Hey, I just broke one of the cardinal rules of living life in a recession…I bought a quality product; and I paid full price for it! Before you conclude that I’m nuts, read on.
After another spring selling season in the green industry, I was almost convinced that the younger sales reps had it figured out. Day after day, all I heard from our sales reps was, “All they want it is a deal.”
For sure, I’d be an idiot to pretend people aren’t looking for deals; they always have, always will. Still, in a recession, the DEAL is king. At least in the mind of my less experienced friends. When selling gets tough, the easiest thing to do is blame failure on the recession and give away your profit.
My point, simply that there is a lot more to selling than cutting price and, if you are a winner this year, I’m betting it’s because you have learned to go beyond the DEAL to selling what people really want…value! OK, sounds generic and general…value. Let me take it a bit farther. People want satisfaction. They want expectations met! And that, my friends, has zip to do with DEALS.
So, get smart, all knowing sales reps out there…learn to communicate what you have that competitors don’t. Learn to identify what prospects want before you “pitch” what you’ve been told to sell. And LISTEN to what your prospects are telling you. Selling, at its best, is a conversation, not a pitch.
Finally, use the discount to close the sale, never up front! You communicate how you will provide what the prospect wants, then, after differentiating your product or service from the pack, you use the recession focused discount as a closer.
Two days ago, I paid full price for a top quality chain saw. OK, the rep threw in the oil and gave me 10% off the price of the gas can..but I paid full price for the saw. Why? Am I stupid? Gullible? Nope. I paid because I wanted quality, reliability and customer service when the damn thing won’t start! So, I was buying more than a saw. And, to get it, I was willing to pay more.
The point is, once again, people want and need more than a DEAL! Show them that you have it and you’ll be amazed at what people will pay. And, remember this, most people are NOT unemployed. They are living their lives frugally and making more careful choices, to be sure. But, people are still buying. Sell value. Fill wants and needs and don’t let yourself off the hook, blaming the recession or your boss because you can’t give away your product or service.
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