Though it might seem logical, it is not true that if products are good, they sell. You have to market solutions to people. Listen to what they need and provide a solution.
I remember selling electrochemical instrumentation. In the USA, people bought the highest priced instrument because they felt good about it. Or they bought separate units, like a blood meter, a corrosion tester, a paint thickness tester, a radiator fluid tester, and units for many other purposes, whereas the units were all potentiostates. The dedicated units soldin the USA. They were not better quality or anything else. They sold well because the potentiostat solved a problem when it was dedicated to a particular solution.
In the “formerly Eastern Block” countries, funds were limited and the chemists knew how a potentiostat could be used and all the different purposes. They bought the unit that was the least expensive and used it for all the purposes. They also ultimately bought much more because, they understood the versatility of the units and used them in more places.
If you listen well, you will hear what people need to solve and you can sell them the solutions and you gain their trust for repeat sales.
It is not just marketing. It is marketing with proven ads. Maybe posting ads for different market solutions would help.
I do like the idea of adding products to our store that more people I know buy regularly. Maybe you can recommend products you like to sell?
I could not sell most kinds of cars, for example, but I could sell cars that scientists typically bought… with room for a dog, that could go over rough terrain, that could provide data easy to present, and so on. I was more confident with that audience and I could answer their questions. I provided solutions to their problems. I sold 24 cars in a month and did not have to push at all. (Then the company I worked for hired a woman 20+ years younger who turned out to be a corporate spy for a competitor and let me go. When they found out, they tried to get me back. I had moved on. They lost my trust. The company learned that a women can sell, should be paid for their results, and that they should not be sexist and ageist. At least, I hope they learned that. That young corporate spy truly hurt their business.)
The two jobs I mentioned above taught me to listen, to sell benefits of the items I had in terms of solutions to the shoppers needs. Sometimes the best answer was to say we do not have a solution for that situation but if I hear of one, I will call you, Gain their trust and they would come back for other needs. Build a following that relies on truth from you and solutions from you.
Another thing previous jobs aught me was to sell to people who are ready to buy the item(s) you have to sell. This is where targeted marketing comes in.
I have some really good products My chlildren’s science bedtime story coloring book, for example, is a 5-star best seller. It is a great product in other words. If people are not reading much and if schools are closed, or if they have no children in their lives, or if their children only play video games, this very good product won’t sell. It has to be marketed to the people ready to buy something for 2 to 8 year olds, who like to read, who like other activities than TV or electronics, and who are willing to spend 6 or 7 dollars on a gift. I can apply this lesson to our SFI and TC products.
There are people out there who want our products. We need to target them, listen to them, presell them on our products, and then let them know the benefits of our products that solve their problems, capture thir information so we can sell them similar products that meet their needs. Stay in touch with them and provide value.
I need to listen to this as much as any of you. I need to increase my own SFI and Triple Clicks sales. I am very excited we will be able to sell advertising. I love the RECA and ECA opportunities, too. I can reach those audiences like I could reach the scientists buying the cars.
I also have to realize not every customer wants the answer I would give a scientist. I have to provide a lot less data to the general public. They want problem identified, solution offered, sold to a happy ready-to-buy customer!
In conclusion, transfer the skills you already have and use them to help you build this business. I hope this helps.
Kevin Carey
careyoil.com
