Marketing and Sales, a Biblical Approach

-Patrice Tsague, NPIM

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" - Genesis 3:1

Who made the first sales transaction ever recorded in the Bible? What was the product? What was the price? Who was the customer? The first sales transaction ever recorded in scripture was made by the devil himself who came in the form of a serpent. The product was a fruit that promised to provide God-like characteristics. The price was the life of man. The customer was Eve.

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:1-6

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:16-17

The strategy the devil used to turn Eve into a customer is the same strategy that is used today by Madison Avenue to turn us into customers. This same strategy has been adopted by many entrepreneurs and sales people as they attempt to build their customer base. This strategy has its genesis in craftiness. The goal is not to satisfy the customer but rather to make a sales transaction. It uses false and misleading information to achieve its end. It promises something that the product and service can never deliver. It uses the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life as its basic principles. It conceals the fine prints until the transaction has occurred. The conclusion is often a reduction in the quality of the customer's life. Customers are enticed into purchasing a product or service that they either do not need, cannot afford or is bad for them. What the devil failed to tell Eve was that she was already made in the image and likeness of God.

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Mathew 16:26

Biblical Entrepreneurs do not have to limit themselves to operating in business using the devil's tactics. God has provided a biblical approach to marketing and sales. This approach defines marketing as sowing and sales as reaping. Sowing is the process of planting seeds to prepare for future growth, while Reaping is gathering the ripe harvest generated from the seeds planted. Marketing and sales from a biblical approach is a process of identifying markets and developing tools consistent with the Word of God to inform a specific target market about the availability and benefits of your product or service, which results in the exchange of goods or services for an amount of money or its equivalent.

Just as marketing is essential to generate customers, sowing is essential to generate a harvest. The harvest generated by God through the seed sown by the Biblical Entrepreneur is the prospective customers who then must be reaped through sales. Sales turn potential customers into actual clients. In Genesis 3 the devil sowed deceit and reaped destruction and enmity. What are you sowing? What method are you using to generate your customers? Remember whatsoever you sow that you will also reap.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. -Galatians 6:7-8