Ask one hundred sales people what they sell and more than ninety percent will answer with the name of their product. How unfortunate – because that's exactly what their prospects are NOT buying. No wonder they don't connect with their clients. Your first action step to setting yourself into the top tier of sales professionals is to determine what your customers are really buying. See how well you can answer the following questions.
• What is every reason I can think of why someone would want to buy my product or service?
• What pain or frustrations does my service eliminate?
• Why would my customer be more inclined to buy that product or service from my company?
• Why would they choose to buy from me personally?
During the next week, ask as many customers as you can think of that buy from you the above questions. Then ask them the following questions as well:
• Which of the above reasons for buying my product/service are also true of other products?
• Which benefits could they receive equally from another company?
• Which reasons for buying from me personally are also true of other representatives?
The answers to the top sets of questions are what your customer is truly buying. Any benefits that your competition can not match make up your Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA) – that's what sets you apart in the marketplace.
These unique benefits should be the basis of your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – how you communicate your uniqueness to the market. The percentage of answers that are Unique to your company is your quantifiable Competitive Advantage. From the test above – just how competitive are you?
If 'price' is your sole competitive advantage in any area, you should be feeling a jolt of fear deep in your gut. You have some work to do. Why?
Because price is only a point of decision in the absence of any other element of value.
If you have numerous answers other than price as your competitive advantages, congratulations! You have the building blocks for a strong foundation of success.
If you happen to get the response from a customer that price is the most important factor, dig a little deeper. Ask – if our price moved higher than our competitors, what other benefits do we bring that would enable you to defend the higher price. How much higher a price could you defend?
You've learned what your customers are buying – now you must move from selling 'your product' to communicating in terms of what your customers are buying.
Your customers are not buying a shell of painted metal rolling along on a drive train powered by an internal combustion engine, also known as a CAR or TRUCK. They are buying power, speed, hauling capacity, comfort, sex appeal, but never a car.
Customers will pay you much more to increase their profits than they will pay for marketing consulting.
They'll whip out their wallets immediately to protect their families, even when they have little interest in "buying insurance"…
And the list could continue forever.
As you learn from your customers what caused them to buy your products, trends will begin to develop. In fact, the law of large numbers teaches us that the more customers you ask the greater chance that future findings will happen in the same proportion to your current group of information.
So how does this information put money in your pocket as a sales professional? Simply put, the more customers you ask why they buy in your target market, the better you will become attuned to trends. Remember, this research must occur within your target market. Because the temptation once you succeed on one niche is to believe that the same approach will work in any niche. Learn to focus on one target niche and profit.
Spend some time focusing on finding out the benefits in your service from your CUSTOMER'S side of the desk. Then, begin communicating using the benefits your clients and prospects have shared with you and watch your commissions and profits soar!
