How do you make your customers feel?

What do you sell?

I was once on a training course and the trainer asked a question to us and that was 'what do you sell?', he asked everyone in turn and he came to another electrician, he got the reply - 'I don't sell anything - I'm an electrician!'. 

I'm expecting that you may have this same view point as do many trades and property business owners in regards to their marketing and sales, however I'm hoping that by the end of this post you will change your mind because to be honest you're probably holding your business back.

Marketing and sales go hand in hand you can't get sales without marketing and if you don't make sales, well the marketing you do is pretty pointless! Without either of them you are out of business.

Everyone sells something

So lets clear this up, as a business owner you sell something, people give you money for your services and the products/ materials that you use, whether you're an electrician, architect or lay driveways you have to sell that to someone or you make no money. You are a 'Salesperson' like it or not.

I understand you may not like to be called this and it stems from the media and the stereotypical car salesman, double glazing salesman or estate agents portrayed by the media on programs such as rouge traders which have done a disservice to the sales industry.

Here's the thing though,  we are all salespeople, everyone on the planet is a salesperson, if you've ever;

• Been on an interview - you had to sell yourself to get the job.
  
• Wanted to go to a different restaurant or pub to your friends or partner - you had to sell them the idea of going to the place you wanted to go to.
  
• If you've got kids, did you ever let them get their own way? -They sold to you!

If you're surveying and quoting a job, you have to sell yourself, if people don't like you, that job ain't yours! if they don't believe you can do the job - same result.

A bit of history

Most people think of sales as manipulating and pushing people to buy something that they don't need or for more than it should cost. That's not sales at all, the word 'Sell' comes from the word 'Sellen' which means to give or serve - When you sell you are serving your customer.

Here is what you really sell

You're not really selling your service, you are selling feelings to the customer and it's different for each customer.

My wife brought a new car, but she didn't buy the car, she brought a car that ran well (the old one kept breaking down) she brought the fact she wouldn't have to worry if it would breakdown again - she brought peace of mind - she brought happiness, you should have seen her face when she got it and for a long time after.

If you're a decorator you're not selling some paint or paper that you put on the walls, you're selling the outcome of that, you're selling the feeling that your customer will have when they walk in from work and have rooms that look good or when friends and family come round for dinner, they won't be embarrassed about the look of the place and that makes them feel good.

So now you know this how will it help you, simple, when you go to quote a job, you sell them those feelings and let them know you can give them the feelings they want and the job is as good as yours.

How do you know what they really want, well that's simple too - Ask them!



To your sales success

Paul Jennings


PS. If you help enough people get what they want, you'll get what you want - Zig Ziglar