Achieve Sales by Helping Customers Achieve Goals & Reduce Frustrations

Offer advice about creating, maintaining & updating specific benefits in local conditions, so people can plan ahead for long term results.

Offer advice about maintaining products & conditions, plus updated information sources about changing best practices as conditions change, so people don’t lose progress.

Best practices seem be a matter of opinion but are often a matter of interpreting conditions. Which conditions or actions interfere with results? Example: Some people recommend tilling gardens, but others recommend not tilling. Tilling is beneficial or disruptive depending on conditions & desired results.

People might be hesitant about buying if they have to restart projects when they want results. To motivate people to buy, show how to optimize & maintain benefits based on customers’ expectations.

Integrate your store into customers’ results & experiences by monitoring local conditions & asking customers for updates. Your product & method recommendations can optimize project effectiveness & efficiency in customers' current & future benefits better than competitors' product offers.

Integrate into people’s desire for consistent satisfaction by offering up-to-date products & the latest, accurate information.

People might want to repeat satisfying results & experiences but be frustrated if they don't have necessary resources to maintain or recreate benefits.

If you can’t supply everything, ask about the best aspects of satisfactory results & experiences. Maybe you can recreate the best benefits. Customer integration includes helping customers integrate consistent benefits from results & experiences into their lives.

Bring It Altogether for Customers

Small experiences can enrich lives between big experiences. Coordinate & optimize results & experiences to enrich life quality. Help customers determine if they have tools, materials, furniture, etc. for full integration. Integrated activities are easier to repeat, so people can optimize results & start new projects.

Since people won't be motivated if it’s hard to start activities, reality check consultations can help customers avoid frustration.

Example: ‘To get this result, you need (products) & do (methods). If you haven’t done this before, this tutorial will show you what to practice. Each time you practice, you’ll notice steps fitting together effectively & efficiently, persistence will pay off.’

You’ll lose sales if people are dissatisfied & don’t integrate activities into their lives.

If people are frustrated when attempting activities, you can help eliminate obstacles with different products &/or methods.

Decreasing frustration & increasing enjoyment is a big purpose of retailing. Your offers should express how your store’s purpose matches purposes of people’s activities.

Example: ‘Losing weight is a partial goal. At (store), you’ll find products & get guidance for improving your health so you can maintain your healthy body weight.’

That shows you’re dedicated to customers’ well-being instead of just profits.

Full Service Retailers Should Offer Full Potential.

As you ask people about benefits of desired results & experiences, compare effectiveness & efficiency of products & methods for a range of benefits. In that range, there could be more benefits people haven't considered.

Discount retailers show their purpose is selling products by listing products & prices. You can show your purpose is creating value by offering results & experiences.

Each result & experience iteration can increase benefits either because people eliminate unsatisfactory factors &/or add options.

As you ask questions & compare customers’ preferences with your offers, you can create options beyond low service retailers’ offers.

Prerequisites for Success

Before starting projects, people might need to solve or prevent problems that could interfere with goals. As you consult with customers, you can learn what happened before, during & after projects (including what was expected but didn’t happen).

What mitigated unexpected effects? How did people predict & prevent potential problems? What kind of adjustments did people make?

That information can help you augment their efforts & guide future customers. Consultations can help you determine if conditions might not be favorable yet for project success.

Since the same obstacles complicate similar local projects, basic project kits can have similar products & instructions. Customizable kits can be formed if multiple problems happen together.

After identifying typical factors, you can standardize basic kits. By consulting with customers about their conditions, you can customize other kits.

Consultation Example: ‘Basic kits are for (describe conditions & desired results). When you start to notice (symptoms), it indicates it’s time for maintenance. In our area, (symptoms) might start in about 5 years. This augmented kit includes (products) & plans for (describe conditions & desired results). Dependable results last about 8 years, after that you need to do maintenance. This augmented kit costs _ & the current maintenance kit costs __. In about 8 years, it’ll probably cost more. If you think you’ll want the same result/experience more than 8 years, you’ll get more advantages from the deluxe kit. You can invest in the deluxe kit to (describe advanced results). The warranty is 14 years. The deluxe kit costs __.’

Retail is for Results

People need to be empowered to overcome obstacles. Empowerment includes whatever increases people’s abilities to achieve goals. Offer products with guidance for stopping negative causes &/or producing positive effects.

Do what you can to show your products & guidance boost effectiveness & efficiency.

If you help people achieve publicly visible effects, consider ways to display benefits. Example: After nonprofit group volunteers repair buildings or vehicles, volunteers could report how well your products & project plans work. If volunteers aren’t professional carpenters or mechanics, consumers can think they also can use the products & your guidance for similar results.

Volunteers’ reports could be perceived as impartial. Nonprofit groups often get publicity that promotes business sponsors.

Reasons for Results

Since product names & prices don’t explain why people need products, every offer should include information about beneficial results. Present information as a basis for accepting your offers if reasons for damage &/or obstacles interfering with repairs aren’t obvious.

Example: ‘Before you replace mold-damaged wood, check for reasons for mold growth. (Store) has information & kits for reducing mold to prevent damage from recurring. Unless you change conditions, mold will grow again soon after you finish repair work. Let’s review your needs & develop a full solution, including prevention.’

When customers say something doesn’t work for them, review what was good & bad before & during their projects. Asking ‘what went wrong’ implies something was/is wrong with the project.

Review customers’ expectations because their disappointment might be from a misunderstanding. If that misunderstanding continues, customers might miss benefits & you’d miss sales.

Example: ‘Sometimes people misunderstand how using (product 1) affects__. There are many things to consider, it’s why (store) customers get individual attention. I ask about your desires & needs because I want to be sure we both understand what you have & how to create what you want. (Product 2) won’t react with __, so you can avoid (problem) & still benefit with (result).’

Optimism Is Good. Awareness Is Better.

What should people know as they set priorities? What’s favorable or unfavorable for starting & establishing results? What has changed & what are effects of those changes? People might focus on perceived benefits & not consider other factors.

Examples: Though some plants thrived years ago, climate changes can make weather unfavorable for plants &/or favorable for insects that damage plants. Since invasive plants might grow faster than people expect & cause problems, urge people to buy from local stores instead of web sites.

People need guidance to remedy unfavorable factors. People might be tempted to skip preparation & quickly mitigate current or imminent problems.

It’s important to offer to review specific conditions & indicate precautions.

Precautions reduce uncertainty. People are more apt to invest in results & experiences when they’re sure about success.

After people have setbacks, you can help them restore confidence in themselves & circumstances. Review what was good & bad, so customers can build on what’s favorable plus eliminate & avoid whatever misfired.

You can help customers control (or at least influence) results with information about what to expect from products, methods & conditions.

Desires & Confidence Affect Motivation

Discomfort & pain drive desires for changes, but people are even more motivated when they’re confident about controlling or influencing results. Offer consultations about how your offers fit current conditions plus customers’ goals & budgets.

Consultation Example: ‘Have you noticed (problem)? How long has it happened? Did you ever have to (task)? What have your results been so far? Do you have these tools? Based on how I understand your answers, the fastest option is __. You can finish in 8 hours with this kit. It costs __. You might have to replace (product 1) in 5 years because it isn’t as strong as (product 2). Your best option could take 12 hours of work. The kit includes (product 2) & costs __. The results are more effective for __ years. As you review the instructions, are you comfortable with these methods? Do you need tutorials? What would reassure you about this kind of project? What else should we talk about?’

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Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

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