Comments on: They Say Sex Sells, but Would it Sell Circuit Boards?

By: Don Lafferty

Don Lafferty — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:54:51 +0000

All things being [kinda] equal, sex will absolutely give a company the advantage when competing in a B2B environment. I’ve seen it, and done it myself, over and over.

I can’t tell you how many times my customers have asked me what my inside sales associate with the sweet voice looks like, or when would I be bringing her in to hang out for drinks.

I feel so strongly about this that when revamping a sales strategy for a European company, I once suggested they put their four best looking inside people in front of customers in male-female teams until they figured out if the decision maker was a woman or a man.

Oh, yeah…it works both ways.

By: Stephn Waybright

Stephn Waybright — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:08:18 +0000

Purchase decisions are made on cost, delivery and quality, with delivery and quality as table stakes and cost as the tie breaker. An attractive, or otherwise “pleasant to be with” sales rep will possibly be “tolerated” to a greater extent than others, but in the end it will not enter into the decision process unless the procurement person is willing to risk their job in the hope of an unethical indiscretion. Of course that could happen, but it’s no way to run a successful business.

By: Marissa Oskarsen

Marissa Oskarsen — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:40:55 +0000

When designing HDI your via structure is a major contributor to yield loss. Are you interested in meeting me…probable not, but I can continue if you want me to.

I am The Printed Circuit Girl. Im an independent manufacturers rep. My job is to initiate the sale. Prospects can feel my passion and energy just from a cold call and I don’t like to disappoint them. I earned this title because I create excitement but also because I am KNOWLEDGEABLE, dependable and add value. Attraction is helpful but short lived, admiration is ultimate.

By: Greg Papandrew

Greg Papandrew — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:37:35 +0000

Regardless of the industry, sex does sell. And, no, electronics definitely do not sell themselves. Whether it is an attractive sales person or a catchy advertising slogan–the “sex appeal” generated will spark interest to facilitate the introduction of a product or service. (Interestingly, this discussion is initiated from a website called “HOTPCB”–sounds sexy to me.) From there, substance is needed to truly engage the customer and close that sale. Contact greg@bareboard.com to learn how to become more attractive to your prospects and increase your chances of “consummating” that new relationship. BTW, I would be very interested to see what Angelina Jolie was selling.

By: okmb

okmb — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:29:37 +0000

Two salespersons show up at your office.
Both have product of equal quality and value.
Both know their products.
Both have great personalities.

One looks like Rosanne Barr.

One looks like Angelina Jolie.

Which one do you go with?

By: The Sharper Image Review

The Sharper Image Review — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:35:23 +0000

I think Sex could sell a circuit board. I think nerds would be circuit boards by the gross if they thought there was a chance at sex (jk).

By: Val King

Val King — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:06:09 +0000

While I agree that a sexy ad might not increase the sales of a 2000 Mil-Spec circuit board, (whatever that is) there is a subtle point worth mentioning.

The GoDaddy girl is not there to sell domain names directly; she is there to help associate the brand she represents with hosting/purchasing domain names in the potential buyers’ heads.

Any strategy, “selling sexy” included, that helps associate your brand with 2000 Mil-Spec circuit boards in your contractor-buyers head is a step toward differentiating yourself from every other 2000 Mil-Spec circuit board manufacturer out there.

Intel was able to turn their name into a customer preferred brand and still have customers specifying Intel processors for their new computer purchases to this day.

If you could raise your brand awareness in your customers engineers that spec the equipment for purchase from “1000 qty. 2000 Mil-Spec circuit boards” to “1000 qty. Cirexx 2000 Mil-Spec circuit boards” you would have accomplished the same thing.

Instead of selling sexy, maybe you sell testing. Maybe you could provide free boards to engineers during the design and prototype stages to have their systems built and tested with your boards so there would be a compelling reason to spec a Cirexx board when it came time to make a purchase as the system was built and certified with your boards.

Just a thought.