Earlier this week, the Princeton Athletic marketing department saw something a little different. It was a small piece of orange copy paper, with simple printing on it. The orange color copy paper was an invitation to come see the Princeton women’s tennis team play in its two matches, and it included a reference to free bagels and coffee. Princeton University Women’s tennis coach Megan Bradley had put one in each of the boxes in the mailroom.

So when you are debating the options for marketing your next event,  do not overlook the obvious. As the blog mentioned, in this era of the highest speed, highest sophistication, multiple platform ways of communicating (think twitter, facebook, and even sms texting), there is a place for something  simple, like an invitation on a small piece of orange copier paper.

As the parade of people watching the tennis balls get pounded at the tennis match that morning proved, sometimes simple marketing sells best of all.

Michael Port is one of many proponents to changing the way we sell. Traditional sales tactics are not very good, whether in an auto dealership lot, store aisle, or online. Customers detest them, although canned sales techniques are still taught in classes by corporate trainers and you can see new trainees trying them on customers. The good news is this gives you an opportunity to differentiate yourself from the other affiliate marketers attempting to sell to that customer. This will also help you if you represent Avon, MaryKay, ACN,  work in inside sales at an established firm, or work as an independent financial advisor.

People want to express their values. They do so with the products and services they buy.  Do they spend money on continuing education, wealth management, and health clubs, or bar tabs and fast food? If you look at their spending, you will see fingerprints of their values.

How do you find this information?

Before the answer is revealed, remember that people don’t buy from you because you want them to, or the landing page you just sent them to, or even something clever you mentioned in a conversation or an email blast.

• You need to be willing to learn, adapt, and listen to your customers

• When you do this, you will never have to use a canned marketing campaign from the merchant

• You can then connect with the values that your customers want to express

So, your selling methods will need to incorporate some of the following traits:

• Become a masterful permission marketer – this allows you to defuse their defense mechanism to sales pitches

• Listen while your customers tell you what they want – Create higher level pages that funnel the prospect to the conversion page. If they are interested, they will keep reading the next page. This interest level, and the pages they follow, will provide you information about their values and needs

• Only make relevant sales offers proportionate to the trust you have earned. Don’t make the “pitch of the day”

• Use the velvet rope policy. Do not assume you are meant to work with everyone

When you keep your focus, maintain your integrity, you will never be put into the same category as smooth talking fly by night operations ready to take advantage of people just to take home a commission. This also allows you to build a personal brand. Branding is very important in affiliate marketing. Brands are built upon reputation and a reputation of integrity selling is more valuable than gold.

*This blog post was based on a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine, August 2009, written by Michael Port.