Stop Selling: Start Educating
"An educated consumer is our best customer". -Sy Syms
I would like to explore the difference between selling to consumers and educating consumers. Please leave your feedback and position in the comments area at the bottom.
At one time I thought of myself as a salesperson and was quite pleased with my numbers. It was common for me to have a 95% sales rate and I attributed this to knowing my service and communicating the quality to my customer. I soon realized what was the true reason for my high conversion rate.
It was simply my method of selling. I would educate the customer on what they had and educate them on how to properly maintain the product/service they currently use. I would explain how their product/service is built and the reasons for any faulty or damaged parts. From there I would SHOW the customer what we do and why our service is right for them. I would tell them that we're not the cheapest and not the most expensive. I would ALWAYS invite the customer to check out other vendors and give them questions to ask the servicemen to ensure they understand what their working with so as not to damage their property.
Time after time the customers would choose to schedule while I was there. I realized I wasn't even selling the job. I was walking them through our process and explaining the general details of our service.
I began discussing this with other business owners and the good ones knew this approach. It wasn't a secret it was simply the way business should be done.
At the top of this post was a quote from Sy Syms that says "An educated consumer is our best customer". When I worked at Syms my senior year in high school I use to think this quote ment that smart people were our customers. Then I discovered what we do when we help customers. We show them what they are buying and explain that this Ralph Louren cashmere sweater is the same one that retails for around $200 at Neiman Marcus.
The point to be made is this. If you sell windows it would be wise to know all widow types; tempered, annelid, lexand, etc. It would benefit you to know and explain the vitrification process and explain how this factors into the quality of glass. To understand the properties of argon gas and why it is used in between the glass for insulation would show you have above average knowledge of your product which would impress your potential customer. Explaining the process of installing a window properly would give your customers peace of mind they have found the right professional.
The list goes on and on as to what you can explain and EDUCATE your customers on. The simple fact is people trust those that are confident in their skill. This confidence is evident in their ability to communicate their process.
David Azua
www.davidazua.com
david@davidazua.com
I would like to explore the difference between selling to consumers and educating consumers. Please leave your feedback and position in the comments area at the bottom.
At one time I thought of myself as a salesperson and was quite pleased with my numbers. It was common for me to have a 95% sales rate and I attributed this to knowing my service and communicating the quality to my customer. I soon realized what was the true reason for my high conversion rate.
It was simply my method of selling. I would educate the customer on what they had and educate them on how to properly maintain the product/service they currently use. I would explain how their product/service is built and the reasons for any faulty or damaged parts. From there I would SHOW the customer what we do and why our service is right for them. I would tell them that we're not the cheapest and not the most expensive. I would ALWAYS invite the customer to check out other vendors and give them questions to ask the servicemen to ensure they understand what their working with so as not to damage their property.
Time after time the customers would choose to schedule while I was there. I realized I wasn't even selling the job. I was walking them through our process and explaining the general details of our service.
I began discussing this with other business owners and the good ones knew this approach. It wasn't a secret it was simply the way business should be done.
At the top of this post was a quote from Sy Syms that says "An educated consumer is our best customer". When I worked at Syms my senior year in high school I use to think this quote ment that smart people were our customers. Then I discovered what we do when we help customers. We show them what they are buying and explain that this Ralph Louren cashmere sweater is the same one that retails for around $200 at Neiman Marcus.
The point to be made is this. If you sell windows it would be wise to know all widow types; tempered, annelid, lexand, etc. It would benefit you to know and explain the vitrification process and explain how this factors into the quality of glass. To understand the properties of argon gas and why it is used in between the glass for insulation would show you have above average knowledge of your product which would impress your potential customer. Explaining the process of installing a window properly would give your customers peace of mind they have found the right professional.
The list goes on and on as to what you can explain and EDUCATE your customers on. The simple fact is people trust those that are confident in their skill. This confidence is evident in their ability to communicate their process.
David Azua
www.davidazua.com
david@davidazua.com
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