There’s a lot of noise out there. Every day we all get blasted with it. The roar of the mundane sounds we hear in everyday life distract us -- booming music, ear-piercing television, people loudly talking on their mobile phones, and the thunderous barking of your neighbor’s dog in the middle of the night.

Now imagine how your customers feel. The noise of businesses pushing their products or services adds to the noise pollution. Your competitors turn up the volume of their marketing trying to get people’s attention.

And the pressure is on for you to out-do your competitor and get louder too. It's annoying, even frustrating.

People are numb to the sounds we constantly hear everyday. That includes your messaging -- whether it’s video, email, phone calls, or social media.

It’s all just noise to your audience!

If you’re now expecting a few tips on how to scream louder than your competitors, you’d be wrong.

Sure, you have a quality offering. It’s packed with value and worth every penny. You are certain people are looking for what you have. And, when someone actually buys from you they love it.

So, what! You’re trying too hard, adding to the noise pollution, and people don’t buy.

Instead, try to understand the reasons why people don't buy. Then structure your strategy, messaging, and process around that.

You look and sound like everyone else. When companies can’t differentiate they fail. Something has to stand out in the mind of your potential customer. Otherwise they’ll ignore your company. Or, after considering you, buy from someone else who was cheaper. More noise isn’t the answer. To make an instant improvement to your message, look at what your competitors are saying about themselves. If it seems like something you’d say or write, go back to your website, sales materials, and anything that touches your audience and change it.

Buyers probably don't trust you. This is hard to hear, but someone has to be honest with you. It goes back to all of that loud noise from companies sounding alike. Your buyer starts off in defense mode and breaking through that barrier requires you to talk about them, their problems, and their wants. Before people trust a business they have to respect the company's intentions and its competency. If you start off talking about your company and the features of your offering then the buyer won’t believe you’re watching out for them. When you educate and tell customers something they don’t know that affects them, then they’ll trust that you have the experience and know-how to help.

People don’t understand how your offering benefits them. Value bridges the gap of where people are and where they want to be -- with the least amount of risk. Rattling off a list of features and what that means is not want buyers want. If you don’t understand your target market and audience inside and out, how the heck are you going to help them understand you? That requires your business to clearly communicate tangible gains mirroring your buyer’s reality. Your prospective customers are not interested in spending time trying to figure how you’ll move them forward and how you’re different from competitors -- that your job!

Fear. People are more afraid of losing something than gaining something and many times will simply make no decision. Or, they’ll make a “safe” decision. Gaining trust and getting people to understand how you lower their risk means that you must do some nurturing first. The positive reaction to your message must greatly outweigh the negative feeling buyers have about giving their hard-earned money to you, so spend some time earning trust before launching into a sales pitch. When competitors are screaming loudly and busy cutting prices to get prospects to move in their direction, you’ll win by increasing your value and raising benefits.

All of the noise from sellers is a big turnoff. Don’t contribute to the hullabaloo.

You don’t have to be a great sales person or marketer to get a deal to close. You just have to avoid the mistakes above. When you do that, you’ll stand apart from the crowd and win the trust you deserve, acquiring wonderful new customers along the way.

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Ron Stein is President of FastPath Marketing (www.marketing-strategies-guide.com) and the author of the Rapid Impact Marketing & Selling Playbook. As a speaker, coach, and consultant he works with small business owners helping them to accelerate the path between their vision and the actions needed to reach, win, and keep customers. Ron is the creator of the FastPath to More Customers Now! 7-step marketing system based on more than twenty years as a successful business owner, corporate CEO, business development executive, and salesman. He is also a mentor at two nationally recognized business accelerators. Ron offers one-on-one and small group mentoring, conducts seminars, and consults. He can be reached at 727-398-1855 or Ron@FastPathMarketing.com.