22 May Live long and really prosper

Here are five ways to move your business forward:

1. Take your ego out of it.  It’s not about what you do. It’s about what you do for your clients and customers. They don’t care about your process or how you get where you are going. They only want to know what’s in it for them. The only thing that matters is the benefit.

2. You are always selling an experience, not a product.  Even if what you are selling is a product.  Products come and go and frequently have little differentiation.  If you offer a product, it’s the experience of using the product that’s important. If you are a service, what distinguishes you and your company is how you do business.

3. Make sure you know what business you are in.  Are you a retailer, or a restaurant or an importer?  Are you a manufacturer or a middleman? You would be surprised how many people don’t clearly know what their own businesses are about.  I’m in the business of helping clients craft a clear message so that customers will know who they are and develop relationships with them.  Being clear about what you say is equally as important as the content of what you are saying.  And that starts with being clear about what you do.

4. Every sale is initiated on an emotional level. No matter how much people rationalize it.  And they do.  People make choices in their gut and then explain the decision in their brain. And most of the time they make their decision based on how they feel about the sales person or the website or whatever the brand experience is to them, rather than the product being sold.  First impressions count.  A lot.

5. Do your best to understand your target customer.  And try to see the world from their point of view.  They most likely make decisions based on things that you can’t even imagine, so the more you can look at the world through their eyes, the better off you will be. Consumers are fully fashioned humans who have way more on their minds than what you are selling. Your goal is to fit what you have into their busy lives. Don’t assume their world will stop for you.

My wish to you.  And to paraphrase Mr. Spock. Live long and really prosper.