This weekend, I stopped by a new clothing store and (big shocker!) started talking to the employee about the owner's philosophy of business.She told me that he gets great clothing deals off of ebay. If something isn’t selling in the store, he just sells it back to ebay and adjusts what he buys based on his clientele.
While this approach to merchandise might be unpractical for a lot of business owners, the overall approach this guy has taken is something I think we all can learn from. He has separated himself from his product. Instead of being too emotionally invested (and thus, unrealistic), this guy has developed a model so that he is constantly re-evaluating what he is offering his customers.
1. You become your own competition.
When your focus is on selling your product, it is easy to ignore its weaknesses. If you make a conscious effort to investigate the weaknesses, you will be able to improve your product. If you don't, you are leaving the door wide open for a competitor to swoop in and improve your original product. Recognizing your weaknesses can actually become your strength.
2. Customers appreciate honesty more than hype.
The last time I bought a TV at best buy, I sought out the advice of two salesmen. The first salesman told me about this fantastic TV that never had any problems and was being sold at an unheard of low-price. I looked around the store some more and ran into the second salesman. He told me about a TV that was on sale, it got pretty great reviews, but he told me that some issues with one of its features. I bought the second salesman’s TV because his ability to tell me something negative about his product demonstrated his honesty to me. As it turns out, it was the exact same TV. As it turns out, the product only seemed better to me because of the salesman. Honesty sells more than hype.
3. You gain a deeper understanding of how your product is useful to your customers.
Even the most seasoned salesman can gain more understanding of the usefulness of his product to specific markets. Having the ability to step back and evaluate that usefulness will give you a deeper understanding of the product and might give you some insight on how it can be useful to a completely different sector of people.
Hope this provides some insight! Send me your thoughts at jdanner@peoplelease.com
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