A Compelling Sales Message

It is NOT that YOU have something wonderful to sell!

In fact, it’s not about YOU or YOUR service.

I live in the the Seattle area and a few days ago the temperature broke all local records in the 3 digit range. Most of us don’t have air-conditioning in this part of the U.S. People lined up at the home and hardware stores every morning looking for any kind of fan or air conditioner.

The law of supply and demand was in play. If you had the inventory, you could sell it for almost any price you were asking. Interesting, how circumstances and timing sometimes can create huge selling opportunities. Move the calendar back just a little, when the temperatures were running the typical 20-30 degrees cooler, and you had a hard time moving air conditioners with promo discounts.

Late one evening, with the sun setting and our bodies sweating, we decided to go down to the local home improvement center, just on the oft-chance that an air conditioning unit got misplaced in the back room and they just brought it out to the sales floor.

When I asked the clerk if they had any air conditioners, she actually laughed at me and asked what planet I just arrived from. Oh well. You never know, unless you ask. We enjoyed walking around the air-conditioned store for awhile and decided to head home for another hot, uncomfortable, and sleepless night in Seattle.

Arriving at our car in the parking lot, we were greeted by a nice gentleman inquiring if we were looking for an air conditioner. I responded much the same as the sales clerk and began to laugh at him, whereupon he directed us to his pick-up truck where there were 5 nicely packaged new air conditioners.

He explained that he had just returned from a road-trip to the other side of the state where he purchased one for himself and 4 more for anyone that would be willing to give him a little extra to pay for his gas expense.

Wow, there really are some good Samaritans. And, did he have to pitch us more than a few sentences? Absolutely NOT. We were definitely in need and more than willing to pay a premium after suffering the last few nights.

What was his compelling sales message, other than being in the right place at the right time? It was that he understood what we needed and wanted.

SELLING is NOT that YOU HAVE something wonderful to SELL. That is about YOU.

If you understand what the buyer wants and needs and you can provide it, you have a compelling sales message by just making yourself available. Don’t try to sell your product. Sell your PROSPECT. Make it about THEM. Find out what they need and help them get it.