I was recently flipping channels on my TV when I stopped for a moment on the Discovery channel. What caught my eye was a spark. It was a spark from a rock being struck by another rock to produce fire. After a few bangs of the rocks, a spark started some tinder, and with a few breaths of air blown across it, there was fire.

It occurred to me that this seems to relate to any selling situation. We have showrooms that may be the tinder of our fire. We have knowledge that may be the breath of air to turn the ember in the tinder into flame. My question, then, is, what is our spark?

I generally feel there is a point in the selling process where you just know the customer wants to buy from you. It’s like coming out of the morning fog of doubt and clearly seeing the sun on the horizon. You sense you and the prospect are on the same side, a team working toward the best result for their project. If there’s one word to define that moment, it’s trust.

I believe the spark we are looking for is that trust. The challenge is, how do we create that spark? What tools do we have to give us the results of the two rocks banging together? This month, I want to explore with you what tools we have available to make that trust a reality.

Differentiation

I understand how we can look at our competitors’ businesses and get the feeling we are so different, there is little in common between them and us. At the same time, a customer looking for our products and services often sees us as being more alike than different from our competitors, having similar products and services and presenting them in
a very similar way.

The customer expects the quality investment relationship we call value to be available from everyone selling products to satisfy their needs. The prospect believes all vendors do (or should) give appropriate customer service.

Thus, when clients begin their hunt for a design professional, the kitchen and bath professional doesn’t look much different than the big box stores. If anything, they most likely feel the big box store will be less expensive. However, they may also harbor some doubts as to what they may be missing out on by not trying the kitchen and bath specialty store.

I believe both the big box store and the kitchen and bath dealer have sparks, it just depends which one turns them into a fire for the prospect. However, many big box stores cannot provide the kind of direct contact and personal service that can spark the trust essential for making the sale.