Prospects and customers seem to have shorter attention spans every year. If a video or website doesn’t catch the user in a few seconds, they’re gone. Likewise, when a customer checks out a product or service; we need to hook them quickly.

I like going to state or county fairs. Part of the experience I enjoy, is to check out sales booths. Those that caught a person’s attention quickly tended to have customers.  However, when it took people several moments to figure out the product or service; it caused folks to pass by.

All of us like to be understood.  A recent study by Businessolver, titled “2019 State of Workplace Empathy” documented that 93% of employees would stay with an empathetic employer. Furthermore, the study indicated 82% of employees would leave their position to work for a more empathetic organization. 

When you drive down the street and see help wanted signs everywhere, you recognize the critical problem that employee retention is.  However, it’s not always about the money.

In sales management 101, we learn that we have a responsibility to know our customers. A follow-up question is do our customers know us? The principle to remember is that people prefer to buy from somebody they know rather than from a stranger.

There is a difference between relational selling and processing an order.  To adopt relational selling means you take steps to make sure your customers know you and your company personally. When I work with clients with sagging sales, I help them examine why customers have left their business. Frequently, we find that it’s the regular customers who have departed. Our job is to understand why and create a strategy to keep current customers, create new customers, and reconnect with lost clients. 

Here are some ways to reconnect.

I used to pick up my mail next door to a carpet store.  One day I saw the sign in the window:  Bigalow Carpet Sale. The problem was that the sign had hung in the window for years. Even if I wanted to buy carpet, the sign did nothing to motivate me to purchase from their store.  Clearly, the lower price would be available any time in the future.

When we decide to discount goods or services, our offer is more effective when we give the customer a reason to act urgently and order now. We may use words like “on sale for a limited time only.” When we give the customer a reason to act quickly, the credibility of our sale offers increase.

Retail stores will discount seasonal goods. This sends a message to customers that the store will receive no more winter coats.  It says that now is the time to purchase before they’re all gone. Another example might be, “Buy now because raw material prices will increase, and future product will reflect these higher prices”.

In the public speaking I have done in my career, I have learned some principles that have guided my preparation.  Perhaps they will be helpful to you.

1.  Know who you are as a speaker.

I don’t try to wow my listeners with high energy that lifts them out of their seats. I am not a motivational speaker; I am a content driven speaker. My presentations are not designed to entertain or excite.  Instead, they provide solid and useful information. Before accepting an invitation, I make sure the organization understands what they get when they schedule me.