Twas the week before Christmas…and I had just 30 minutes between appointments to squeeze in the very important task of finding a new pair of earrings to wear to a Christmas party that night.

(Why is it a woman can have 40 pairs of earrings, but still doesn’t have just the right style to go with a certain outfit?)

I flew into a local department store that I knew would have a huge selection, convinced I could immediately find just what I needed and — get in, get out.

I quickly scanned the displays for the style I had in mind (always a mistake to get an image in your mind and then try to find it!), while at the same time hoping a real, live sales person would show up to help, to speed up my search.

The minutes clicked by as I searched.

I finally spotted a sales woman and I asked her where to find a specific brand, which I thought would make just the style I was looking for. “We don’t carry that brand anymore,” she said, and walked away. I’m serious, she walked away.

“I guess I’m on my own,” I thought, and continued to look until, defeated, I headed down the mall to a women’s store that usually has a small but stylish collection of jewelry. I rushed in and around the racks of clothing, looking for their jewelry display, again wondering where the salespeople were.

Though I didn’t see the jewelry, I did spot two salespeople, busily folding sweaters on a table, deeply engrossed in a conversation about their personal lives and completely oblivious to me. Apparently, keeping the clothing neatly organized took priority over a willing customer with credit card in hand.

So there I was, in the thick of what should be the best selling season for retailers, and I have money to spend (not much, but nevertheless…), yet I can’t find anyone who appears to be interested in selling me what I need.

Surely we’ve learned from this difficult year that selling our products and services is what makes the world go round. Let’s make sure that we haven’t taken the sales process for granted.

Heading into a brand new year is a great time to take a fresh look at your sales process. Here are four things you can do to start the year off on a good note:

1. Do an in-depth analysis of your current customers. Look at the top 20% and define a demographic profile. What do they have in common? How did they come to be your customer? A referral? Your website? An ad? Word of mouth, based on your great reputation? Where do they live? What do they buy?
2. Focus your marketing efforts and dollars on reaching people who meet the demographic profile of the top 20% of your customers. Where do you find them? What do they read? Who do they listen to? How do they make their purchasing decisions? What influences their choices?
3. Train your sales staff in needs-based selling. Develop relationships with prospects by asking questions that will tell you what is important to them. Speed? Quality? Service? Find out what is missing for them (what is their point of pain?), then fill that need. Voila! A sale!
4. Last and certainly not least, take initiative. Selling is not about being pushy, but it’s also not about being shy and waiting for people to come to you.

How many prospective customers are out there, in the same position I was (over a simple pair of earrings), needing your help?

When you are filling an unmet need for someone, they are grateful for your help. I know I would have been grateful for a little help finding those perfect earrings! (Yes, I did eventually find a pair, and yes, the party was worth the trouble!)

Take care,

 

P.S.  If you’re intrigued by those four steps above, you’ll LOVE my new e-course, Become a Marketing Rockstar.  Check it out here…