Here’s how to sell without results.  Start selling like the mass majority of sales, marketing and business people out there.  They all want to sell you what they have.  Is that truly what you as the customer are thinking – “I want to be sold?”

Unfortunately, there are many from the school of hard knocks who think getting their way rather than helping you with yours is the mark of getting business done.  Take a look at the mass majority of websites.  Most are boring.  They copy each other and have not enticed me to engage.  Instead, they talk about how great they are hoping to impress me with their stated laurels that I would have to succumb and call them or beg them to sell me their products and services.

Here’s the blind spot the mass majority of businesses and business people have – they can only think about themselves.  It’s a rare company that can think, much less talk, in terms of you.  Those that do actually connect.  They connect with buying.

How does your customer buy?  Why do they buy?  Is it really because they want all the features you worked so hard to bulletize on your brochure, or is that mere geek talk?

I am a customer.  I care little about the tolerances of the cam shafts in my 5 series.  I want the ultimate driving machine and the ultimate driving experience.  This is what connects with me.  Engineering specs are nice to know, but I am converting it to what I want, not what you did.

Stop selling hardware, software, services, advertising, and the array of stuff we have too much of.  Start helping me buy and I may pay attention.  Helping me buy requires you to think about me and not you.  You matter little.  I matter a lot.  You look like a commodity.  I have choices.

Think carefully about your customer and profile what they truly care about.  They are not thinking about you. They are thinking about themselves.  Here are things they are thinking about:

• How do I make more money?
• How do I have more fun?
• How do I find love?
• How do I feel good about myself?
• How do we get customers?
• How do I put my kids through college?
• How do I look my best?

This is the pursuit of happiness we hear about.  We are all pursuing some end as individuals.  Connect with this.  When you sell audio equipment, don’t talk about the bass enhancements.  Talk about how it gives the ultimate fun experience.  If you sell software, don’t bore me with version 15’s new button clicks.  Tell me how this will double my revenue or save me half the time.  Show me concretely, and speak about my problems like you understand them because you are solving the same problem.

It all sounds simple, yet it is quite often missed.  It is missed in what we say, websites we read and the mass amounts of connection points competing for the customer’s attention.  Too bad.  But then again, it may be the opportunity which helps you stand out and start connecting with your customer instead of just bull-dogging them with your selling.  Talk about my problems and not your features and watch a world of opportunity open like you have never seen before.

Are you paying attention? You are at the moment, but only for a moment. You are not alone, we are all part of the “attention economy”. Wikipedia calls it “attention economics” and defines it as, “An approach to the management of information that treats human attention as a scarce commodity.” This scarce commodity, our attention, is affecting our lives and our income.

Due to short attention spans, a new way of connecting with people is required. Remember when it was acceptable to answer the knock of a door-to-door salesman? Today that salesman is ignored. Remember when you could hand out a business card and expect a call back? Not anymore. We are so bombarded with messages from everywhere that we sometimes ignore even messages we want to hear.

Because our attention span is short, we must be ready to deliver our message when our customer is most receptive and willing to consider our message. No longer can you send an email when you are ready. It may not get read! It has to be when the customer wants to receive your email. When we understand and answer the question of “when,” I believe you will enjoy a significant advantage of your message being heard.

So when is your customer most receptive to hearing your message?

Today’s buyer approaches buying much differently than just a few years ago. A few years ago you likely picked up the phone and spoke with a salesperson and let that person know you were interested in buying. Today that’s not so. The buyer in today’s “new economy” is much more interested in forming an opinion and assessing what options they have long before they speak to a salesperson.

So how is a buyer forming opinions and making assessments of their options? They are educating themselves. They are doing this through trusted sources of information such as blogs, websites, e-books, journals, e-newsletters, and forums. The buyer over time is forming solutions based on the information they have gathered that speaks to their pain.

So the question is, how is a buyer in the “new economy” forming opinions about you? Do they find you easily on the Internet? If they find you, is their first impression memorable? Where do they find you on Google? Are you on page one or stuck somewhere deep in the pack? How many times do you appear in a search?

When a customer finds you, do they find it easy to get the information they want and to get it when they want it? Or do they end up having to wait for you to respond? Do you have a “breadcrumb trail” that leads the customer to a predictable experience, or is it all by luck and sales persuasion?

Many companies unfortunately put the majority of their time and effort towards the selling process and little time and effort on the buying process. This leads to frustration and mediocre sales results. In the “new economy” you must align the selling and buying process, or you’ll find a steady erosion of relevance, influence, and value. The “new economy” is not going away. It is only going to become more pronounced.

Do you know Roko Karanusic?  He is one of the top 100 players in tennis.  He is not number one.  Arguably, he is 90% of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, both brand names and highly endorsed stars in the top five in the world.  Becoming 99% of what those stars are creates a large gap not only in results, but also in rewards, recognition and rankings.

There are products designed as 90% all the time.  iPods, however, are designed and sold with the 99% mentality.  They get the the lion’s share of the MP3 market for that last 9%.  The last 9% that makes iPods different are in intangibles – design, emotion, culture, ease-of-use, connection, relevance.  There are lots of imitators, yet the essence and intangibles, while not costly, separate good and great.

In business, everyone is seeking to sell.  What you sell is a commodity.  You may think it is special, but that is because you are thinking about yourself.  Your customer is inundated with choices just like you are.  They see a continuum of choices and their perception of value is clouded by the overwhelming amount of information that comes at them.  They are looking for that last 9 percent in the things they buy.  It is the intangibles which help them see value when the default perception is parity.

Here are some examples which differentiate great from good enough in business:

• Ringing up an order versus making someone’s day
• Selling someone who doesn’t want to be sold rather than positioning your value
• Sending a boring newsletter versus connecting emotionally with your customer
• Arrogance – “we don’t make mistakes” -  versus humility – “we are transparent”
• Focusing on your income rather than helping your customer with their problems
• Using sales techniques versus learning to connect
• Working in a box versus going the extra mile
• Focusing on tools rather than optimizing talent

In today’s economy, the truth is that tools are commodities.  Techniques raise our guards, and we have all been conditioned to block out noise and be suspicious.  In our attention economy, 90% of what is ideal will not work.  If you are not willing to put your heart and soul into a newsletter, don’t send it.  It will be deleted, ignored and work against you.  If you do not truly know what is important to your customer, then don’t approach them.

99% requires the hard work of thinking.  You must think about what your customer truly values and what your customer is trying to get done.  Here are a couple hints:

• How can you help them make more money?
• How can you offer them more peace of mind?
• What problems do your customers focus on?  How can you offer to help solve them?
• How does what you offer make a difference in the first place?  Why do you believe this?

Getting to 90% is pretty easy.  Just copy what you see from others.  Copying will leave you short, though, if you don’t understand the intangibles which make the impact and difference.  Copying will be deficient for lack of substance.  Your own passion and commitment to getting to the last 9% will be what helps you break through the inattention and skepticism of the new economy.  The truth is people can buy whatever they want whenever they want.  Give them a compelling reason to connect with you.  Give them a reason to see you as truly valuable.

In a world of too much, click here to learn how to connect with and impact your customer by getting to that last 9 percent.

Customers today ignore boring products.  Old brands which do not inspire passion or luster are not guaranteed to be around, for customers increasingly value what is novel and stands out rather than what was promoted to be safe, common, and routine.

Many of the institutions we see (yours may be one of them) are intrinsically designed to resist change.  When they sense it from new technology and processes, they dig their heels in.  They settle on mediocrity.  They risk going extinct quickly.

Change is happening everywhere around us.  From presidential elections to old models of corporations, others are getting ahead because they understand how the new economy works.  The rest are hoping the 1980’s would return.

Making good products does not cut it.  We all want great.  We want spectacular, not gaudy.  Our expectations as consumers are for a memorable experience, not an emotionless transaction.

The funny thing is that all the tools are available for a company or individual to transcend mediocrity, beat their competition and grow their business.  However, old mindsets will be the death of those who defend mediocrity.  We see it every day, and it is happening at a faster pace than ever.  The reason is that the “rules” have changed dramatically.

If people see your company, your product and your way of doing business as a commodity, you will lose.  There are others who know how to be great rather than just good.  If you are an employee that does not stand out, you lose.  Jobs are continually being cut left and right.  The customer – your employer – has to see you as great, not just good.

If you are wondering why you don’t have the business or life you would like, ask yourself these key questions:

1. What vision do I have for my myself and my business? If you struggle to articulate this, then your aspiration has already been defined.  Great businesses and people envision more than just doing a job or getting an order or a paycheck. They see purpose and help others see this as well. Think Starbucks, Disney and Facebook.  Want to just be mediocre?  Then take heed about Sears – old school and irrelevant.  Doing business the old way will kill you.
2. How do I connect with my fans? Many people will never be your friends.  Many businesses will never be your customers.  They don’t “get you” nor do you “get them.”  However, those that should be your fans, how do you connect with them?  Are your communications systems set up for them to collaborate with you and with each other?  Do they feel like they connect with you?  Generation Y gets it.  Everyone else is trying to.  That is where the game is today.  It’s not the tools, it’s you.  Can you connect?
3. Can I see the new economy? People are exchanging millions of dollars in commerce every day in your industry.  If you are not getting your share, it is likely you are lagging.  There are people who have moved on and are not going back.  Someone did move the cheese.  Do you know where it is and are you willing to go after it?  Your customer is buying completely differently than ten years ago.  If you insist that cold calling, mailers or any other old, irrelevant and ignored mechanism still works you do not understand the new economy we live in.   If you think having a pretty website is the answer, you are still five years behind.  Observe and ask better questions, or you risk losing massive opportunities because you are not even in the game.

B.B. King said a wise thing, “Some people…if they don’t ask, you can’t tell them.”  If you are not getting the results in your business you desire, then it would make sense to ask yourself good questions.  Otherwise, you risk accelerated obsolescence.  Rather than fear change, how about trying to understand the game being played and learn to structure your business, approach and systems to connect rather than try to desperately sell?  Ask the right questions to help you get on your way.  Need answers?  Then ask us.  Click here.

The biggest secret in business is right in front of you. Take out your credit card receipt from last month. Review it. Do any of the items stand out? How many could you have done without for another month? How many could you have done without period?

The question begs asking, why did you buy? How did you buy? Whether you realized it or not, you “bought” long before you purchased. It started when you began noticing watches, TV’s, or whatever it was that caught your interest.

Your attention moved to desire. You pictured the object or service bringing pleasure, relieving pain or increasing value in your life.

At some point the desire hit a tipping point. It was fanned through consistent, credible or intriguing exposure. Read more

The number one skill in business is selling. You do not have a job or income unless you or someone on your team makes a sale. Life does not move forward unless someone sells their ideas. The rest of people who play it safe choose to stay oblivious to this one truth. The reason they do is because it is hard. It takes guts and an immense amount of talent, thinking and commitment. Nothing happens unless a sale is made.

You are either filling orders or making things happen in business and life. To make things happen means you must understand selling. And the first rule of selling is this:

Don’t get caught selling. Read more

There is a story of a mountain village which experienced an unforgiving drought. The condition was deteriorating to the point that a village elders’ meeting was held. They decided to hire two men to solve the problem of bringing water to the village from the valley below where a well existed.

The first man got two large buckets and started going back and forth from the village to the well below. He sold the water at a handsome price. He brought his sons on board to the venture and made as many trips as possible to sell his water. Read more

I remember competing at the University of Chicago in our conference championship track meet one dreary winter. I had finished my race and was sitting on the sidelines to watch the 60 meter dash. It was cold. Indoor track season in the north is bitter and frigid. The gun went off with six sprinters coming out of the blocks. Then it happened. A loud “pop” sound. A sprinter pulled his hamstring. He was on the sidelines in agony.

He was a well-conditioned athlete ready to race. In colder conditions, sprinters need to do extra warm-up to properly prepare the muscles for competition. Otherwise, painful consequences, such as hamstring pulls, are typical. Read more