No, this isn’t about trading pork bellies…. or rice.
This is my philosophy for how I help my clients.
Quite often I have people asking me to quote on an item available from a brand vendor or other company. Okay, I can do that, but secretly I wonder and they have already selected the vendor they wish to purchase from and I am just the 3rd bid to make sure they are getting a good price, or perhaps using my quote to negotiate a better price. I know that in such situations I can’t give them any value other than just a lower price than my competitor because obviously somebody else has already done the work helping them select a product. I prefer to help people who call me, find the product that actually meets their needs, in all the relevant aspects of function, design, price, and deliverability.
I’ve always admired people who sell intangible items like financial services, because they have to be very good at figuring out the real needs, hopes, desires of their clients. That takes an interview, or some skillful fact finding. I admire and therefore I do my best to emulate.
I really don’t care what you buy from me, as long as that product meets your needs perfectly. I believe this approach is more conducive to a long term customer relationship. I find that if you find out what people want, and give it to them they will value my services more than if I just give them what is easiest for me.
How do I do it? I figure out what they are trying to accomplish. Simple as that. You need (X) product for this event, and you want it to be (G). It needs to be in (T) price range and easily ship-able, or make such and such an impression. It will be given to these types of people, and they need to like it because of (K). Oh, and it needs to be delivered by XX/XX/XXXX.
Once I have all that information, I can give you the best product for your needs, and you will probably learn a little bit about all the options I know about that you don’t.
Experts don’t have all the answers from the get go, but they know how to correctly diagnose a problem, and once the diagnosis is correct, the answer is often plain as day. As a sales person, the idea is to become an expert. On that road to expertdom you need to ask all the pertinent questions actually solve your prospect’s problem. They will appreciate you taking the time. Trust me.
This is what I hope to do for you. Figure out the best product for you event, and I will walk you through the process to find that one thing that will be a complete success, that you didn’t even know existed.
