When we select Christmas gifts for children, friends, and family, we usually give significant thought to them. My mom was a thoughtful gift giver on Christmas and special occasions. In business we should also target our gift giving whenever practical.

To survive, a business needs to sell. However, a key question involves what methodology and strategy you use to sell. Too often a business will fire out sales efforts to everybody they can hoping to land a sale. A lot of this effort is wasted because without proper customer qualification you really don’t know who an appropriate customer for your service or product is.

I’ve written several times before on the topic that we must listen and understand what the buyer wants and target a product focused on satisfying that desire. We can spend significant time in a situation where the prospective customer doesn’t really need or want what we offer. When we continue to pound on these individuals with hard selling, we simply waste our time. We barely have enough time to focus on those customers who do want what we offer.

In today’s competitive sales environment, the salesperson faces two significant challenges. First, the Covid 19 pandemic reduces the amount of face time available for selling. Many of us don’t like making client visits during this time and many prospects don’t want to sit across the desk from us even if we went to their office. Second, the majority of people don’t like to read, especially millennials. This includes sales literature, booklets, and website copy. The millennial prospects would rather watch a three minute sales video.

However, the key principles of marketing still apply: lead with benefits and follow with evidence.

A professional marketing video is particularly effective to demonstrate a product. A great example is the Flex Seal advertisement showing the effectiveness of the product for plugging leaks.  The ad shows a basement window where water pours into the house.  Then, the video shows what happens when the home owner uses the Flex Seal product to stop the leak. Marketing a product that requires hands on use is tailor-made for a video presentation. It allows the customer to see exactly how an item works.

Most of us understand some customers make decisions by price alone; others purchase based on perceived value. Marketing to each type of customers is very different.

When I was in the international trade business, a fast food chain bought large amounts of hamburger meat from Australia and shipped it in frozen food containers. The customer generally requested competitive bids over three months. They made it clear that they would accept the lowest price. For several years we bid for the business and a couple times we landed the work for a quarter or two. However, when somebody was a dollar less; the business quickly went to the lower bid. Customer service seemed to make little difference. A sharp pencil was the only way to make successful bid.

None of us likes losing customers. Over the years, I have had customers take their business to competitors for one reason or another. 

I have always treated departing customers with the utmost kindness and respect.  I strive to make the transition as easy as possible for the customer. I’ve done this for four specific reasons.