Sell Value Not Discounts
Posted: Wednesday, April 21, 2010
by JM
Jim Meisenheimer, Inc.
Sell value not discounts is the way to go if you're one of the rare breed of entrepreneurs or professional salespeople, who do in fact, focus on adding value to your sales prospects and customers buying experience.
A quick story to illustrate this point.
Last weekend Bernadette, my wife, and I took off for the weekend.
My wife's friend Alexis told her about a wonderful boutique, Pamela M's, just north of St. Pete.
So off we go to Pamela M's shop.
But first we stopped for lunch in Madeira Beach.
The movie, Forrest Gump, is one of my all-time favorites.
It turns out the movie inspired a seafood restaurant with the movie producers.
So they created the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. They currently have six locations in the US. They do a lot of little things that most restaurants never think of doing - they sell value.
For example. Have you ever been to a restaurant, where the entire staff is looking out for you? Well I haven't!
Every table at Bubba Gumps has a little stand that holds two license plates. The blue plate says, "Run Forest Run." The red plate says, "Stop Forest Stop."
The blue plate means you're happy with everything. The red one says you need something. Everyone who sees the red plate asks how they can help you.
Ya know, in sales little things mean everything - so be sure to sell value.
Sales tip - do the little things that no one else in your business is doing.
Now - off we go to Pamela M's boutique.
As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted with friendly, "Hellos" from the staff.
One of them said, "Everything is 20% off today."
For the next hour and a half I'm taking it all in. I found a comfortable chair and was able to amuse myself with my iPhone.
My wife likes to shop. In fact she shops more than she buys.
But today would be different. Very different!
From my perch I could see that a lot of the customers are regulars.
The selection of clothes was amazingly unique and colorful.
We've been married about 22 years. I've never seen my wife buy so many things, at one time, in one store before.
In addition to having a marvelous selection to choose from, Pamela - the store's owner, also had a fabulous staff.
I'm watching all this. Customers interacting with salespeople. Customers interacting with other customers. Everybody is just having a good time while they're trying on and buying clothes.
It was fun. There was a bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay standing tall next to the plate of crackers and Brie cheese and set on a small oak table in front of a sofa.
This wasn't a shopping - it was an experience.
Our salesperson, Marilyn, tallied up our bill and then deducted the promised 20% discount.
The discount didn't matter. Everything else did. In fact, everything else mattered more.
Pamela has a great shop and an inconvenient location for us - about one hour drive from our home in Lakewood Ranch. Guess what? I'm sure we'll be going back soon.
Hey Pamela. You offer an incredible shopping experience for women and tremendous clothes and have an awesome sales staff.
You didn't have to knock $300 off our bill.
You could however do something a little different that has potentially a big impact. You could do something that would even create a buzz with your customers about your business.
For example. Instead of offering a 20% discount you can give your customers a box of Godiva - Thank You Ballotins - 19 pieces.
The cost is $26 but the value is priceless to the women who love chocolate.
In addition you would have added, on our bill, $274 to your bottom line.
Keep up the good work Pamela - and remember to sell value not discounts.
Jim Meisenheimer is the creator of the new Sales Trailblazer Sales Training Program for entrepreneurs and professional salespeople.
The focus is on common sense sales tips and proven selling strategies. 24 lessons spread over 24 weeks - pure gold.
Go here to learn more:
http://salestrailblazer.com
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