NEW RULES OF SALES & SERVICE

It’s not like it used to be…..  Change is the only constant in today’s market place, and rules for not only surviving but growing a profitable business have to be constantly analyzed and updated. I cannot share rules with you today that will work for the next 5 or 10 years. I do, however, want to share what I consider are the most important rules that exist today:

• People want authenticity, not spin: “Motherhood and apple pie” no longer will satisfy a potential buyer. They want to hear your story and how it relates to who you are and why you are. They want to hear a straightforward story not just words.
• What you put forth in all your marketing media from words to printed material to online outlets defines who you are. You become your brand; treat it carefully.
• Buyers actively use search engines and social networks to find firms to do business with. The buyer is now in charge of the sales process, thus the correct content has to be delivered to a prospect when the need arises.
• Each customer has to experience an individual “awesome” customized experience. “The one size fits all” is no longer applicable.
• When a prospect is ready to buy, the response must be there with lightning speed. Instant gratification is becoming a desire of buyers in this high tech world.
• Information provided has to be more than a prospect can readily find on his own.
• Educate is a better word than “selling”
• Understand the needs of your prospect so that you can align yourself and all your efforts to meet that need.

A falsehood that exists in the minds of many small business owners is that with the many benefits of social media, e-mail, websites, etc, that it is much easier now to start a business, to reach your prospects and to create a profitable, sustainable business. The reality is that now you have to know and do so much more than before. In my opinion, you have to work 10 times harder than your grandfather did when he started his own business. The good news is that there is 10 times more support available (through BizQuack) to get the guidance you need to achieve profitability.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Gandhi