Do you know what you sell?
Do your leaders know what you sell?
Do your customer-contact employees know what you sell?
You may find these to be odd questions, but the more I ask the more I am stunned at the answers. The CEO of a financial organization tells me doesn't know how many products his organization offers customers, let alone have the ability to name them. How can this be? In this case, they offer 78 different products and services and not a single employee knows them all or what they do. If you can't name them how can you ever sell them?
Simplify
There is no need to offer so many products and services your employees can't even keep track of them all. Only offer those products you can excel at, sell and properly deliver to your customers. The most common response I hear to this point is "But we need to continue to offer everything." The fact is, if no one knows how to sell them or even name them, you are not offering them.
Pick the ten most important products you offer. Create a list of the most profitable products you offer. Now create a list of the ten most sold products of the last year. How do these lists compare? Are you selling the right things? Do your employees know enough to sell the products you want them selling? Are you focusing on the profitable products or on those products that are just the easiest to sell?
Somewhere along the line companies thought it was a good strategy to offer everything they could think of to the customer. Employees are not capable of learning the features and benefits of 78 different products and staying current on all of them. To expect that effort for the compensation they are receiving is just plain unrealistic.
Make it simple for customer and employees. Sell the products you know and can profit from and avoid the comparison of whose list is longer. Know your stuff, know how to sell it and make profit from it. Simple.
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