Marketing Lessons From the Late Billy Mays
How to Be Your Own Pitchman
The man who perfected the art of speaking in ALL CAPS as he shouted his way into America’s homes via late night TV infomercials, the one who’s voice haunted our nightmares but compelled us to open our wallets and start dialing that 1-800 number, died unexpectedly at the age of 50. Billy Mays turned products like OxiClean, Kaboom, Mighty Mendit and Orange Glo into household names. He was the master of selling small ticket items with mass appeal, and, whether you loved him, hated him, were amused or annoyed by him, his ability to sell cannot be denied. Let’s take a look at some marketing lessons we can all learn from the late, great TV pitchman, Billy Mays.
Have Passion for Your Product
Whatever Billy Mays had in his hand in any given infomercial, his enthusiasm for the product was obvious (to everyone within shouting distance). But there was, as he has said, more to his selling than just his yelling. Billy Mays really believed in his products, and if you don’t believe in what you are selling, then who will? He would get hundreds of offers for products to pitch, but only chose a select few, and here were some of his criteria:
1) Does the product solve a problem / Does it make one’s life easier?
The first thing that Billy Mays looked for in a potential product to pitch was whether or not it actually worked. Seems obvious, but how many of us have bought products that ended up not working the way that we had expected? If longevity in business is one of your goals, your product (or service) absolutely has to work the way that you say it will work. You also should have something special that is unlike anything else that is currently available, and one that addresses a common need. Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention, and Billy Mays knew how to turn a good idea into a must-have product. He would say he could “turn a design into a goldmine”.
2) Is the product demonstrable?
When a consumer doesn’t have an item right in front of them to see, touch and hold, it’s not easy to create that sense of ownership that often makes people take the next step and buy. This is a major issue when you’re selling products or services on the Internet (or on TV). Billy was able to get around this hurdle by generating excitement through his enthusiasm, and eliciting that “wow” factor with his outrageous and memorable product demonstrations. Whatever your product or service might be, you have to be able to SHOW potential buyers what it can do for them and how it will make their lives easier. Whatever you need to add to your website that will allow people to visualize your capabilities (photos, testimonials, links to previous work, etc.) will also help you to get past this hurdle.
3) Does the product have mass appeal?
Again, this one seems pretty obvious. People have to like your product in order to want to buy it.
But what if someone is on the fence? When it came to marketing calls to action, Billy Mays pulled out all of the bad clichés:
- But Wait – There’s More!
- Call Now!
- Triple Offer, Buy One, Get Two Free!
These make us laugh, sure. But calls to action can include incentives to buy. People love special offers, and there will be an emotional response and a sense of urgency, especially when there is a time limit or expiration date attached to your incentive. Strategies like these are proven to turn the indecisive into buyers. Does your website have a special offer, an incentive to buy/book? If not, perhaps you should consider adding one.
A final bit of simple but powerful advice from Billy Mays: sell good products that people really love. Regardless of the jokes and kidding about Billy’s in-your-face style, I don’t doubt that is what he felt that he did in his short time here on earth. Here is a good interview filmed by Fortune Magazine earlier this year, and may Billy Mays rest in peace:
