I have often heard the following statement…  Your marketing’s most important function is to promote your product or service.  Wrong.

In fact, the most important function of your marketing should be to establish that you are knowledgeable and can be trusted. 

Most of us don’t do business with people we don’t trust.  Even if someone has the lowest prices, if the prospect doesn’t trust them, it will be very difficult to close the sale. 

This is where the term Education Based Marketing comes in.

Education Based Marketing is a powerful marketing strategy that establishes trust and credibility by using educational messages.   It is the opposite of traditional marketing, which uses selling based messages.

Don’t you tired and tune out when you hear worn out, old sales pitches.  You set up barriers immediately the moment you begin hearing them.

But people sit up and listen when you share important facts and expert information that will help them make a good buying decision.

Whatever you are selling, you should imagine being in your prospect mind and listening to the mental conversation they are having with themselves the very moment they decide that they need your product. This is the secret to attracting qualified prospects early in the sales cycle.  You must find the answers to the questions in their heads and use them as the basis for your educational marketing message.

Educational information that helps your prospects solve problems and make better decisions is the type of information that will attract prospects.

By offering helpful advice, you establish yourself as an authority because prospects see you as a reliable source of information and the expert they are looking for.  Be careful not to give in to the urge to include a sales pitch with your educational message. 

Instead, after you have provided some helpful information, you should warmly invite your prospects to call you, visit your website, or come to your store to take advantage of a free offer.

Those of you reading this blog that seek to develop a relationship of trust by delivering a non-threatening educational message will position yourselves as your prospect’s first choice, when they decide to purchase something like what you are selling.

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