By: Gabe Vargas

In the late 1970s, Steven Ethridge, a young, intelligent, bright-eyed marketing student at the University of Mississippi, was picking up on something many of his peers were not. 

“I was taking an advertising course about halfway through my studies at the University of Mississippi when I found that many of the most prominent advertising questions and scenarios — all of this theoretical stuff in marketing — weren’t being answered. The professor would have us students deliberate with one another, guess about answers, and give what we knew or thought we knew to the professor. I wasn’t getting the why or how behind these things in this market advertising course, which bothered me.”

Eager to learn more about the “hows” and “whys” behind effective marketing, Ethridge took another course focused on market research to become the best marketing strategist he could be. Coincidentally, these courses were scheduled back-to-back, and he found that the market research course was like a key that unlocked the answers to the problems and theories presented in his advertising course.

“Advertising class presented problems in which we students simply guessed on the solution, whereas market research class actually found the solutions to the problems being presented in the class before,” Ethridge reflected, recognizing the crucial role of market research in solving marketing problems.

This class, which led to this sort of awakening, made Ethridge realize that to be successful in marketing and communications, one has to know the role of market research behind it and how to apply the research results to the overall marketing and communications strategy. Unbeknownst to Ethridge then, this realization in market research would lead him to devote the next 40+ years of his life to it, delivering unprecedented results to clients for years to come.

Diversifying Experience to Perfect a Craft

In his book, “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World,” author David Epstein found during his extensive research examining the world’s most successful athletes, authors, artists, investors, and scientists have one thing in common: these experts of their craft are largely generalists. Highly successful people often juggle many different interests at once, using transferable skills and information from many areas of knowledge to excel in one thing.

This is the definition of Steven Ethridge. In addition to owning Ethridge & Associates, a marketing consulting, coaching, and training company, Ethridge has multiple certifications and degrees in various disciplines, ranging from a Ph.D. and a Masters in Communication to being a world-class Certified Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) — the study and modeling (replication) or excellence — diversifying his interests and experience in ways that benefit his market research and sales prowess. 

Ethridge has used these extensive and wide-ranging degrees and certifications to master his craft for delivering marketing solutions founded in deep analysis and research. Earlier in his career, Ethridge was a senior manager for Holiday Corporation, which evolved into The Promus Companies, where he conducted the preliminary market research and brand positioning of the then-startups Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, and Homewood Suites, setting the groundwork for these hotels to be in practically every village, town, and city across the United States. After starting his own marketing research and consulting firm, Ethridge & Associates, Ethridge left The Promus Companies to begin consulting clients across for-profit, non-profit, and political organizations, with all-around results.

Ethridge has also held senior executive-level marketing and research positions at The Gallup Organization and AutoZone. Whether helping the Mt. Vernon Estate, formerly belonging to George Washington, break 150-year-old fundraising records to assisting companies to increase their marketing return on investment (MROI) anywhere from 25% to 1200%, Ethridge’s 40+ years of experience across the market research industry has positioned him as a leading expert in the field.

Expansion of Ventures: Sales Mindset Transformation

While working with clients in the post-COVID world, Ethridge has noticed that salespeople have been struggling in the post-pandemic world with making sales, keeping a positive outlook through turbulent and unpredictable economic conditions, and dealing with one of the most common problems in sales: rejection. With his 40+ years of market research, his numerous certifications in neuromarketing approaches using NLP to model top sales performers, and his own 40+ years of experience selling millions of dollars worth of intangible marketing research and consulting services, Ethridge knew he could develop a new service that would help his sales clients succeed in the post-COVID world. 

This was the basis for Ethridge’s development of his new Sales Mindset Transformation course — a two-module course that takes place on Zoom every Friday afternoon — that helps not only salespeople but also professionals from all backgrounds in sales. Expanding on the fact that this training extends beyond salespeople, Ethridge makes the point that everyone is a salesperson: whether you are a salesperson by profession or not, you are constantly selling yourself and your services to your bosses, colleagues, clients, and everyone in your orbit. 

The first module focuses on a positive mindset. By getting into a good headspace and eliminating negative beliefs and emotions, individuals can anchor themselves in a positive headspace and empower themselves to be the most successful version of themselves.

The second module focuses on how simple syntax and verbiage changes can determine a sale’s outcome. Ethridge provided an example early in his career, proving the importance of syntax.

“I was working with a client — a bank that came out with a new deposit product,” Ethridge says. “Their message was, ‘We pay more interest’ on this account than our competitors do, and their sales were not nearly as high as expected. We recognized that the word ‘pay’ was a barrier because, to the subconscious mind, it meant ‘I pay out of my pocket,’ and by changing the message to ‘you earn more interest,” enrollment expanded exponentially.

As an NLP-certified instructor, Ethridge knows how important it is to speak in language that can psychologically get a customer behind a product or service. By speaking in a personalized language that customers can easily identify with, customers, colleagues, bosses, and others will be more drawn to that message.

This training also has a five-step process that focuses on providing a win-win outcome for both the salesperson and the customer. It is driven by selling with empathy and integrity, ensuring that the sales process benefits both parties involved.

This sales process is the same that Ethridge has used over the years, much to his success. By sharing his knowledge and technical expertise in the field and formal training and studies, Ethridge wants to provide clients with results beyond his market research background. He wants to provide positive life results that can be easily transferable to all facets of life, with selling being the foundation.

Published by: Holy Minoza