Make it easy.  As a part of any employee orientation there should be time spent on noticing and reacting to the opportunities on when and how to make purchasing easier for the consumer.  Executive retreats would benefit from spending a day (or more) on evaluating the ease for the consumer to do business with their company.  The world of consumer purchasing has changed, and some companies are more in tune to these changes than others.  Consumers today are web-educated, mobile app data explorers who react to the best deal that they can understand.  Marketing messaging has, in many cases, overwhelmed the consumer.  So what's the answer?  Keep it simple/easy.

Yes, we are going back to the basics.  Why?  Because when you are losing races, your track coach will tell you to focus on not allowing your arms to cross the center line of your body, keep a loose grip, and more.  If you want to make countless sales, "getting back to the basics" is the surest way for you, and your team, to improve your conversions which equates to an increased bottom line.  "Sloppy selling is an unafforable luxury," says author and coach Anne Miller.  Knowing how to ask the right questions so you can effectively feature and benefit sell with a smooth, polished, and natural approach is a critical and very affordable luxury within your reach.

We all know that the easiest way to sell your products and/or services is to info spew about features.  But, this is lazy selling and gives our customer no compelling reason for reaction.  We should always take our selling to the next level; we should always first ask questions (discovery) so that we can then cater our pitch to include the benefits that are most appealing and inspiring to make our customers buy. 

It is a very competitive and fast paced consumer world. For your business to thrive, you must take the time to learn (and know) your product, competition, market trends, economic factors, and current events. Customer relationships have to be built and accounts must be qualified.

How can you qualify and build customer relationships?  First, inquiring about the customer’s key needs and objectives are questions that must be asked during the sales process. Then, by understanding the needs of the customer, your sales process and pitch can be custom designed to match his/her key needs.  What's better?  Your customer will know that his/her needs are being met when you take the time to uncover his/her wants.  This will lead to loyalty and ongoing sales, which also results in a strong relationship. 

Did you know that 1 out of every 4 working adults in the U.S. is a salesperson (The Simple Truths of Selling, by Todd Duncan)?  That certainly means there's a lot of competition in this profession, and success can't come easy. How do you separate yourself from the crowd and get noticed? What makes a successful salesperson today and in this economy?  This would be a great time for me to introduce a new ground breaking sales technique that is a sure thing. To tell you the truth, there isn't one.  The business section of any book store is filled with resources on learning how to sell, how to be a better sales person, improving sales techniques…etc.  However, the truth of the matter is that successful selling comes from the basics, not from new methodologies that seem to distract from the authentic sales exchange.

Businesses aren't successful by chance.  Someone, who may be you, has to focus and have the vision for what it takes to thrive in today's economy and to continue to provide exceptional service to a demanding consumer market who has high expectations.  Might sound complicated, but let's make it easy and go back to "base camp."  How about you simply embrace and teach our "FOCUS" concept, which is a simple method that truly focuses on successfully serving your customers?  It always comes back to paying attention to service and delivery when you want to move your needle of success and increase your sales.  Right?

You have heard it all before - to make a sale, you need to understand needs, have good product knowledge, find the "fit," and so on.  All true; however, without delivering memorable customer service by showing that you genuinely care about the customer through treating him with respect and proving that he can trust you, you may still earn the sale, but you won't acquire a bigger sale or loyalty.