Friday, May 09, 2008

Biblical Business Marketing Parable

I do not know if you who are business owners or salesmen out there have experienced what I have observed in business. There is a saying, "You can not please everybody." Isn't this right?

Certainly, that axiom is true. In correlation with that maxim, no matter how good or excellent a product you have that you are promoting in business, not everybody will appreciate it. In fact, not all prospective customers will even believe in what you declare as true - even if you are really telling the whole truth about your product. Do you agree with me?


For example, people may believe that cars like a BMW or a Rolce Royce is a very excellent car. Yet, not all will buy any of these cars for some reason even if they can afford it. I have recently found that the best healthy and safest cookware available in the market today is produced by Saladmaster. Yet not everybody would buy a Saladmaster cookware even if they can afford one. In comparison to the BMW and Saladmaster cookwares, is it the financial reasons alone that deters others to buy despite the good benefits that these products can give?

Well, there may be times that business can give you discouragements. Even if you share the whole truth to people, not everyone may believe in you. As I have been reflecting in some down moments of my business, I have come upon a parable (as told by Jesus in the Holy Bible) that holds true not just in Christian life but also in business.

When a preacher goes to the open market and teaches about a Christian message to the people, there would always be four classification of people that you will find. Some would not outrightly believe in what this preacher may preach because of Satan's efforts. Others, will gladly receive the message at first but when problems come up, the Christian message is disregarded or forgotten. Others too may accept the message for a short while, but it is not deeply rooted in their faith and these teachings can also be easily disregarded. On the other hand, there are also those who will certainly believe in the message and this will really grow in them.

The parable I am talking about is the parable of the sower. When a certain farmer started to plant seeds, some seeds fell on the road side where the birds easily took them away - thus these seeds never grew. Some seeds fell on thorny ground, and when these seeds grew they were easily choked by the thorns. Some seeds fell on stony ground where when they grew, they were not deeply rooted and when the heat of the sun came up, they easily weathered. While those seeds that fell on the good soil, they really really grew.

I have strongly believed that this parable can also be applicable in marketing and sales. Some customers would not easily believe in your claims or presentation. Others may believe you at first, but when others start talking about their negative opinions of your product, these will also discourage your potential customers. While there are also other customers who will really see the truth of what you claim about your product.

So if you are new to business marketing and sales, while there may be people who will believe in the truth you are preaching about your product, always remember that there will also be people who will be skeptical. Should you then be discouraged about it? NO! Simply be happy about those people who believe in the truth of your product. For those who did not believe, that is their choice and you are not to be blamed of their decision.

And speaking of skeptical people, did you know that Jesus had a skeptical disciple as well? Did you remember Thomas? Thomas was told by his fellow disciples that Jesus had already risen from the dead. Did the other disciples of Jesus told Thomas the truth? Yes. Yet, Thomas did not believe them. In fact Thomas even said he would only believe if he can see Jesus alive with the scars on His hands and hold the scar on the side of Jesus.

I remember when I was in med school, we had a professor who was a heavy cigarette smoker and he taught us about the lung and lung diseases. During his lecture, our professor admitted that cigarette smoking can really cause cancer, yet he himself was smoking during our lecture. Our professor knew the truth about smoking, yet he did not bother to stop smoking. That is his decision, right? And if he suffers the consequences of his decision, who is to blame?

Let those who believe reap the benefits of your product, while those who do not - let them suffer the consequences of their decision. So in marketing and sales, if you really believe and are passionate in your product, follow the SWSWSW rule - "Some will, some won't, so what?"
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Test question: Do you believe in Max GXL?

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