I just had the lovely experience of dealing with a very aggressive door-to-door window salesperson. She completely disregarded the very prominent “No Solicitors” sign next to the front door, and banged on it repeatedly. By the time I came up the stairs from my office, crated the large, wildly barking dog, and got the door open, I was really in no mood to hear what she wanted to say.

Words were exchanged.

So after I got back to my office and finished being irritated (well, sort of) at the obnoxious window woman, I started thinking about her marketing technique. If she goes all around the neighborhood, insisting on knocking at doors with “No Solicitors” signs near them, how much is she realistically gonna sell?

If you’re selling to people who don’t want to buy, you’re doomed.

The issue here, as it is for many companies, is target market. So many organizations, in their rush to market, completely forget to think strategically. Not about to whom they wish to sell (note classy and correct  use of “to whom.” Thanks, Mr. Georges!), but rather about who actually wants to buy their offering.

Messaging 101: Discover who wants what you’re selling, and determine which of their problems your product or service will solve. Figure out what they need to know about it.

Then speak specifically to those people, in places they congregate (Twitter, Facebook, industry conferences—or in the case of the hot-tub industry, the county fair). Sales are easy, if you’re selling to someone who wants to buy—and there are more of those folks out there than many realize. Big, broad campaigns can waste time and money, and completely overlook the highly targeted group of people standing by with their wallets open.

I just hope she’s not on straight commission.