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Tag: Sales Approach

  • Promotional Discretion, Appropriate Considerations When Selling a Product

    Well, we had our baby girl over the weekend and she is beautiful. I would love to go on and on about the new addition to our family but that is outside the scope of the site and probably wouldn’t be that interesting to anyone who doesn’t know us. Instead, I will expound on the clever marketing and promotional shots taken on new parents and bring to light possible promotional follies.

    The most interesting promotion I witnessed over the past 9 months was the free box of formula that showed up at our door one week before our baby. Talk about lucky timing! Some marketers somewhere were fortunate enough to send us formula right before we would need it. Well, this was less luck and more like intentional product placement.

    My wife has a few birthing sites she frequents which give her up to date info on where she is in the pregnancy and what to expect. When she signed up for this free service she entered in all of her dates so the site could stay current with her progress. On the back side of this process they famed out our information to a company that is in the business of selling formula. As the due date got closer a flag went off in their system and the formula was sent just in time with the hopes of us giving it a go and falling in love with what it does for our child. Unfortunately for this company we are breast feeders and will probably never open the freebee.

    After thinking wow, those guys are smart to target like they did, I though what about the unfortunate instances when a miscarriage takes place? I mention this as a word of caution to those who promote products in sensitive industries. Remember to always listen and truly take into account your customer’s needs. Those who have been in an industry long enough will know where this type of area exists but those who are just getting started may not have the foggiest idea.

    Know When to Apologize

    As a small business owner who is just getting started keep in mind that you will likely step on a few toes here and there. We would all like for this not to happen but it does. The important thing is to learn from the mistake make a sincere apology, and rectify the situation as quickly as possible. Everyone makes mistakes but not everyone takes the time to make it up.

    Long term vs Short term Strategies

    What comes to mind is the long term vs the short term growth strategy. This is the same principle as found in sales strategies. Are you in business to make a bunch of one time sales quickly? Or, are you looking for long time repeat customers who swear your product or service it the best? Personally I like the sound of the second approach. If I am going to invest a good deal of time and money into a venture I want to know that it is going to be around longer than a current trend or fad.

    Build The Relationship

    Business is highly relational and the stronger you relationship is with your customer base the stronger you business is as a whole. In preparation for our baby girl I needed some work done to our car. In reviewing my options I ended up going with the company that has served us excessively well in the past. They were not the cheapest option but the attention they gave, and their willingness to work with us was well worth a few extra bucks. I felt like I was helping a friend, and I am sure they felt the same.

    Fight The Selfishness

    The interesting dynamic about all of this is the human desire for instant gratification. People as a whole often don’t want to work for a modest reward. Generally speaking as a people we want something for nothing. The trick is to not allow this inclination make its way into your life and business practices. Take a second and think about your friends, which ones are the most selfish? Ok, which ones do you like spending the most time with? Are they the same people? I bet not. The same holds true with business.
    Businesses exist to make money, that is the nature of free enterprise but the money is made is another thing entirely. Business without integrity is like relationships without trust, they don’t exist. A modest profit for adding appropriate value is justifiable and appreciated. Excessive returns accompanies with no value added are poor profits that will come with a price far more costly than a monetary value.

    Get Some Sleep

    Anyhow, I hope these words sink in with some of you as the stronger the small business market place is the stronger our economy is as a whole. Smooth organic growth curves are much more valuable than any spike that can be created through temporary hype. Best of luck to you all and enjoy your sleep.

  • Sales Approach: Hard and Fast vs. Soft and Slow

    I had a conversation with a gentleman that I do business with and we got onto the subject of different approaches to sales. He is a well-established individual who has successfully run many businesses, and his current operation follows a zero-pressure sales approach. The company he runs is not a start-up and his brand is well-established. This got me thinking about which sales models are better, or at what point should each sales model be used.

    I broke the sales approach into two mutually exclusive styles:

    1. Hard and fast
    2. Soft and slow

    Hard and Fast

    The hard and fast approach is what most consumers are used to seeing. This would be the car salesman, or cold call approach, in which the salesperson is trying to close the sale as fast as possible. As you can see, there is a lot to be said for this approach from a business perspective. A business has a financial pressure to persuade a consumer into committing to a purchase. The window of opportunity is often short and, if not taken advantage of, will pass.

    The downside to this approach is that it can often leave the customer feeling used or taken advantage of. The level of integrity can quickly be compromised if the sale becomes more important than the customer. This was the point of contention with my friend. His competition pushes a poor product on people and does not inform them on the potential downside of their purchase. They have ramped up their marketing campaign, so they are often the first place people go, and the high-pressure sales approach usually gets them to commit to the purchase right away.

    The advantage of this approach is that it brings money in the door quickly. This is especially beneficial for a small company that does not have the finances to cover the month-to-month bills. The other upside is that it can lead to a sale with someone who was not intending on making a purchase.

    Soft and Slow         

    The soft and slow approach is much more common among well-established organizations that often market very little. I am a fan of this approach because it removes the possibility of compromising integrity. The customer relationships are less business and more personal. An example of this approach may be found with your realtor. I understand there are pushy realtors, but most of the ones I have dealt with seemed to be more interested in what I wanted than what they wanted to sell.

    The downside to this approach is that it takes time. Establishing rapport with a customer doesn’t always happen overnight, so a sale may take a few interactions. As a small business this can be a problem because of cash flow requirements. If each sale requires a month-long investment, it could quickly become difficult to pay the bills.

    The upside to this approach is that a single sale could win you a customer for life. If a customer trusts you and you can help solve the problem, they will often times keep coming back, even if your product or service is slightly more expensive.

    Relational Aspect of Business

    The two approaches above each exist for valid reasons and each have a downside. A start-up with little capital behind it will find it difficult to not push to make a sale. A more mature company on the other hand may be leaving money on the table by not creating a call to action for their potential customers.

    It should also be recognized that the slow approach will result in a stable customer base, while the fast approach will result in a volatile customer base. The customers that were sold on the fast approach will have zero loyalty and will move on to the next offer once they find one they like better. Customers sold on the slow approach will be fewer and further between but will likely come back time and time again.

    Conclusion

    I am an advocate of quality products delivered with quality service with zero compromise, so the slow approach is much more appealing to me. I appreciate the stability of the customer base that comes along with it and I don’t mind investing the time to provide the added value. That said, I would like to hear what you have to say. I know both have pros and cons, so which one works for you? Or, if you have not started yet, which one will you implement and why?