by Paul Reilly

According to the FTC, a product can only be marketed as new for six months. Salespeople routinely make a sales pitch under the premise that the product is actually new.

How many times have you primed a meeting by telling the customer you have something new for them?

Salespeople will lead with, “we started carrying this new product” or “we have a new line we are carrying.” Using new in this context means the product is new to you, not necessarily new to the customer.

Marketing a product as new is not as compelling as it used to be. Think of how many consumer products are marketed as new. Pepsi markets a new type of Pepsi by using “Real Sugar.” That’s the old original product, not a new one. Who can forget the 1985 Coca-Cola debacle where they marketed a new formula for Coca-Cola? Consumers actually protested the new formula. This utter failure led them back to the original formula. They labeled this new-old original, Coca-Cola Classic. The new products are the old products.

Be careful when marketing your product as new. It doesn’t have the pizazz that it once had.

Before your next pitch, ask yourself if the product is new to the customer or just new to you.

Rather than new products, pitch new solutions to a common problem, a new idea to help boost profitability. Pitching new products may be overdone, but new ideas still sell.

In your next messaging campaign, pique the customer’s interest. Tell the customer you have a new idea, not just a new product.


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