• A Clear Definition Of What You Offer.

Are you selling a product like tires or vitamins or is it something else?

A tire store has a wide variety of products because they are filling various customer needs. Some are looking to put an inexpensive set of tire on a car they are selling. Other customers are interested in durability, performance or even a fashion statement. It is easy to miss a sale without knowing your customer’s motivation.

The Dietary Supplement market is flooded with products, which claim to cause you to live a longer healthy life. So what is the motivation behind the message? It is a fear of disease, sickness and death. It is difficult to sell nutritional products to people who are not concerned about their health, but I frequently see people trying to convince over weight people with a pastry hanging out of their mouth to change. And upon rejection these skinny people shake their heads in discuss. Stop trying to sell to unmotivated people! It’s too difficult. Find a niche of customers who want to buy now.

• An Understanding Of You Customer’s Habits, Interests, Fears And Needs.

You will only discover this information by research. What publications do they tend to read? Do they play golf or frequently rent comedies at the video store?

Here in Oregon, we sometimes see Salmon swimming up a paved street during a flood, but that is not the best place to fish. I also see Information Technology salespeople attending a local Chamber of Commerce meeting, which are filled with businesses, without employees. They are wasting their time on people who do not have a need for their services. At least you might get some free press if you were trying to catch a salmon on a paved road.

Learning your customer’s habits will allow them to relate to you, because people want to buy from someone they can relate to and trust.

• Properly Pricing Your Products And Services.

A common mistake made by new business owners is charging too little for your services. Anyone can lower the price to get a sale, but can you make a profit? Too often companies, who compete on price alone, are competing to see who can go out of business first. There needs to be a genuine purpose to work hard and loose money. The promise of future business is not enough to give away your services. Large companies have been using this trick for years. If your customer is interested in doing business with you in the future, they will be willing to make sure you make a profit. Otherwise, you may be out of business when they need you.

On the other hand you cannot charge a high price for something unless it has unique value. Only a fool would pay $100,000 for an old pair of shoes, that is unless, they were worn by Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz. The uniqueness makes them valuable.

If you are going to charge a premium price, you need to be prepared for fewer sales and longer lead times between those sales. This will require substantial cash reserves. It will also require adequate proof of your value.

I met a cabinetmaker that only worked in a very wealthy portion of Southern California. He typically charged four to five times more for his cabinetwork then other tradesmen, but he was perceived as the best. There was always a brass plate installed somewhere on his work, which included his personal signature. It was like a stamp of authenticity. His customers were paying for the status of having his cabinets in their home. You typically needed to wait six months to two years for his services. One customer sent him overseas to hand select unique wood for their cabinets. That is branding!

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC