A Real Bad Business Assumption:
A Real Bad Business Assumption:
On my third evening of observing them, I got curious as to why they never shopped at the candy store on the left side of the street. Well, my curiosity got the best of me, and on my final evening at the hotel I went across the street and asked one of them, “Why do you guys always buy your candy from this candy store and not the one across the street?” The young boy replied as he pointed to the candy store across the street, “They take our candy away from us.”
Now my curiosity was at an all-time high so I went into the candy store in front of me and ordered a half pound of dark chocolate. The lady behind the counter put on one of those plastic gloves and took a small scoop, and she scooped candy onto the scale until the dial went up to one half pound. She then lifted the scale dish and put my candy into a white bag.
I then went across the street to the candy store the young boy said takes their candy away. As I went up to the counter a nice lady asked if she could help me. I said, “Please give me a half pound of dark chocolate.” I noticed her price was a cent lower than the other store. She put on her plastic glove and took a large scoop, and she put a large amount of candy on the scale. Then, with her gloved hand, she began to take candy off the scale, taking candy away until the weight got down to one half pound.
Are your customers perceiving you as the one who adds to the value of their purchase or the one who takes the candy away?
Here is an exercise to determine how you are perceived:
First, have everyone in your business write down how you want to be perceived by your customers. Have everyone do it because you want to make sure you all want to be perceived the same way.
Then, survey your customers to discover how you are perceived. Hire others (college kids) to do the survey,
because your customers will tell you what you want to hear. Have your customers and non-customers surveyed. If you are not being perceived the way you want, do things to change the customer’s and prospect’s perception.
6 Perceptions customers react positively to:
1. Businesses that look successful - People like to do business with successful businesses. No one wants to take the chance of buying from a business that may not be there tomorrow.
2. Businesses that look busy - People like to buy from businesses that look busy. When we had sales in our retail businesses, we hired people (usually college students) to walk around the showroom to give the perception something really big was going on.
3. Businesses that look clean - People would rather buy from businesses and business people that look clean and neat. We gave customers the perception of quality in our retread tires by making sure our manufacturing plant was clean enough to eat off the floor.
4. Businesses that look like they care about their customers - ‘Be 100% Customer-Centered’ Everything you say and do is about your customer, not you or the business.
> Answer the telephone on the first or second ring
> Return telephone calls and messages quicker than promptly
> Greet everyone that comes into the business immediately
> Solve the customer’s problems, needs and wants even if it creates more work for you
5. Businesses that stay in touch with their Customers – “Stay in touch with your customers, and they will stay in touch with you when a buying decision is made.” It is estimated that your customers are inundated with 2500 to 3500 advertising messages a day. They become confused. If you are the seller that has been the constant in staying in touch with them, you will be their seller of choice. Stay in touch with your customers through advertisements, thank you cards, holiday cards, personal cards and letters, information that will improve their lives and/or business.
6. Businesses that take the FEAR out of buying – One of the 4 biggest fears a customer has that causes them NOT to make a purchase is the FEAR OF LOSS OF THEIR MONEY. And it is so simple to diminish the fear of loss of money. Give your buyers a money back GUARANTEE, not just the manufacturer’s guarantee on the products you sell. Your competitors are offering the manufacturer’s guarantee. Be different, be aggressive, be the one
that gets the sale by giving your personal and your business guarantee.
A Real Bad Business Assumption - To learn more about this author, visit Bob Janet's Website.
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I was doing a five-day sales training program for a company located in a very small town in South Carolina. One of those small quaint towns with a population of just over ten thousand, one road through the town with only a half dozen traffic lights. I was lodging at the In Town Hotel. The only hotel in the town. Each evening, as I had my dinner on a very lovely deck attached to the side of the hotel facing the main shopping area, I watched a dozen or so children ranging in age from six to twelve years old ride their bikes into town and go into a candy store across the street. The candy store on the right side of the cross street. There was also a candy store on the left side of the cross street, but they never went into that store. Each evening it was the same routine. They would ride up to the front of the candy store on the right side, park their bikes, go into the candy store and a few minutes later emerge with a white bag of candy.
On my third evening of observing them, I got curious as to why they never shopped at the candy store on the left side of the street. Well, my curiosity got the best of me, and on my final evening at the hotel I went across the street and asked one of them, “Why do you guys always buy your candy from this candy store and not the one across the street?” The young boy replied as he pointed to the candy store across the street, “They take our candy away from us.”
Now my curiosity was at an all-time high so I went into the candy store in front of me and ordered a half pound of dark chocolate. The lady behind the counter put on one of those plastic gloves and took a small scoop, and she scooped candy onto the scale until the dial went up to one half pound. She then lifted the scale dish and put my candy into a white bag.
I then went across the street to the candy store the young boy said takes their candy away. As I went up to the counter a nice lady asked if she could help me. I said, “Please give me a half pound of dark chocolate.” I noticed her price was a cent lower than the other store. She put on her plastic glove and took a large scoop, and she put a large amount of candy on the scale. Then, with her gloved hand, she began to take candy off the scale, taking candy away until the weight got down to one half pound.
Are your customers perceiving you as the one who adds to the value of their purchase or the one who takes the candy away?
Here is an exercise to determine how you are perceived:
First, have everyone in your business write down how you want to be perceived by your customers. Have everyone do it because you want to make sure you all want to be perceived the same way.
Then, survey your customers to discover how you are perceived. Hire others (college kids) to do the survey,
because your customers will tell you what you want to hear. Have your customers and non-customers surveyed. If you are not being perceived the way you want, do things to change the customer’s and prospect’s perception.
6 Perceptions customers react positively to:
1. Businesses that look successful - People like to do business with successful businesses. No one wants to take the chance of buying from a business that may not be there tomorrow.
2. Businesses that look busy - People like to buy from businesses that look busy. When we had sales in our retail businesses, we hired people (usually college students) to walk around the showroom to give the perception something really big was going on.
3. Businesses that look clean - People would rather buy from businesses and business people that look clean and neat. We gave customers the perception of quality in our retread tires by making sure our manufacturing plant was clean enough to eat off the floor.
4. Businesses that look like they care about their customers - ‘Be 100% Customer-Centered’ Everything you say and do is about your customer, not you or the business.
> Answer the telephone on the first or second ring
> Return telephone calls and messages quicker than promptly
> Greet everyone that comes into the business immediately
> Solve the customer’s problems, needs and wants even if it creates more work for you
5. Businesses that stay in touch with their Customers – “Stay in touch with your customers, and they will stay in touch with you when a buying decision is made.” It is estimated that your customers are inundated with 2500 to 3500 advertising messages a day. They become confused. If you are the seller that has been the constant in staying in touch with them, you will be their seller of choice. Stay in touch with your customers through advertisements, thank you cards, holiday cards, personal cards and letters, information that will improve their lives and/or business.
6. Businesses that take the FEAR out of buying – One of the 4 biggest fears a customer has that causes them NOT to make a purchase is the FEAR OF LOSS OF THEIR MONEY. And it is so simple to diminish the fear of loss of money. Give your buyers a money back GUARANTEE, not just the manufacturer’s guarantee on the products you sell. Your competitors are offering the manufacturer’s guarantee. Be different, be aggressive, be the one
that gets the sale by giving your personal and your business guarantee.
A Real Bad Business Assumption - To learn more about this author, visit Bob Janet's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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