WHAT ARE
YOU SELLING?
Everyone
lives by selling something. If you are not selling products and services,
then you are selling ideas, or even yourself.
But what are people buying?
Rarely are customers buying what we think we are selling. Customers do not
want our products and services, they want what our products and services will
do for them. Therefore, it is a fool who tries to sell on the basis of a product
or service's features, because people only buy on the basis of benefits they
expect to receive.
No matter what your product or service, one of the benefits your customers
are looking for is peace of mind. They want to know that the product or service
you are selling will actually solve their problem and will not create any further
problems for them in the process. They want to know that this solution will
be delivered on time, in full and according to their specifications. They would
like it to be at the price they expected and they do not want to have to invest
any further time or energy chasing you up to perform.
Most people in business work hard to get their basic product or service right
because they know that if they let their customers down, they prejudice their
future business success. But most of us have a number of blind spots and it
is in these areas that we inadvertently fail to deliver peace of mind. Remember
when there were droughts in the South Island and the electricity supply was
interrupted as a result? Who can forget those cold showers on early winter
mornings? And, what did the ECNZ say about the situation? "The droughts
have nothing to do with us and we cannot guarantee there won't be electricity
shortages in the future." Thanks for the reassurance, mate!
Sometimes peace of mind is shattered because we have not mastered basic business
skills. Getting accurate quotes in the building industry, for example, is often
very difficult. I once had North Shore City admit they couldn't estimate the
cost of getting a resource consent, and at least two trades people have erred
in their quotes by between 25% and 33%. When confronted with this they say: "It
is very difficult to know ..." Hey, this is your line of work!
Often peace of mind is destroyed because business people accept poor performance
on the part of their suppliers and simply pass the problem, along to their
customers. The other day a tradesman explained why nothing was being done on
my building site by saying that his suppliers had let him down. I told him
that wasn't good enough. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. How
about just doing what you said you would do!
Perhaps they way you run your business causes anxiety for your customers because
it is clear you are putting your interests first. Such as the painter who asked
me to make a large progress payment shortly after the work began. When I asked
what the payment would cover, he said it was mostly for the materials he had
bought for the job. I asked him about the terms of trade he had with his paint
supplier. "I pay on the 20th of the month following," he replied.
Guess who is getting looked after here!
Never forget, then, that no matter whatever you think you are selling, one
of the things your customers are buying is peace of mind. Look at the way you
do business and make sure your blind spots don't undermine the confidence your
customers have in you. Does what the customer gets match what they thought
they would get? Do you deliver on your promises or deliver excuses? On the
positive side, do you give guarantees and references that would reduce any
anxieties your customers might have. And, most importantly, does your behaviour
say to your customers, "My key goal is to make you successful."
|
