Remember when you started your business and you though everyone was as interested in your idea as you were? You told everyone; friends, relatives and even strangers on the street. You were so excited about your new company and your product that you were your best sales person your company had because your excitement was so high it was infectious. Everyone wanted to be a part of your company even if it was only as a customer.
I made a presentation on stainless steel sinks and faucets to the owner of a granite countertop fabrications company this week. I did a role playing exercise and "sold" him the product as if he were the customer. At the end he said, "You sure love sinks. I wish I could be that enthusiastic about my product to my prospective customers."
He continued to tell me that when he started his business he loved to meet the customers and he loved to sell. Recently because of the economy he said he hated his prospective customers because they were all looking for the cheapest price and would not pay for the better quality he built into his product.
I then asked him to tell me how he would fabricate a countertop if he had a customer who could and would pay for quality. He thought for a minute and started with where he would go to pick out the raw slabs for the countertop. Over the years he had discovered the suppliers with the highest quality slabs and he said they were not always the highest price. He talked almost lovingly about how to select the best slabs.
He went on to explain the machines he had selected and modified over time to measure, cut, grind and polish the product. He talked proudly about how he had trained his workers to polish edges and join seams. He described the polishing wheels they used process they used to make the edges just right. His presentation was animated and enthusiastic. Just the kind of salesperson he wanted to be.
I asked him if he ever described this process to his customers. He told me that all they cared about was price. "How do you know they do not want to hear about it?" I asked. He was as enthusiastic about his product as I was about my sinks. He was just not giving himself a chance to infect the customer with enthusiasm.
Try and remember your enthusiasm. Share every detail of how you make your product better. Talk about every trick you have learned. Do not say you have experience tell the customer what you have learned in your years of making your product. DO NOT ASSUME they know as much as you do. Tell them even the things that seem obvious to you.
Bring back the passion and excitement you had when you started your company and combine it with the knowledge you have learned over the years. Educate your customers about the product. It will not always work but when it does you will get a better customer and they will get a better product.
Original content copyright 2011 Thomas Robinson
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