Dusk Till Dawn

Customers have legions of salespeople trying to sell them, all claiming to have the next best thing since the Snuggie. So ask yourself, what value do you bring them? What value does your product or company offer? If you can’t easily answer that question you might want to choose another line of work, or better yet, another company to work for.

For me answering that question has always been easy & it falls into three major categories.

• Quality – I offer a quality product that consumers appreciate. My company is known as a quality manufacturer that doesn’t do cheap & pretty. To be blunt, we sell good stuff.

• Innovation – I offer more new products and to be precise, more innovative fun products in one year than many of our competitors do combined in 5 years total.

• Integrity – If I tell a customer we’ve got a winner and that a particular item is lighting it up from a performance standard, they listen. Because when we have an item that’s not performing and it’s a proverbial dog, I tell them that as well. (Everything can’t be a winner, but more on that in another blog) Do not down play this one, it’s easily the most important of the three for me. But in the end there are many ways to create value. For instance look at these 7 steps to remember

What makes a customer want to do business with you? After reading the above, do you provide that specific value to them, or are you just another guy? What do you give them that will make their life easier? Don’t say I sell them a good product, because everybody claims to have a good product. I know this is beginning to sound like an “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You” moment but ask yourself, what do you bring to the table for them? Are you a value provider or a villain?

Relationships with customers are usually far more substantial when helping them get what they want. Help them achieve their goals and see how fast you become an extremely important asset in their network. Always remember this, helping others obtain the success they desire is the quickest path to your own personal success.

If a customer wants to become a leader in a category or wants to draw more attention to a specific brand product or channel, or possibly even wants to surpass a competitive business and capture more market share, ask yourself beyond selling them your product, how can I help them achieve this? You will find numerous ways to help them reach that goal and all you have to do is act on it.

My world is retail, so it may come in the form of reaching out to the marketing team and getting them involved in social media outreach or designing signage for them that will drive attention to the isle. By advertising the product in store, E-com initiatives, or paying for more high visibility real estate that equates to more exposure. All of the things listed above are about what you can do for your customer, not the other way around.

In conclusion, customers know what I bring to the table. They know I’m a straight shooter who will bring them innovative ideas and recommend only the best products. It’s a given that I’m not just looking to sell them once, not caring if the product actually delivers. If signage is needed in their stores or assistance building an endcap that makes a statement, ALWAYS be the guy they think can make that happen. You say you want to sell more? Remember this one simple rule. Bring more value, it’s a game changer for the customer and your success will undoubtedly follow!