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WEEK 15
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Turn Problems into Opportunities 65 identifying problems, you can discover lucrative business opportu- nities, so keep your eyes and ears open.
Some of my most innovative ideas have developed out of prob- lems I faced. I was one of the first real estate agents in the country to implement a team-based approach to selling real estate. I knew I had a problem—I hated answering phones, taking messages, and filling out paperwork—so I decided to solve the problem by hiring and training assistants to handle these tasks for me. As a result, I not only grew my business through team-building, but I was also able to parlay my good fortune into speaking engagements, coaching sessions, and book deals. I recently co-authored a book on teams with RISMedia founder and CEO John Featherston, titled Power Teams: The Complete Guide to Building and Managing a Winning Real Estate Agent Team.
When I set my goal to sell 300 homes in a year, I had a problem—I could not possibly show homes to enough couples to sell that many in a year. To solve the problem, I started driving two, three, and four couples around at a time to show them homes. I could quadruple my production simply by purchasing a larger vehicle and having assistants handle the increased paperwork.
I am not a skilled writer. As someone who wants to write books, that’s a problem, so I have partnered with professional writers to co-author nearly a dozen books.
Recently, I became involved with a company called Face to Face Live (www.f2fl.com) that specializes in providing high-quality videoconferencing systems. Videoconferencing has been around since the 1960s but never really has taken off; it never has received what I would consider The Jetsons status. Recently, however, the popularity of videoconferencing has begun to boom. Part of this is due to the fact that the technology is much better and more afford- able, but I think that the growing popularity of videoconferencing is primarily due to problems. With airline travel becoming more costly, more complicated, and riskier, companies can save loads of money and increase production by videoconferencing rather than having personnel fly back and forth.
BECOME A PROBLEM SOLVER
Most of your clients have problems. This is why they need you. As a salesperson, you are primarily a problem solver, so listen carefully
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66 52 Weeks of Sales Success
when your clients begin to complain about something—you might just hear about a new golden opportunity.
If you sell cars and a client shows up complaining that the SUV she is driving is a gas hog, you have just identified the client’s problem and have a golden opportunity to sell her a brand new vehicle that is stingy on gas.
If you are a real estate agent and hear a couple complaining of having too little room for their growing family, you have just identified the client’s problem and have a golden opportunity to sell them a larger home (as well as listing their home for them).
If you discover that you are turning away prospective clients because they simply cannot afford your products and services, they have a problem you can solve. Look into providing the clients with financing. In addition to making your products more affordable, a finance department can become another source of revenue for you.
Take a lesson from Best Buy. The company was selling gobs of computers and software, but many of its clients were having trouble keeping their systems up and running, connecting to the Internet, and networking two or more computers. Best Buy recognized these problems and launched its Geek Squad—a new revenue generator that does house calls to provide onsite technical support and service.
In addition to generating more revenue for the company through fees for service calls, the Geek Squad also boosts sales of computer gear, software, and accessories and advertises Best Buy through its fleet of distinctive VW Beetles.
LOOK FOR PROBLEMS IN YOUR OWN BUSINESS, TOO In addition to assisting your clients in solving their problems, keep a close watch for trouble in your own business. Listen to other sales reps in your office, other people in your company, your assistants, and other team members. These folks are often closer to problems than you are and can tell you about times when they themselves or the company’s clients have encountered problems.
If you notice a problem in your company, other companies that are similar to yours are probably experiencing the same problem.
This could be a revenue-generating opportunity that enables you to charge other companies a fee for solving this problem for them or an opportunity to establish goodwill in your business community by sharing your solution to the problem.
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Turn Problems into Opportunities 67
Ralph’s Rule: Look at problems as opportunities, and you will have a never-ending supply of opportunities. If you can invent a solution to an age-old problem, you place yourself in a unique position to corner the market.
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