout’s marketing classic, Positioning, which says:
