Why Do You Sell What You Sell?

When I ask this question of my clients and their executives, I see a few blank stares. I get a moment of two of silence and then I hear generic justifications. I don’t want justifications, I want you to look at your product and service line and one by one explain why these items are being offered to your customers.

This exercise should cause other questions to be raised. Such as:

When did we start offering this and why?

How does this product or service fit with our future direction?

Is this a profitable product or actually a drain of resources?

How well do we sell this?

How well can our front line staff explain the features and benefits?

What percentage of our customers actually use this product or service?

Do we want more customers using this product?

If yes, how do we make that happen? If no, why are we still offering it?

Sometimes in the evolution of a company, products should be dropped and new ones added. I see many companies holding on to products because back in 1982 it was a hit and some of the board members or managers remember those days. That product may no longer apply to the markets you are currently going after.

There is no advantage to offering everything. Strategically, it is much better to offer fewer products and services you do extremely well than to divide your efforts too thinly across areas with minimal return.

One client doing this exercise realized of the 80 products and services they were offering, only about 35 really were of benefit to enough customers that made them justifiable to keep.

Streamlining your products and services not only help your focus, but makes it easier for your front-line employees to be better acquainted with what you are offering so they can more comfortably sell it to help those who need them.