As I have mentioned, I have been in sales a long time. Since the day I began selling paper subscriptions when I was 10 years old I learned and studied the basics of selling. I learned over and over again to show up early, outwork my competition and above all else sell FAB's! Features, Advantages and Benefits, that is. While there is nothing really inherently wrong with the way I was taught and the style I developed, the world has changed.
As the economy turned and all of us are learning to live with less it has squeezed the salespeople who are still out there selling the same way they have their whole careers. As a result, for many, many reasons customers have a lot more buying power and salespeople are left to compete primarily on price. It's a difficult and frustrating way to make a living.
To succeed in sales today you have to be able to quickly, clearly and concisely show your customers where and how you provide value, whether you provide a product or a service. The more tangible and quantifiable the benefit(s), the better. It sounds easy but it isn't.
It's easy to stick to the tried and true FAB's and indeed it may continue to work - on a much smaller scale. I believe to not only survive but also thrive in today's marketplace we all need to be crystal clear on what our value message is and why it makes a difference.
Why do I say it isn't easy? Because I am living it first hand. I own and help manage a very successful independently owned business that for three decades survived on making FABulous products. Like everyone I know in sales, however I have far too many competitors and not nearly enough customers to maintain my business in status quo mode. I am forcing myself to change the way I think about doing business because I am not ready to settle for good (the enemy of great). I want to work along with my committed stakeholders to make our business greater than it has ever been.
One of the ways I have started thinking about creating value is by authoring a meaningful blog and sharing my value message with others. To that end and as always, I hope you will share your comments, ideas, success stories and opinions with me and that you will pass this post along to your friends, coworkers and contacts who will see the value in following me.
This week consider:
1. What is my value message?
2. How can I most clearly communicate it?
3. Why does it matter to my customers?
If we answer these questions correctly greatness will be knocking on our doors!
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