Well, the year is coming to a close, and as it usually happens, people are reflecting back on the past year’s high points and low points. Most people will look back and see a combination of both. Sales and marketing teams look at numbers, trends and sales figures to determine the success or failures of the past year.
There are a number of factors that determine which side of the success fence you end up on. An article on hot products for the past year, “New Products that Triumphed—Or Flopped—in 2012,” in Forbes, Inc., highlighted nine products that were the best and worst of 2012. You may have heard of or used these products. Aside from the products themselves, the sales concepts behind them have applications to success and failure in the sales business. Whether you’re currently in a job search for your first (or next) great sales position or a seasoned professional, there are some interesting tips from these examples on what can make you successful in 2013.
1. Talking Elmo. Elmo is already one of the most beloved characters on Sesame Street. But this new version is cute and talks and laughs. Strive to be a personable, charismatic sales professional and then add to it. How can you increase your knowledge, value or services to your customers? Add new features or services every year to increase your business.
2. Choose partnerships carefully. Adding new staff to the sales team or new product lines can work both ways. Target and Neiman Marcus forged a partnership that bombed. Sales were disappointing. The logic of joining two disparate retail lines just didn’t click with consumers. Don’t confuse prospects with products or services that don’t make sense.
3. Low-Cal Slurpees. When your customers come in for roller-food hot dogs, honey buns and 64 oz. cokes, who thought they would choose a Splenda-sweetened Slurpee? But 7-Eleven hit it big with their three best-selling flavors of Slurpee-Lite drinks, which account for 50% of Slurpee’s growth. Know your customers and keep up with trends. People stop in to the 7-Eleven for water and energy drinks as well. You can grow your business by expanding to meet the needs of new and existing customers.
4. Yoplait Vivant. What do you get when you mix popular yogurt with fruit flavors, green tea and b-vitamins? Sales of this product were disappointing. Each ingredient has value and can stand on its own. Are you a generalist or an expert in a niche market? Find your area of interest and develop your reputation as an expert.
5. Ultrabooks. The super-fast, lightweight, thin notebooks were supposed to revive the PC industry, but sales fell far short of expectations. Consumers have moved on to digital, hand-held devices like the IPad, Kindle and Smartphone. Your 20 years of experience and lots of sales awards are no substitute for keeping up with trends in sales marketing, technology and communications. Can text message your clients and prospects and send information over your Smartphone? The days of voicemail and email may soon go the way of answering machines and pagers. To succeed in the future you have to become part of it.
There were other hits and misses. You can learn your own, personalized lessons from last year’s successes and failures. The “misses” often teach more than the successes. The value in retrospection is learning what not to do in the future. No one likes to admit to failure and poor judgment. Hanging on to a poor sales technique, presentation or networking strategy will get you the same disappointing results. Making some changes or embracing new technology can set you up for success in the New Year.
Photo Source: Freedigitalphotos.net
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