Sellers Need A Lesson

Garth Beyer

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I went to purchase a motorcycle over the weekend. While I wasn’t as knowledgable as the salesman at the motorsports store, I knew as much about the specific bike that I wanted as he did. Because I researched it and knew as much as him, he couldn’t upsell it.

The flaw with knowledge equilibrium between salesperson and customer is that the only connection remaining is price. There is nothing he can say to make me purchase the product other than giving me a number I want.

The catch is that if a customers knows more, they will pay less.

Dealers of all kinds need to spend the morning before work reviewing what has been posted online. The beauty about information when it comes to selling is that if the motorcycle salesman were to know as much as me, but told me they just read something about the bike online earlier that morning, I would certainly be more interested.

At the most simple form, it just shows the salesperson cares about the product, not just about selling it to anyone without half a mind to research before making a purchase.*

 

Stay Positive & Consider Buying Privately

Garth E. Beyer

*The internet is now the salesman. While there are still people with that title, their duties are much different. They are there to make a connection, show they care (about the product and you), and be the liaison of trust.

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Hoarders

Garth Beyer

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I have a great idea for a television show. It’s going to center on the life of hoarders.

Not any hoarders though. A special kind of hoarders, the worst kind, actually. (Yes, I’m well aware there is a show called hoarders that is centered on the life of hoarders.)

See, the type of hoarders who pose in the current television show and keep everything they touch, they are fighting the psychological battle of either holding on to the past or the concern of needing something for the future.

The type of hoarders I want to film are those who keep all of their art to themselves.

Those who have composed hundreds of songs but stick the sheets of music in the attic.

The types of hoarders that have 14 manuscripts tucked in the back of a drawer, telling themselves they need to be edited again before they are brought to a publisher.

The hoarder whose basement is filled with incredible knickknacks that no one will ever see. Or the hoarder who has a room filled with colorful handmade glassware, not for sale.

These are the hoarders with the serious problems. It’s one thing to be attached to a material item, it’s another to refuse letting anyone be attached to your material item, your art.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Be A Selfish Artist

Garth E. Beyer

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Success Isn’t Fashionable

Garth Beyer

Success is always late. It shows up in the after hours. It arrives after the party. It reveals itself when you’re run down and ready to call it quits. It shows up to those who stay up late but aren’t night owls.

Success will show up, but always long after you think it will.

 

Stay Positive & Success Isn’t Fashionable, Thus Never Fashionably Late

Garth E. Beyer

There Will Always Be A Place For Them

Garth Beyer

Businesses that price high and skip connecting with their customers will be sticking around.

People are gullible, they want the credibility that a well-known business has over private owners, no matter how exciting it is to interact with private owners.

My advice, when making a purchase of any sort (a motorcycle for example?), visit the businesses that overprice their material first. Get a feel for the product and ask the technical questions, then leave to visit a private owner.

That way you are more knowledgeable about the product and will see how much of a price difference people sacrifice to have the (illusive) credibility that a big business offers.

Buy from those who sell, not from those who manipulate.

Oh, and the best price comes from those who care about what they are selling, not just about selling it.

 

Stay Positive & Go Personal

Garth E. Beyer

Earlier The Better

Garth Beyer

I took the bus today and asked the driver if the bus he was standing by was the bus to Rockford. Without looking at me, he said, “yea, we’re just waiting on a passenger to get seated.” Now I’m on the bus waiting for it to take off and I’m nervous that I’m on the wrong bus. I don’t have trust in the driver.

Not because I think he’s lying but because he didnt’ convince me, he didn’t make it personal, and he didn’t take the time or attention that a passenger (equally, a customer) deserves.

I paid for the ride, but I also paid to be assured I would reach the destination I need to in the time I need to. It just so happens that I wasn’t.

Update: 20 minutes into the ride and he just got on the speaker to make an announcement for where we will be going, thanking us for being passengers, and filling us in on what we need to know while riding (safety procedures).

My question is: why not make the connection before a passenger gets in, not after?

I sat with slight anxiety thinking this may turn into more of an adventure than I had planned. While I have that attitude, many do not. When you have customers paying for you to keep your promise, it’s better to show them that you’re keeping it as early as possible. Saves them worry, anxiety, and nervousness (no matter how little).

 

Stay Positive & If You’re Customer Is Early, You Better Be Too

Garth E. Beyer