People Do Not Buy What You Sell

What do you focus on when you are selling?

What value do you bring to the customer?

How are you different from your competitors?

As consumers, we are spoilt for choice. There are multiple shops that want to sell us their goods and wares and the internet exponentially expands choice of options.  If one wants to stand out in this ever-increasing plethora of choice, it is important to understand what your customers are actually buying from you and how you are meeting this need. 

Customers do not buy what you are selling.  This is one of the hardest truths for sales people to learn and to adapt to. People buy what your products and or service does for them.  Classic examples are us buying insurance for the peace of mind that gives us,  buying a car for the image or prestige we perceive we will have,  buying a piece of equipment because of our belief in its ability to increase productivity. 

When we make the time to truly understand what our customers want from our product or service, we can then craft a sales process and, most importantly, the customer journey to zone in and focus on these core elements.  One of the greatest risks is trying to please all of the people all of the time rather than owning a niche and being the best at satisfying a small group consistently.

This is one of the core areas where sales and marketing can work really well together.  When we are clear on who our target customer(s) are we can start to build a persona to truly understand them. We can then design and develop an experience that they find so engaging and enjoyable that they will come back time and time again and share with their friends and associates.

How much thought have you given to your customer journey? Is the journey that you take your customer on in any way linked to their buying cycle? Does it marry up with your sales process?  Does each individual on your team understand the role they play in creating the overall customer experience?  When team members understand how they impact customers it gives their role more depth and meaning and can help join a team together around one of the most important aspects of a business success. 

Ask your team today what they want to be known for and then ask them what they feel you as a company are known for and if there is a gap work together to create an experience that you want to be remembered for.

Here’s to your success!