Shakespeare once said “to sell or not to sell, that is the question” …

Ok, I know, Shakespeare didn’t actually say that, but it’s an interesting question right now, amid this Covid-19 pandemic, isn’t it? 

In the first two weeks of the lockdown, the question I got asked the most was should I carry on marketing, is it crass? Well my short answer was ‘yes, you should carry on marketing. The question I am now seeing everywhere is should I still sell? Simply put, if there is someone that wants to buy, why wouldn’t you sell?

So many businesses are having to adapt and change their offering to stay afloat, so why would you go through all that change and then not sell?

Often the marketing will be to ensure top of mind awareness for when business starts to grow again (did you notice I didn’t say “when its back to normal”). But there is a big chance that if your “new” offering is relevant it will sell now.

I am working with and speaking to businesses that have taken on new customers as recently as yesterday, so if people are still buying, why aren’t you still selling?

I have discussed this a few times and I am calling it the “Joe Wicks Approach”, before I explain, I have checked-in to ensure I am not being cynical and I believe I am not when I say, Joe Wicks is doing a wonderful thing, but the biggest thing he is doing right now is building a brand.

He got coverage all over the country, all over social media and the news. It was a great idea and he sold it to a tv channel. When the coverage slowed down and he announced he was giving all his tv money to the NHS, guess what, he got national coverage again, increasing his brand even further.

So, he gave away his fee, but what do you think this has done for his book sales and his chargeable plans? I believe his offers are genuine and that is the key to all of this, start with “genuine help” and build the brand.

So, my question to you is… What could you do to follow the “Joe Wicks Approach”?