Ways To Redefine Sales

(Continued from page 50) used your product and think of other creative applications. That's how you redefine your product so it adds more value and does what no one ever thought to ask.

2. Redefine the Customer

If you sell your product to a specific market segment, can another tYPe of customer use it as well? For example, let's say you sell software to independent insurance agents, and your software helps them run their office, track their clients, and calculate their commissions. Could that same software work for another industry, such as real estate agents? It probably could, and with minor modifications, if any. That's because insurance agents and real estate agents have similar functions and issues.

In business, we have what's called the "bleeding edge" and the "leading edge." The bleeding edge is when customers buy something new and then have to "bleed" in terms of try- ing to get the Product to work for them. You can help your customers lead without bleeding by looking to other industries that have already used the product in higher-tech waYs. These industries did the bleeding already and are now getting great returns. You can then aPPIY that knowledge to an industry that never thought of using your product.

3. Redefine the Value You Deliver

Remember that you're not simPlY selling a thing; you're selling the competitive advantage of the product. In other words, part of your job is to help your customers use the product you sell to gain competitive advantage. When asked, most salesPeoPle say few of their customers fully use every feature of their product in the most efficient manner. Most customers use l07o to 50Vo of a product's full functionality. They are underutilizing the very product that is supposed to make their business run smoother and more efficientlY' No wonder so many companies are competing on price. No wonder margins are slim. All salespeople are doing is selling a "thing." They're not selling a competitive advantage. They're not differentiating the products they're selling.

Therefore, create guidelines to help your customers maximize use of the product you're selling. Most companies simply sell the product, deliver it, and leave. It's then up to the customer to figure out specific guidelines for maximizing use of the product.

But don't stop there. Go beYond the guidelines and actually help customers figure out how to gain an advantage by using the Product. Obviously you can't share secrets or proprietary information you learn about other customers. But You can help all your customers learn, understand and implement all the functionality of their purchase to increase their competitiveness. By offering that kind of knowledge, you might even charge more for your product because now you're giving business value that far exceeds the value of the individual product.

4. Redefine the Perception of the Salesperson

Finally, you need to shift from being a vendor to being a trusted advisor. There's a big difference between the two. A vendor simPlY supplies a product. A trusted advisor supplies true advantage. An advisor recommends what is best for the customer, not best for the salesperson. In some cases that might mean telling customers that your comPanY is not the best fit for their needs, then recommending one of your competitors. When you seek that higher ground, your clients trust you more.

Remember that the future is all about relationships, and relationships are all about trust. So never teach people to distrust you by stretching the truth or hiding some pertinent information. To differentiate, you need to raise the bar on trust.

When you focus on redefining what you already have, you can take your current offering and leverage it to new levels. That's when You become a sales leader, not because of some fast-talking sales Pitch, but because of your commitment to Your customers and their true needs.

lnstructions: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through I once. Theretore' each number in the solution will be unique in each of three "directions."

- Daniel Burrus is one of the world's leading technology forecasters and business strategists and author of six books, including the best-selling Technotrends. He can be reached at (262) 367-0949 or via www.burrus.com.

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The Merchant welcomes Your comments on our articles, editorials, and other facets of our publication. Send comments to dkoenig@ building-products'com, Fax 949-552-023 I, or mail to Editor, Merchant Magazine, 4500 CamPus Dr., Ste' 480' Newport Beach, Ca. 92660.

Mortgage Crisis

I just read your October editorial ("Shhhh... What's Going On?," Oct., p. 8). I agree that we need to be positive, but disagree with the comment about the Fed. I feel our Problem is income. We do not have the incomes to justify the current housing prices, and incomes are not getting higher. As we transfer high-paying manufacturing jobs overseas, our average incomes hold or go down.

Years ago, the American manufacturer became more efficient, which allowed better use of labor and justified higher incomes. This has not happened recently. About seven or eight years ago, I was very concerned about how our children could afford houses. The sub-prime, undocumented loan came along, and manY PeoPle were able to buy homes who could not before. It is great for the people that are able to hold on. Now that the banks are back to some sort of normal behavior, these loans have dried up.

One might say that the greed of investment bankers and mortgage brokers got us into the position we are currently in. (In our area, up to707o of recent loans were undocumented. This means there was no income documentation.) I see no reason to bail them out.

In our area, less than l07o of the population can afford the medianpriced home. This means wages have to go way up, interest has to go waY down (which it cannot because it is so low already), or house prices have to come way down. Contractors in our area made huge profits on their houses for the last three or four Years-as much as $100,000 on a $350,000 home. Most of this profit was based on appreciation of lots. Now that values are not rising, these same contractors are building slowly and making significantly less prolit.

I do feel we are markedlY better than we were in 1981. We had 2OVa interest rates, and no one could afford anything. We currently have low interest. so we should work out of this once we get the horrible speculation out of the way. Prices should adjust downward and eventually reach a plateau that is sustainable.

Frank Solinsky Woodply Forest Products Chico. Ca. dubugT@gmail.com

- Puhlisher Alan Oakes resPontls:

I do agree about greedv builders. In recent months, some new honte prices have dropped $100,000 on $700,000 pricing, which shows how much thel' have been making.

I do not think the current situation helps anyone. I have heard that in Sacramento one in three homes is in.fbre' cktsure. And while I, too, do not have a ktt of sympathy for those who drove the home prices up becttuse of the removal of anv .sane credil r'hecks, I dtt have a iltt1'sm f(tr those Losing their hopes and dreamsalthough anyone who can read should have known that after a short period their mortgage was about to double.

My primary concern is that since 20022003, this whole economy has been buih around the housing industry. With that gone, it could lead to a recession, which could make it even worse. Let us hope that somehow there can be a good balance'