If Your Product is Really Good, It Should Sell Itself


If you buy something through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

How true is this?  In response to an article on how to promote your business without being pushy, David Morgan threw the statement, “If your product or service is really good, it should sell itself” out there. So is it true?

online income

If your product or service is really good, will it sell itself? And if so, when?

We want passive income, passive work and pay checks that come like clockwork—I know I do. But how passive can we be in the sales process?

Do products or services really sell themselves?

I see it like this: marketing is exposure. But the sales part of the process is closure. It’s the point that we decide to act on this “thing” that we now want, need and can no longer live without. And ultimately, in order for us to make the most of our customer’s experience we do have to be extremely active in both the marketing and the sales—or at least active in the plan behind the sales and marketing.

But David brings up an interesting point:

“If you produce a product or service which exceeds your customers expectations while fulfilling their needs and wants, it will basically sell itself (within reason).”

While I don’t believe that anything ever sells itself, I agree with the idea that a quality product or service can be much easier to sell. But every part of the process needs the best that we have to give.

As Gregory Berns, Psychiatrist and Author of Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How To Think Differently says:

“A person can have the greatest idea in the world…but if that person can’t convince enough other people, it doesn’t matter.’’

It’s also true of products because convincing “enough other people” is the marketing process.  We just need to consider product development as the first part of the marketing process. Better products, better marketing, a better sales process leads to a better business.

So what do you think? I would love to know what you’ve learned from your own business. In the meantime, here is a quick “2-part,-I-almost-don’t-need-to-say-it,-but-I-will” marketing process/summary (and thanks, David, for your comments).

A Simple “2-Part,-I-Almost-Don’t-Need-to-Say-it,-But-I-Will” Marketing Process

Your marketing budget may be slashed, forcing you to use non-traditional but more cost effective mediums. That’s ok, you can still get your name out there. You just have to:

  1. understand your options;
  2. learn how to effectively use what you have;
  3. design a plan and implement it with everything that you got.

Simple Website Strategy

You need a website home that is more than just a brochure online. Have an about page that sounds like there are real people behind the business. Use a blog to have personal engagement with some of your visitors.

You can also use social media to connect and have a conversation. Act like you are talking to real people—because you are. And then give them some place to go when they finish talking to you on social media. That “some place” should be your information filled website that completely relates to your product or service and your audience.

Simple Product Strategy

Create one heck of a product or service that solves a real problem. And make it simple, or as simple as possible. When developing or upgrading the product, think like the client.  Feel their frustration and work to alleviate it.

If you have a hard time role playing, then talk to real clients and find out what they really hate. In this economy money is spent daily, but only when necessary. And oftentimes necessary just means irresistible. So design an irresistible product for your target audience and then market it like it matters.


Sales Photo via Shutterstock

Qualify for discounts, special offers and more with a Business Prime account from Amazon. You can create a FREE account to get started today.

3 Comments ▼

Jamillah Warner Jamillah Warner (Ms.J), a poet with a passion for business, is a Georgia-based writer and speaker and the Marketing Coordinator at Nobuko Solutions. She also provides marketing and communication quick tips in her getCLEAR! MicroNewsletter.

3 Reactions
  1. Hi, Jamillah, interesting article as usual.

    I’ve personally never seen a great product sell itself. I’ve seen a lot of products that their creators thought were great, and millions of entrepreneurs who thought it would sell itself (and who became even more convinced after all their friends and family members told them how great it was). The greatest product in the world can only be sold if you understand how your customers see it – and that is never exactly how you do.

    That’s why I teach clients to interview current customers (best) or prospects (not nearly as effective – but if that’s all you’ve got, it’s better than nothing!). Current customers – and you only need to interview a handful, if you do it right – will tell you how THEY think of it and why THEY think it’s great. And how THEY went through their buying process.

    If you know this, you will be able to market and sell that great product – you’ll be able to get out of your own way. Our assumptions and beliefs are the biggest barrier between eager customers and our great products.

    Kristin Zhivago
    Author, Roadmap to Revenue: How to Sell the Way Your Customers Want to Buy

  2. It takes more than a good product to sell it self. It also takes proper marketing. There are many excelent products on the market that enough people are not aware of because of poor marketing. While there are many not so good products that are doing well because of great marketing.