Tom walked into his office and a thought struck him. He realized he hadn't heard from Sarah, one of his best clients, in almost two weeks. Picking up the phone, he called her and said, "Just wanted to check in. I figured it was about time for you to place an order."
The silence that greeted Tom laid waste to his good mood. Sarah said, "I've been meaning to call you. Our lines are about to undergo a major shift. You’ve been a good supplier, but the change means we won't be purchasing your product anymore."
In business and life, one constant we can count on is change. To maximize profits, customers constantly evaluate products, services and processes searching for improvements. When they find a way to do something better, what is relevant shifts and salespeople often feel the ripples.
Relevance lies at the heart and soul of every sale. Buyers base purchasing decisions on what matters now. To put it another way, umbrellas sell on rainy days.
Businesspeople discuss how buyers compare apples to apples and ask themselves to consider what gives their “apple” a competitive edge. To use the umbrella analogy again, online umbrella sellers won’t benefit from changes in the weather but they will sell more orders in bulk. As circumstances change, the buyer’s wants, needs and motivation to purchase changes too.
More tomorrow on the "R" Word!
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