about
"If the underlying sales and marketing strategy is flawed, then no amount of bright flashing arrows or charming personality will nudge a sale forward. If you're in business, you need to understand the deeper sales motivation strategy."
- Stacy Rust
Stacy Rust is a Minneapolis-based sales and marketing strategist.
With an innovative, in-depth approach to marketing and sales and over a decade of education, research, and on-the-ground experience, Stacy's strategy work allows companies to ramp up sales quickly and authentically.
Stacy works with entrepreneurs, executives, and creatives on selling, marketing, and building a strong, long term community of customers.
From locally-owned shops to multi-million dollar brands, she helps organizations around the globe craft the details of their marketing strategy.
There's a weird phenomenon in sales and marketing. When a lot of people sell, they adopt a different personality (sometimes in small, subtle ways, and other times in big, bold ways).
It's like a selling switch that goes on and off.
This tendency makes absolutely everyone feel uncomfortable, salespeople and customers alike.
Much of the sales and marketing training available in the business world relies on this personality shift. Sales tactics often focus on things like confidence, authority, charm, charisma, customer bonding, cleverness, persuasion, and wit.
Frankly, none of that matters.
While sales skills often get swirled together with those other personality and persuasion strategies, they are actually very different. Smart sales strategies don't make customers cringe.
Stacy's approach is rooted psychology and consumer behavior. Her focus is on discovering exactly what customers want, and what motivates them to action. Marketing is about zeroing in on what people respond to, what people avoid, what draws people in, and what pushes people away.
Most sales and marketing strategies that are taught focus on persuasion. When the goal is persuasion, the salesperson is already set up for failure.
Persuasion implies that customers don't want to buy the product or service and need to be convinced otherwise. This kind of convincing and persuading is based in opposition, and it sets up a funky sales environment for customers. A strategy based in customer motivation is completely different.
And, customers don't arrive at the doorstep without motivation.
Customer motivation is there. If a customer is browsing around the website, walking through the store, clicking around through the company's Instagram, motivation is there. Sales and marketing skills are really about recognizing that motivation and providing the fuel to get the customer to the sale.
Stacy works with large corporations, start-ups, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations around the globe to grow quickly and profitably.
She is available for team strategy sessions on select dates, and also hosts virtual training programs and workshops.
In every company, there are 4 strategies for bringing in more customers: Differentiation, Sales Motivation, Momentum, and Outreach. Take the free Marketing Assessment to find out which of these 4 strategies your company should be focusing on right now.
Stacy Rust is a Minneapolis-based sales and marketing strategist. From locally-owned shops to multi-million dollar brands, she helps organizations around the globe craft the details of their marketing strategy.
With an innovative, in-depth approach to marketing and sales and over a decade of education, research, and on-the-ground experience, Stacy's strategy work allows companies to ramp up sales quickly and authentically.
After working in Creative Services at the BBC Worldwide in London, and then as an Account Executive at a private advertising agency in the US, she started her own company to provide fresh, unique strategy to business leaders around the world.
Stacy works with entrepreneurs, executives, and creatives on selling, marketing, and building a strong, long term community of customers.
For all press inquiries, contact Stacy's team here.