Make sure you're selling what they want to buy

Deep down, every purchase has an emotional component to the decision. Before emotions get involved however, you need to be selling what your customer wants to buy. Too often business owners and managers make an assumption about their customers' key drivers and thereby miss the sale or, at the very least, waste a lot of time.

The buying experience isn't just about the end product. Let's face it, there's more than just you selling what you've got to sell. So how does the customer make the decision about who to do business with?

The winners are always the businesses who recognize that the customer is really only interested in "what's in it for me". Rattling on about how a product works and completely forgetting to just cut to the chase on the benefit to the customer is a sure way to disconnect from them. I don't particularly care how a refrigerator works - I just want to know that it's going to do the best job of holding all the fresh vegetables and fruits and the never-ending piles of cheese that live in my fridge. There's no point in focusing on the external ice-cube dispenser. I simply don't care.

Be prepared to have a conversation with your customer before you ever start 'selling' them something. You have to know and understand their needs to figure out the answer to "what's in it for me". Why are they shopping for this product or service? What's missing in their current solution?

Of course you'll need to have the list of functions, features and benefits for those lovely analytical people but even they are ultimately driven by "what's in it for me".

In the best sales scenarios, the customer does most of the talking. Not the salesperson. There are brilliant opportunities to learn other needs you can fill by being a listener, rather than a talker. And not surprisingly, customers appreciate a salesperson who doesn't rattle on.

Determine a list of engaging questions to use in every sales situation. This way, even if you aren't naturally spontaneous, you have a safety net of questions to move your sale along.

Key element: The sale is all about your customer. It's about their needs. It isn't about you or what you think they may be after based on what makes you interested in the product or service.

Every sale is different based on different motivations, different requirements and different personal needs. Make sure you're in a position to figure it out so you can sell what they want to buy.