4 Things Customers Want

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Let’s discuss the art of selling.

Years ago a super salesman told me, “If you would sell what a customer buys, you must see it though a customer’s eyes”.

Selling has not changed over the years, however the medium carrying the sales message has changed often. Messaging methods evolve. How many billboards do we see today compared to previous decades?

Have  you ever seen a someone wearing a “sandwich sign”?  That was quite common years ago. Perhaps today’s sign spinner is the replacement. Today’s preferred advertising medium is the Internet followed by cable TV.

In the USA, in 2020, Digital ad spend reached $151,290,000,000 ($151 billion) compared to $107,000,000,000 ($107 billion) for all traditional ads. Traditional ads would include print, radio, and television. Digital ads in the US surpassed traditional ads in 2019.

Online very high value is placed on getting your email address.  Most Internet ads take you to a landing page where your email address is requested. It is estimated that every name on your email list is worth $1 per month in sales.

General advertising online for people like you and I is very difficult. The process is easy. Getting bang for your buck is the hard part. Usually we do not have enough ad money to compete effectively against big spenders.

Why do people buy so much?

If you want to make money online selling a product or service you need to understand the buyer. Although sales promotion and ways to buy have changed, psychology behind purchases has not.
People buy products or services based on emotional needs or wants, and then justify their purchase logically. When you connect with people and their emotional reasons for wanting what they desire, you have tremendous power to give them what they want, and have them feel great about buying your product or service.
One of the fastest growing businesses is self storage.
Americans buy so much stuff they rent storage lockers to stash much of their stuff. 
Think about what people actually buy –
  • Domino’s Pizza created the delivery to your home. People buy convenience. And the Pizza is pretty good.
  • Rolex – jewelry, expensive jewelry and status. A $15 Timex keeps time almost as well, perhaps a few seconds off in a year.

When marketing director at an international corporation technology division I had the impossible task of teaching engineers what was involved in selling the black boxes they created. There was a complete rejection of known sales components, beginning with the appearance of the final product.

“What difference does the product appearance make, it’s going to be in a closet and not seen,” That question hung in the air every time a design engineer was brought in to manage final product appearance.

Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean “it” isn’t valid. 

What these brilliant engineers didn’t understand was personal preferences were part of business buying decisions. How a product feels and looks often are as important as how it performs. Who buys an ugly car? Or out of style clothing? Or a brick cell phone – if they even exist.

Steve Jobs understood the importance of appearance alongside function and ease of use. The foundation of Apple was non-technical collateral publications along with revolutionary products. Back then the general naysayer talked about “a PC in every closet”, seeing no use for personal computers. PCs were marketed to the public, not the technology community.

“The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.”
― Peter Drucker 

 

Most of us selling online are small potatoes with small earning goals. The average affiliate marketer makes less than $500 or so a year. Many of us are thrilled to make that much per month. For many Americans an extra $500 or $1,000 a month is life changing. We’re lured into buying programs and training from ‘gurus’ who make money telling people how to make money online.

Even if you have a successful career selling off line it can be daunting selling in the digital world.

4 Things Customers want. People do business with people who:

        1. They Like
        2. Act like they want their business
        3. Deliver what they promise
        4. Don’t give them a headache

Now, just apply what it takes to satisfy each of those points and you’ll quickly overwhelm the competition.

Here’s how to begin being person with whom other people want to do business.

Think of your favorite restaurant. Would you go there if you didn’t have a pleasant experience – even if the food was absolutely glorious, but  you were  treated less than poorly?

Be sincere in your answer.

Remember the ‘Soup Nazi’ in the Seinfeld TV series? That was fiction. Treat customers like that comedy character and you’ll close your doors fast.

Here’s what I mean.

I have a choice of several quality auto repair shops nearby. One is the dealership where I’m just another guy bringing in the brand they sell. Sure, folks are pleasant and professional. But, cordiality and civility are not necessarily engaging. There is nothing to bind me to the dealership other than it’s a dealership. Oh, I should mention my car’s out-of-warranty, so I’m not locked to dealership service programs.

Another shop is second generation owned and all work is done by the son of the wonderful guy who started the business. He is a magician who often solves problems for the dealership I mentioned a moment ago. Yes, a huge dealership often takes cars to this independent shop.

I like the hard-working owner, but there is something missing whenever I go there. Perhaps it’s a sense he really would rather be doing something else. I mention that because I once asked if he liked what he does for a living and he answered, “What’s to like? I grew up in this business and it’s what I know.”

Here’s an engine Mozart – he makes them sing – and can repair vintage and new models of that brand. Yet, he gets no joy from his craft. And now his daughter is part of the business. I hope she’s there via a passion for internal combustion engines and all that makes this brand known around the world.

The place maintaining my car looks nothing like the first two. It’s small and independent and services only two brands. There is no rhyme or reason to what clutters the public waiting room that’s also the general office area. Repairs equal quality of the dealership and aforementioned independent. What this place has the others lack – positive vibes and personality.

I always feel better after leaving the shop. The owner is not a mechanic. He’s a guy who invested in this business and isn’t always there. I like him and enjoy talking to him and his key guys. On occasion I stop by just to say hello.

All three shops act like they want my business. They deliver what they promise and definitely don’t give me a headache. But I clearly like one much more than the other two.

What is likability?

Many of us are an acquired taste. Is there a likability gene we’re missing?

Let’s look at points 3, 4 and 5 above. How can you actually want someone’s business and act like it and not be likable? If you really desire to provide a product or service you believe in – that will come across to your customers and clients.

If you want to solve a customer’s problem and focus on the customer your likability factor rises – fast. When you honestly want to provide great service – not lip service – that, too, is communicated to your customers.

Think of  your last visit to a DIY store. You were there to purchase a solution. A successful sales associate asked questions to gain understanding of your need or want. Based on  your answers that person provided a solution, explaining how to use the recommended item.

Simply, you have to like what you do and like the people you do it for and with. That’s how we create customers.

Here’s a low cost book I recommend you read.

 

Faking it

There’s a simple solution to not being fully emotionally engaged in your business:

Fake It!

Start each day telling yourself how much you like what you do. Remember: your current job is one you interviewed for and hoped to get. Your business is what excited you when you started. If you cannot tap into that initial excitement do something else.

I suggest faking because it’s a tool to tap into what is inside you. If you cannot tap into your resource to like what you do you’ll fail at pretense. And after a while it your instinct takes over and you become who you are – not a faker – but someone who really does like people. Focus on them and all falls into place.

Part of not disappointing customers is managing their expectations. An ironclad rule with my staff is to never promise anything they personally cannot deliver.  Complete points 2 and 3 and #4 is seldom an issue.

During my PR executive days our account managers were responsible to contact their clients no less than once a week with something meaningful. These were not chit-chats. There had to be something meaningful and of interest to the client. We managed the client and the account with similar enthusiasm. Our approach matched the client energy level – not overwhelming quiet folks or underwhelming high energy types.

The conditioning process is this: As you act you are treated. As you are treated you become.

Start acting like a likable person interested in people and you actually become that person. Because people treat you like someone who cares about them you actually become that person. If you are still reading this post I believe you are that person already.

 

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