The three essential laws of sales

By Ahmed al-Akber/DubaiThere are sales fads that come and go (like social media), and there are laws that stand the test of time. Here are three sales laws that will never change and how to handle them:1) Focus on the benefits, not on the product. Customers buy benefits, they don’t buy your product. Stop talking about your product and how wonderful it is, because prospects don’t care. The guy asking for a “drill” is answered by a well-trained sales rep with, “No, you need a hole”. This popular scenario is used to remind those of us in sales we are in the business of selling benefits, not products. Taking the time to find out what your product’s benefits are is key to selling it effectively. Likewise, you won’t grab people’s attention by saying, “Our product is the best” as much as you would by saying, “We understand your problems, and are passionate about solving them. And that’s why we created this…”. According to Simon Sinek, author of the book Start With Why, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”.2) You don’t need to be the cheapest to win. Would you hire the cheapest heart surgeon if you needed surgery? Or ask for the cheapest book in a bookstore? People buy when the price of your product or service is less than the pain of maintaining the status quo. As long as you don’t price above that pain, then you do not need to resort to manipulations such as discounts and limited-time offers (think of American car companies: they have been doing this for years and their market share has dwindled, only to be taken over by smarter Japanese firms). Very few successful brands are built on that strategy. Ask yourself, “Is our communication to our prospect adequately justifying our price?”.3) Understanding your customer. Understanding what’s inside the heads of customers is not easy. But it is important. Ask the Coca-Cola company when they came out with New Coke in 1985. The taste tests pointed out that it was to be a winner, and they swapped regular Coca-Cola for New Coke overnight. Consumers of the regular product flipped, and immediately voiced their outrage and demanded to have “their” regular Coca-Cola back. Less than three months after its introduction, New Coke was scrapped and Coke’s original formula was reintroduced – a smart move as sales picked up!You need to understand your customers and always keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on in the market. Differentiate between what is a ‘fad’ and what is going to provide long-term value for your customers. Two important questions to always ask are: “What could we do to serve you better?”and “Are there additional ways in which our two companies can work together?”♦ Ahmed al-Akber is the managing director of ACK Solutions, a firm that helps companies to improve their marketing and sales results by offering more effective ways attracting customers and significantly better products and services. Ahmed has worked internationally in marketing, sales, and strategic planning at companies such as the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris International and Dell. Questions or comments can be sent to Ahmed on ahmed@acksolutions.com