Choosing When To Sell Your Product

Forums are highly underrated. They’re one of the oldest versions of online communities. It’s where tribes go to gather to talk about their interest, cause, or obsession. I spend a considerable amount of time on the Volkswagen / Audi forums (I’m a motorhead). Often times people are reviewing products or troubleshooting problems with their cars. If you’re honest and sincere it can be a good place to sell your products or in my case, be talked out of buying.

Here’s what happened: I was looking at buying an aftermarket part for my car. There was an entire post dedicated to this one part. People were raving about it. In this post, I noticed the head of the company that develops the product chime in. All I needed was him to confirm the high praise everyone was giving. He didn’t. In fact, he said we shouldn’t buy his product. He said it won’t give you the added horsepower unless your car has certain other factors accounted for. The company he represents sells other products. By not selling and being honest enhanced the quality I see in the brand.

The best sales advice I ever received is that you’re there to solve the customer’s problem. This was true when I sold construction products and later software products. It’s hard to maintain this mindset when you have sales quotas to meet but it’s worth trying. What would happen if you told a prospective customer why they shouldn’t buy? You’ll be surprised by the different kind of relationship that starts to build.

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