A person I know is now a bajillionair. How did he do it. Silent Velcro.
Just are a special forces trooper somewhere in that vacation hot spot known as X. You job is to silently sneak up on a sentry and quickly put him on a one way trip.. You go to pull out your knife and “riiiiiip.” Everyone in 100 yards hears you open your Velcro strap and you are quickly the recipient of fully automatic bursts from an AK. Or…
You are 3 feet away from Zippy the suicide bomber when you open up the Velcro holding your combat knife and he never hears a thing.
When my friend presented this idea to the military they were salivating. Are there salivating customers out there waiting for you? Do you need help meeting them or simply getting a yes?
I can’t give you the next million dollar idea. I would keep it. But I can help you close the sale.
Let’s start with a very simple premise. You are a sales manager at a car dealership (I have been in the auto industry for 20 years so put up with me. I am going somewhere with this.) Your salesperson asked you to go in for the close on this completely unreasonable customer who is asking for your bottom line bastard.
When I was taught to desk a deal it was very simple. I would get a higher trade in value from the used car manager, discount the car another $117 telling the customer ” There is not much profit in these cars” and show a rebate that I kept hidden.
After years of closing deals I had a wild thought. If I KNOW that I am going to have the same objection nearly every time, why don’t I avoid the conversation that leads up to that objection? Instead of asking the customer “What can I do to sell you the car today?” and having the customer respond with the standard “Give me your best price and I will check around. If no one is better I will buy it,” I train my sales staff to actually ask the customer what they want, and present the car that fits their needs.
You can do the same thing in the business world.
Anyone can have a “better mouse trap.” But how do you turn a plumbing company, web design company, Chrysler dealership into the big player in town?
Have you asked the customers?
Don’t spend your time trying to invent a new product. Ask your customers what they would like to see and GIVE IT TO THEM. If you are searching for a job, maybe, just maybe you should stop FAX BLASTING your resume to millions of companies and start finding out how to improve your current resume. Ask on your next interview “I am really interested in this position. What are your reservations about me?” They will tell you about what you stated on your resume.
If you want to grow your company, before you bring in a new product line costing millions ask your customers, ‘What are your reservations about us?” “What can we do better?” If you are afraid to ask then you are in BIG trouble.
If you want to sell 200,000 units and they asked for 50,000 then ask, “With the volume pricing you will save thousands and I will help you sell/market. What is keeping you from this move?” They will tell you cost so be prepared with an ROI presentation.
A great idea does not have to be silent Velcro. It can be a new sales presentation. A great idea can be fresh sales training from a new company. A great idea can be a new, re-written resume that fits each company rather then a generic one-size-fits-all.
A-S
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