Turn Consumer Trends Into Sales Tips You Can Use
Last week, I shared a visionary document released by Ford Motor Company. The article, based on the results of multiple surveys, includes candid discussions of modern trends, and how Ford is responding to those trends. I passed them along, thinking they had major implications far beyond the automobile manufacturing business. In the process, I added sales tips that might take advantage of each trend.
So many found it interesting, that I’ve decided to start a short series of posts in which I go into a little more detail on each of the trends, the sales tips mentioned, and how I think those trends might affect you now or in the very near future. Here, in part one, I’d like to talk about an element that, for many people, is more valuable than money; time, and how people are choosing to spend it these days.
Time is Worth What You Spend It On
Every skilled salesperson knows that the better you understand what your prospect really cares about, the more likely you are to win his or her business. So it’s important to understand what people today think about time, and using it productively. The results of Ford’s survey were very interesting.
Traditional thinking would equate productivity with “nose to the grindstone” effort on the job, and efficient management of household tasks and other responsibilities. And how many of us (especially those of us who are parents) have said something like “get up, you’re sleeping your life away” or “quit wasting time on the internet and get off social media for a while.” But Ford found that people look at things a little differently today. In fact, 72% of adults globally say they define “wasting time” differently than they did in the past.
Specifically,
- 57% of adults globally consider “sleeping” to be a productive use of time
- 54% feel the same way about “surfing the internet”
- More than a third of all adults think reading fiction and watching TV qualify as productive
Sales Tips on Closing Deals: Talk About Time
What does this trend mean to sales organizations? Why does it matter what your client or prospect considers being a productive use of time? Well, in Ford’s case, they saw an opportunity to help make people’s commute time more productive with their Smart Mobility efforts. These include connectivity solutions that allow drivers to safely make better use of time “wasted” in traffic jams. The program also includes Ford’s work on autonomous cars and advanced parking software solutions and systems that should help shorten and simplify the total commuter experience.
For your business, it might simply remind you to highlight the time your solutions will save your prospects, and let them decide how best to use it. It could, of course, allow them to increase efficiency and pack more projects into a workday. But they might rather picture it helping them end that workday sooner and get home to family, television, or—yes—more sleep! Their idea of “living the good life” may differ from yours; if you listen closely, you maybe be able to frame your sales message – and your product’s benefits – in a way that’s more meaningful to them.
Time … to Call Superior Business Solutions
Time is what most of our advanced technologies offer our clients. Management doesn’t have to invest hours of time and energy getting major, one-off projects printed. Our e(3c) print management and eProcurement Technology does it for them. Downstream employees don’t have to waste time and duplicate efforts when ordering common business forms, because our “Corporate Kiosk™ has the right forms (pre-approved for use) ready for simple online ordering.
However you value time, why would you pass up an opportunity to get more of it? For sales tips that will help your sales team succeed, contact us today and ask for a free 15 minute sales enablement review.
