Parable of the Sower: Can it Truly Educate Us a Lesson in Marketing?

The Bible parables can instruct us insights which we can pertain to our Christian business. A story which is prevalent among network marketers, for example, is the Parable of the Sower.

It was Jim Rohn who popularized the use of this story in that field. In Mark 4:1-20 we read how a sower broadcasts seed on a path, on gravel soil, among thorns, and on superior ground. Only the seed that fell on good ground grew, harvesting thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

The story of course pertains to the Gospel and how various folks believe and apply it in their lives. But some folks utilize the story in training how prospecting ought be accomplished. For them, selling or marketing is a numbers game. You ought to get in touch with so many people so that even if barely few would respond, you should be OK. Please remember that in the story, 75% of the seeds seemed to be wasted.

One article on direct marketing I read in fact put it this way - "By robotically mailing out a pre-set number of postcards every day, you will not fail to receive sign-ups! Those people who over-analyze…who maintain on having entire control over all of the elements of direct marketing - will for all time fail."

But is prospecting in actuality a numbers game?

To a some extent, all of us play the numbers game in selling. In spite of this, it is not correct to assume that if you see more people you will receive more business. It doesn't' matter how many prospects you see. It matters how you get in touch with the right prospects.

Would you rather see ten prospects and obtain one sale, or get in touch with one prospect and get one sale? To be sure, it never feels good to have nine prospects state no.

As a result, prospecting is a productivity game, not a numbers game. And to make best use of your prospecting efficiency you need change the traditional "more is better" quantity concept with a "less is better" quality concept.
Valuable, efficient prospecting needs that you appreciate that your prospects will become clients who are either time abusers or time wasters. They can be classified in one of the following four categories:

1) Low profit/high maintenance

2) High profit/high maintenance

3) Low profit/low maintenance

4) High profit/low maintenance

Prospect types 3 and 4 are evidently the sort of prospects you want to do business with on a recurring basis.

One of the crucial rules in marketing is "Seek not to convert. Seek the converted."

In his unforgettable Scientific Advertising book, Claude Hopkins wrote:

"Many things are possible in advertising which are too costly to attempt...e.g., changing people's habit is very expensive. To sell shaving soap to the peasants of Russia one would first need to change their beard-wearing habits."

So, can we really apply the Parable of the Sower to Marketing? Yes, but for a reason different from what conventional consultants used to instruct. The Bible, our Christian business guide, shows that not all prospects are good quality prospects and as clever marketers, we ought aim for the correct prospects.

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Jose Anajero invites business owners and internet entrepreneurs to visit the blog Christian Business in the Internet Age. Find Your Purpose. Fulfill God's Plan. Achieve Financial Freedom.

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