How To Sell Absolutely Anything At Full Price

Price is the amount of money your customer pays for a product.  Value is what your customer perceives the benefits of that product to be, and the emotional connection he/she has to the product, the employee, and the company, in relation to the price.

How retail associates handle and present products to her/his customer adds - or reduces - the perceived value. This is true whether the products are drills, luggage, or diamond rings.

I've seen a salesperson treat a $40 product as if it was priced at $500, and I've seen a salesperson treat a $500 product like it was worth $40. Guess which salesperson sold more?

Here are some tips for increasing a product's value when showing/handing it to your customer:

1. Create anticipation. Start talking about the benefits, or the emotional connection, BEFORE you present the product. Many of you do this naturally, but everyone can integrate it into the sales experience.

"Let me show this piece" doesn't create anticipation.

"I have the perfect product for you" does create anticipation.

So does "You are going to love this one."

2. Don't just hand your customer a product; present it. Methods like using both hands to hand a customer the product, using an open palm, or holding the product out in full presentation as you hand it to him/her communicates how valuable and special the product is. The higher the price point, the more flair you should add to the presentation.

3. Have every customer experience the product. This seems like it should be a given, but it doesn't always happen. It doesn't happen because the salespeople don't instigate it. It's our job to put it on the product, get them to turn it on, get them to try it out, get them to push or pull it, or whatever experiencing the product is. By experiencing a product, it substantially increases the product’s value and the likelihood of the customer purchasing it.

4. Don't talk about features and benefits of the product. Let the customer experience them. This means not going into the specifics of the value until it is in the customer's hands. Say a product has an ergonomically enhanced handle. Don't talk about the handle. Have the customer use the handle and then ask them if they feel difference. This is one area that even good salespeople can improve in.

5. Turn these tips into action.

a. Pick one or two of these value-added actions that offer you most opportunity this week.

b. Practice/role-play your value-added action with your manager or a colleague before the start of your shift.

c. Have a colleague observe you with a customer, and then tell you one or two things you did well in adding value, and one or two things you might do even better next time.

d. At the end of your shift, share with your manager how you added value to a customer's product and experience, and the result of doing so.

Not only do I hope you add value to the products your customer is looking at, I hope adding value adds a lot more to this week’s sales. Have a great one.  

via businessinsider

How to Beat Your Competition (And Keep Your Integrity)

Entrepreneurs offer their best tips for getting ahead of their rivals.

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Competition is always fierce in business. But it can be especially brutal for a startup. So how do entrepreneurs separate themselves from their competition but stay true to themselves? What is the most effective way to distinguish your brand and remain successful? We asked members of the Entrepreneurs' Organization to provide their best tips.

Create a unique brand personality.

"We went against the grain by going after younger consumers and created a new, authentic brand that's much more relevant to their generation. Since we don't have the big marketing dollars, we used creativity to develop a fun and irreverent brand personality that resonates with our consumers. We say things our competitors won't, connect directly with our fans on social media and engage our customers in a fun way."

--Jordan Eisenberg, President, UrgentRx; EO Colorado

Focus on you.

"Our business faces stiff competitors in three different industries. Instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing, we focus on our own key performance indicators and how we can create internal competitions among our staff to improve them. For example, we had an internal competition to see which of our franchises could generate the most client referrals in a month. This allowed us to drive our company's objectives without being preoccupied with outside competitors."

--Nick Friedman, President, College Hunks Hauling Junk; EO Central Florida

Stay ahead on technology.

"We consistently skate on the bleeding edge of technology. Our competitors sell the same products and services they have for years--sometimes long after they have become obsolete. We take a different approach by experimenting with new technology before it becomes mainstream, so we can predict how it will change our business. We do this by building strong relationships with our partners, allowing us to learn about and sometimes influence new technological developments early on."

--Derek Goldstein, Owner and CEO, Casaplex, LLC; EO DC 

Break tradition.

"We break tradition by allowing the customer to choose exactly how they want their sushi. If they want a maki roll with chicken or with all fruit, we create it! If they want to eat their sushi with a fork, we provide the utensils. If they hate seaweed, we'll roll the sushi up with a soy wrap or recommend our dumplings. We don't judge and also make sure our five core values reach all the way to the rollers, allowing customers to eat exactly what they want."

--Yuen Yung, CEO, How do you roll?; EO Austin 

Connect with the community. 

"As a hyper-local daily deal site, we are David competing against Goliaths. Yet, we have been able to outsell major competitors by becoming a community favorite. For every deal sold, we donate $1 to a local school or non-profit that's selected by the purchaser. Over four years, those dollars have added up to more than $200,000 given back to our community. This has helped us compete successfully against our biggest rivals."

--Wendy Jaffe, CEO, ConejoDeals.com; EO Los Angeles

Establish your authority. 

"A great PR campaign focused on something slightly controversial or unusual will garner the most interest. Right now, I'm on a speaking tour discussing how automation is killing jobs and how that's a good thing. It ties what my company does into a current trend and flips it on its head. Interviews, articles, podcasts, etc. all work together to promote this ideal and out-brand our competition."

via inc