Customers Tend To Buy The Who, Not The What

Customers Tend To Buy The Who, Not The What
Recently, an associate made an astute and intriguing
observation, one that captured my immediate attention. He
stated that "most customers buy the who (us) not the what
(products) that they can easily buy from anyone." What a
statement of fact! That is such an important distinction
and a lesson well worth additional discussion and
remembering. Why would anybody want to buy from just anyone?

While most salespeople represent a company's product line,
ranging from pharmaceuticals to cleaning products, they are
typically not the owner of the company. They do however,
represent that company, sharing their brand image and
reputation in the marketplace, whether good or bad.
Customers tend to see salespeople, not the companies they
work for. From a customer perspective, salespeople are
often synonymous with their employer. Their individual
identity often fades into the background.

The superior salesperson is continuously aware of the
critical importance of nurturing customer relationships in
their daily selling efforts. These salespeople strive to
expose their own identity, their own brand, in addition to
their employer's presence. They inject themselves into the
process, making a personal investment in the selling
experience. By cultivating relationships with their
customers, salespeople endear themselves to their customers
as dependable and valued resources. In this manner,
salespeople become indispensable.

Let's face it salespeople: Assuming that your customer
knows what he needs, almost without exception, he can
locate an alternate source for virtually any product that
you sell, many times at a lesser price. The internet is
loaded with sites ready to sell almost anything at
unbelievably low prices. These dot-coms usually offer many
generic products for sale, well-known products requiring
little assistance from anyone to put into immediate use. A
mere press of the "Buy Now" button your product is well on
its way to you.

Of course, many customers do not know what it is that they
need to solve their problems. They require careful
assistance and guidance. This very fact is responsible for
your presence. Your role is to add value to the equation by
being a knowledgeable and helpful resource, providing
solutions, not merely products and services. Value is the
determining factor. They level of value added dictate the
importance of price in the selling equation. The greater
the value added, the lesser the importance of price in the
transaction and the greater the potential for profits.

Customers do indeed buy the who, not the what. Learn that
critical distinction and prosper.

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Daniel Sitter, author of both Learning For Profit and
Superior Selling Skills Mastery, has garnered extensive
experience in sales, training, marketing and personal
development spanning a successful 25 year career.
Experience his blog at http://www.idea-sellers.com