The myth of ‘Solution Selling’…take it to a higher level:

(Time to read this Blog is about 3.5 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:  
   “Stop complaining that there’s no such thing as customer loyalty anymore. Customers are loyal to what’s best for them…or what they assume is best for them.  So, what are you doing to be the clear and compelling ‘wise choice’ for your target customers?”         
   …Donald Cooper.
    
   Quick Biz Tip:
   Check your website for these all-to-common errors! 
    
   I spend hours every week studying client websites.  Most of them use weak and wishy-washy words like, ‘We aim to…’,  or  ‘We strive to…’,  or  ‘It is our goal to…’. 
    
   One client proudly stated on their website, “We strive to be ethical”.  What the heck is that?  ‘Ethical’ is like pregnant…you is, or you ain’t.
    
   Replace all those weak and wishy-washy words with one word…’Commit’.  Nobody cares what you aim to do.  They want to know what you commit to do!   It’s all part of creating a Culture of clarity, commitment, urgency and accountability.
    
2. Bosses get real about employees returning to the office full time.  According to a recent KPMG Report, only 55% of Canadian business leaders now expect staff to return to the office full-time in the next three years, down from 75% last year.
    
3. Customer retention crisis. 90% of ‘Meal Kit’ customers discontinue the service within the first year.  A few years ago, Meal Kit companies set out to replace traditional grocery stores for much of your grocery needs.  They compete on a combination of convenience, variety and price.
    
   They offer deep discounts to acquire new customers, but then it takes 6 months for that new customer to become profitable.  The problem is that 90% of those customers discontinue the service within the first year.  78% of them because of price and 67% due to concerns about the overwhelming and seemingly wasteful packaging.
    
   For you, the three key questions are:

1. 1. ‘What is your customer acquisition cost?’,
   2. ‘What is your customer retention rate?’
   3. ‘Why do they leave…and how can you fix that?’

5. ‘Romance’ is the latest employee benefit for this Chinese company. The parent company of TikTok in China has added “Helping you find your one true love” to their benefit packages, alongside dental coverage and vacation time. 
    
   Chinese workers are now working the most hours ever on record — 48.8 hours a week, compared to 37.8 in Canada.  If workers are never able to leave the office to find that special someone, then it makes perfect sense for their employer to help them find romance.

   So, what is your benefit package and does it give you an advantage in attracting the talent you need?  Hint:  2 or even 3 week’s annual vacation simply doesn’t cut it with today’s young people. 
    

6. Shameless Promotion:

   If you or your Industry Association have a Conference coming up in the next 12 months, perhaps we should talk. As a thought-leader on management, marketing, staff engagement, value delivery and profitability, I deliver bottom-line business insights in a way that informs, energizes, engages, entertains and inspires. 

   To quote one recent attendee, “Best, most real, insightful and entertaining management session I’ve attended in 30 years.  Bring this Cooper guy back!”  

   Our most requested topics are:

   1. a)  “Accelerate Your Business…the ‘straight goods’ on how to sell more, manage smarter, grow your bottom line…and have a life.”
   2. b)  “Winning the Talent Wars…8 essential steps to attracting, leading & engaging a top-performing team.”
   3. c) “Implement or Perish…how to improve clarity, commitment, urgency, accountability and profitability in your business.”
   4. d) “Vision Critical…how to manage, innovate and thrive in a very different tomorrow!”
   5. e) “Succession Planning & Exit Strategies…preparing your business and yourself for the most important financial transaction of your life!”

   I’m happy to chat about possibilities at 416-252-3703 in Toronto…or by email at donald@donaldcooper.com . 

Now, to this week’s important topic:

The myth of ‘Solution Selling’…take it to a higher level:

Sales Courses, Sales Managers and books on selling all tell us, “Don’t sell products and services…sell solutions.”  Good advice…but, often, it doesn’t go far enough.

We need to go beyond solution selling and coach customers on the ‘unseen possibilities’ available only with our caring and expert help. That’s the highest level of value delivery…and it’s where customer ‘ownership’ really takes place.

If I have a problem or an opportunity, and I know it, I can approach several solution providers and award the business to the lowest bidder.  But, if I’m not even aware of my problem or opportunity, and you show me ‘what’s possible’, you’re my hero, and I’m much less likely to let you out of my life.  

When you lead me into the land of ‘what’s possible’, you leave your competitors behind and help me leave my competitors behind.  You take me from playing ‘catch-up’ to playing ‘leapfrog’ over my competitors…and I love you for that.

To get to this highest level of trust and freedom with your customers, if you’re selling B 2 B, for example, the conversation might go something like this: “Did you know that with our new combined billing and customer info software, you can track customer purchases and proactively communicate special offers and reorder points to customers as individuals, at very little cost?  Companies that we’ve just tested this with have increased sales by up to 17%, in just three months.”

If I didn’t even know that such a thing is possible, you’re my new best friend. 

If you’re selling B 2 C, the same principal applies.  If you can coach your target consumers on unseen possibilities, if you can become their ‘Caring Coach’, you’ve created a value bond that’s very difficult to break.

Whatever product or service you sell, what are the ‘unseen possibilities’ that your customers and prospects are not aware of?  What is it that they don’t know, that they need to know to make better decisions for their business or their life?  How can you become the ‘Caring Coach’?  What would it take for you to become the ‘possibilities leader’ in your market…and when will you get started?

That’s it for this week…

Live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.