Develop these six critical traits...and success will surely follow.
Trait #1: Notice your own buying strategies. Pay closer attention to what everyone else in the world is doing to try to sell you something. You'll find that there are already lots of good ideas out there that you don't have to invent again. If you will constantly monitor what turns you on; what ads keep appearing week after week; what makes you like something or hate something -- you will start to find things that you can incorporate into your business.
Trait #2: Cross-pollinate ideas. Take an idea that works well in one industry and use it in another. If you have the opportunity, visit a natural foods store called “Whole Foods”. See if you notice anything that could be adapted to an upscale floor covering store that caters to designers.
Sound like a tough assignment? Natural foods and expensive oriental rugs don’t have a lot in common. Don’t use your brain to worry about all the details, use it to look at things in more general terms. When you walk into “Whole Foods”, you'll immediately notice eye catching fresh produce, wines, meats and other goods geared toward the “natural” enthusiast. There's generally a restaurant and maybe even a person giving massages. It is a fun place to be.
So what can you, as an expert marketer, take from “Whole Foods” and inject into the high-end floor covering store that caters to designers? “Whole Foods” made their store a place where their target market wanted to be. They added elements of fun that none of their competitors have. They are killing their competition. The high-end floor covering store needs to make their store the place to be for designers. How? Ask designers what they want. Borrow ideas from everywhere.
Trait #3: Be specific. Suffice it to say that 99% of what's said in marketing and advertising is useless, non-compelling, non-specific, non-definitive, amorphous fluff. You say things like tastes best, highest quality, biggest selection, best service, and lowest price. But think about the impact of these types of statements on your prospects.
Your prospects fully expect you to claim that you're great. Who ever heard of a promotion that said, "Our prices are high, our service is terrible, and our quality is marginal at best!" to set yourself apart from the competition, you must quantify all claims made into specific, compelling terms.
Instead of saying largest selection, say "15,400 square feet divided into 5 showrooms, with over 5,220 items from 327 manufacturers, in 2,022 styles and 460 colors, in price ranges from $.99 to $27,000." Which do you believe?
Trait #4: See it from the customer's perspective. If you've ever bought a diamond, you know how confusing that process can be. The problem is that most people rarely buy a diamond; therefore most people have no clue how to judge a diamond's worth. They have to rely on the person at the jewelry store to tell them. They are suspicious and can only hope that the person will be perfectly honest with you.
I met a man that sold diamonds, out of a small modest shop at wholesale prices, directly to the public. He understood his customers' perspective...which was "Help! We know nothing and we're afraid we're going to get ripped off!" He would sit perspective customers down in a nice, leather chair and explain to them the history of diamonds, from volcanoes, to mines, to cutting, to polishing, to wholesale buying and selling. He used a myriad of books, charts, and pictures. He explained exactly what someone needed to know about diamonds before making a decision. And oh, by the way, if they wanted to look at some diamonds, he had some of those, too.
His process was so disarming, and so educational, that he sold 80% of the people that sat in that nice, leather chair. Compare that to the usual jewelry store; they shove 63 rings on your finger in 12 minutes and try to pressure you into buying the big, ugly, yellow one that has a huge commission because it has been in their inventory for so long. The average jewelry store will sell less than 10% of the people that sit in their cheesy, velvety little chairs.
Traits #5 & #6: Innovation & Systemization. Innovation is simply creating a business that offers the customer "the best deal." It's about creating a business so perfect that the customer knows he'd be a fool if he shopped anywhere else. Systemization is the process of making decisions about your marketing in advance so that you are always doing what you need to do, as opposed to trying to create everything as you go, or flying by the seat of your pants, or wondering what to do next.
About The Author
Bill Ellis is a former CEO and Senior Executive with several companies. He currently works as a consultant helping companies grow their business. His website FreeBusinessConsultants.com at freebusinessconsultants.com provides free online business information and email business consultations for startups and existing businesses.
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