Sell Your Customers What They Want

Sales are slow. You can blame the economy, or the fact that your location stinks. But maybe the real problem is that you are not selling what people want.

You can enormously increase your profits by doing one simple thing: sell more of what customers want to buy. It is a simple concept, but for it to work, you have to have a system to track sales. Mass-merchants like Wal-Mart and Target have made phenomenal profits by implementing systems that integrate sales and inventory. Let's say a Target store receives a shipment of 24 shirts in the following colors:

Six red
Six blue
Six green
Six white

At the end of one week, the store sells six green shirts, four red shirts, one blue shirt, and one white shirt. An automatic restocking order is then generated for the following:

10 green shirts
2 red shirts
0 blue shirts
0 white shirts

Most stores would only replace what is sold. Target's system increases the par level for hot products, and reduces the par level for slow sellers. It doesn't hurt that they have amazing software that re-orders automatically.

Very few small-business people can afford to implement a system similar to Target’s. However, you can still track what people are buying. Systemize your inventory and purchasing system. Eliminate your slow selling products and increase the fast moving ones.

Customers often have no clue why they make purchases, but even the smallest nuance in a product can result in a sale. Analyze your sales. You may have a line of products that amounts to 20% of your inventory but accounts for 40% of your sales. Increase that line and decrease a slower selling line.

Ten years ago, a local business owner started selling pipes, bongs, novelties, and a small line of T-shirts. The T-shirts were unique and sold very well. She kept increasing the clothing line and decreasing the main line of products she started with. Today, this store is extremely profitable and 90% of the products sold are clothing and shoes. She recently opened a second store with only the clothing and shoes.

Start reaping the benefits of selling what people want. The easiest sale you can make is when a customer chooses a product simply because he desires it. Satisfy your customers' desires and watch your profits skyrocket.

"We don't like to be sold, we love to buy."
Jeffrey Gitomer