Click 'Read Original' for details Introduction: "Selling combs to monks" may seem clever, but in reality it is high-cost, low-return, benefits others, and is deceptive. The logic behind "selling combs to monks" is: "Don't care whether my product meets market demand. 'As long as your thinking doesn't slip, there are more solutions than difficulties.' If you can't sell it, you're an idiot." Another old video has been dug up and rehashed. It appears to be from a CCTV annual economic person of the year selection, where a young-looking Ma Huateng was among the winners. After Ma received his award, CCTV arranged a very down-to-earth (and somewhat absurd) segment: having Ma, who would later become a "big shot," try to sell QQ to Zhang Ruimin, who was already a "big shot" at the time. So this business genius, who would later captivate nearly a billion netizens and build the world's largest social empire, tried his best to pitch QQ to Zhang with great enthusiasm. Zhang Ruimin was moved, then rejected him. Ma Huateng looked very embarrassed on stage. Today, Tencent's market value is dozens of times that of Haier, and this video has resurfaced. Thus, a new "back then you ignored me, now I'm out of your league" comeback story is being served as chicken soup for the soul online, this time with Zhang Ruimin being the "embarrassed" one. Of course, those familiar with Lao Miao's marketing critiques know that Lao Miao doesn't serve chicken soup; let's tear into something else. First, whether Zhang Ruimin accepted QQ or not is a completely different concept from Haier's internet transformation. Zhang Ruimin, as an individual, choosing whether to use QQ or even WeChat based on personal preference and habits is a private choice, unrelated to arrogance, conservatism, or embarrassment. Just as Lao Miao never buys Apple products but highly admires Apple's marketing. Second, if you are familiar with the "diffusion of innovations" theory that Lao Miao often talks about, you would know that for a product like QQ, Zhang Ruimin should be a laggard. He should not be the target of Ma's marketing, but rather someone to be avoided in marketing. Allocating marketing resources to this group would be a huge waste. Third, Mr. Zhang Ruimin has a famous saying: There are no successful enterprises, only enterprises of the era. Haier's early success was due to its era, and Tencent's current success is also due to its era. There is a disruptive change in the current era: the original high-profile "opinion leaders," those who stood in the spotlight on stage, have less and less influence, while new opinion leaders are diversifying and fragmenting. Even Feng Jie can represent certain groups. We can even speculate that if Ma Huateng had successfully persuaded Zhang Ruimin to use QQ back then, it might have been a disaster for QQ. Fourth, and this is what Lao Miao wants to focus on: Why did CCTV arrange such a nonsensical segment as "Little Ma selling to Zhang Ruimin"? Was it purely for the sake of entertainment? Marketing is one of the most important basic capabilities of an enterprise. In many people's eyes, marketing is just selling goods:

If I can't sell something but you can, you're better than me.

If someone didn't intend to buy, but you made them buy, you're great.

If a monk didn't need a comb, but you made him buy one, you're great.

If someone wanted to buy a fishhook, but you ended up selling them a boat, you're the god of sales. When Little Ma tried to persuade Zhang Ruimin on stage, according to "common sense," he should have used smooth talk and various tricks, while Zhang should have responded calmly, either seeing through it or falling for it, to create sparks, like the bet between Dong Dajie and Lei Jun, which was widely enjoyed by the public. Many companies, when recruiting marketing personnel, like to have candidates sell something to the interviewer on the spot to demonstrate their marketing skills. Some even go to extremes, having candidates go out on the street to sell to strangers. Many sales training courses teach "how to sell combs to monks" or "how to sell ice to Eskimos," telling people to "have thick skin" and "be ruthless." Some even go further, telling people to approach strangers on the street, or stand under a utility pole shouting "My illness is cured," all in the name of improving "psychological quality." This is what many people think marketing is. (Readers who have been asked "how to sell combs to monks" in an interview or have taken such courses can leave a comment below to share their thoughts.) Disappointingly, Little Ma in the video did not follow "common sense." He didn't use any sales tricks, but simply introduced his product earnestly. "QQ is a new internet communication tool that improves convenience. The internet will definitely become deeply integrated into people's lives, and this new way of communication will become an important part of their lives." Zhang Ruimin also didn't "earnestly" encourage the younger generation, but calmly said, "It hasn't moved me yet." The live sales pitch ended without a climax, and the media and spectators dispersed before reaching a high point. However, this is true marketing, not the seemingly lively selling. Ma Huateng couldn't and didn't need to make Zhang Ruimin accept QQ, just as Lao Miao doesn't need the whole village in his hometown to follow "Lao Miao Tears Apart Marketing." Marketers need to create value for their audience, not use favors, tricks, or other means to make them buy your product regardless of their needs. Marketing is one of the most important basic capabilities of an enterprise, but selling is not. Drucker's summary is most incisive: Some selling will always be necessary, but the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. We won't delve into the essential difference between marketing and selling here. What Lao Miao wants to tear apart today is the "perverted upgraded version" of selling—"selling combs to monks." Having come from an era of information asymmetry, many companies have tasted the benefits of selling: low investment, quick returns. When the business environment and market conditions change, and the original selling efforts become less effective, many companies don't turn their attention to value-creating marketing, but instead fantasize about further improving selling skills or even mythologizing them. "If combs can be sold to monks, and my product isn't bad (in their own opinion), then if my sales team had even half the ability to 'sell combs to monks,' I'd be selling like crazy." Such logic is a result of paranoia leading to obsession. Jack Ma has served up many bowls of chicken soup, but this one Lao Miao thinks is the most nutritious: "Whoever talks about how to sell combs to monks, I'll fire them on the spot." Jack Ma said that selling combs to monks is deception. Alibaba must have correct values, so it can't do that. As the saying goes: "Children distinguish right from wrong; adults only talk about interests." In fact, Jack Ma's resistance is not only due to values, but also because "selling combs to monks" hides a huge "pit," and someone as smart as Jack Ma would never fall into it. The basic rule of marketing: the cost of acquiring a new customer is N times that of retaining an existing one, with N roughly between 3 and 10. The deceptive nature of "selling combs to monks" means that with most customers, it's a "one-off deal," so it seems cheap at first but becomes very expensive in the long run. Second, information asymmetry is decreasing. With so many companies trying to sell combs to monks, how can monks cope? As more monks are deceived, your chances of closing deals decrease, and the cost of closing increases. Do you really think monks are all vegetarians? (Well, most monks are vegetarians.) Third, selling combs to monks relies heavily on individual skills and is very difficult to replicate. In fact, true negotiation experts are rare, and most people don't have the potential to become one, even with training. After a group gets pumped up and goes out to the market, they still can't do it. The "human wave tactic" has gone from being the "cheapest" years ago to the "most expensive" today. Fourth, if a company uses "selling combs to monks" as its guiding principle, it might cultivate a few sales experts, but unfortunately, you'll be training them for others. Because you'll soon find that these experts jump to companies selling "incense burners," "kasayas," or "begging bowls." They discover that selling these to monks is much easier than selling combs, they can sell more, and they feel more accomplished. They create more value and thus earn more. What's even more infuriating is that they might turn around and expose your deceptive practices of selling combs to monks. Mistaking selling for marketing, mistaking tricks for the way, misallocating resources—the harder you work, the more unfortunate you become. Older marketers should know that the health products industry once trained many excellent marketing personnel, who are now spread across various industries, with few staying in the field. Previously torn apart cases: A company had poor overall sales, but some individual outlets performed well. The boss found that the promoter at that outlet was diligent, capable, familiar with the product, and friendly, so he concluded that performance depends on the quality of personnel, so he trained and replaced people...

The result was almost always the same: competitors offered higher wages, and all the people you painstakingly trained and hired jumped ship. Second: A new product performed mediocrely, but some outlets did well. The company found that those outlets had good displays, strong image, were promoted by the store, and well maintained. So, they concluded that display is the life of sales, strengthened terminal construction, and replicated it nationwide...

The result was often: after investing heavily in terminal costs, sales increased only marginally, and profits declined further. High terminal costs became an unbearable burden. The reasons are similar: The lack of marketing cannot be compensated by strengthening selling. When the overall system is poor, the harder individual parts work, the worse the outcome. This is like an army from the cold weapon era facing an enemy with guns and cannons, or even planes and aircraft carriers. Instead of catching up through technology, they train to be invulnerable to swords, break bricks on their heads, and smash stones on their chests. They waste effort and are easily slaughtered on the battlefield. The Boxers, with 400,000 to 500,000 men, were routed by the Eight-Nation Alliance of less than 20,000, with no ability to fight back. Emerging industries are much better in this regard. Those familiar with e-commerce know that e-commerce operations have been de-emphasizing the sales function of customer service, while emphasizing the role of page design, copy, and promotions in driving sales, and in recent years, off-site traffic generation. Traditional enterprises, however, mostly come from the era of information asymmetry and have tasted the benefits of "short, flat, fast" selling. The concept of "only selling, no marketing" or "mistaking selling for marketing" is very common. When selling no longer works, more people turn to the perverted upgraded version of selling—"selling combs to monks." Of course, the outcome is bleak. Training companies like to teach "selling combs to monks" because many bosses like to hear it. The logic behind "selling combs to monks" is: "Don't care whether my product meets market demand. If combs can be sold to monks, then 'as long as your thinking doesn't slip, there are more solutions than difficulties.' If you can't sell it, you're an idiot." Using tactical diligence to cover up strategic laziness, companies successfully shift the pressure onto sales personnel. Both the company and the training company are happy. This skill seems clever, but in reality it is high-cost, low-return, benefits others, and is deceptive. Once used, you lose both face and substance. In "The Return of the Condor Heroes," Qiu Qianchi says to Gongsun Zhi: "I said twenty years ago that this martial art of your Gongsun family is hard to learn and easy to break, so it's better not to learn it." Haha, better not to learn it! It seems the Sunflower Manual is more reliable. -END-