Short Story, Big Picture: Don’t be a Pitch, Be the Solution
One of my favorite activities in kindergarten was “Show and Tell.” Boasting about what I had to show was great for me, but it left the class further disconnected from me. Why do we continue the same operation when we are trying to sell to a client? Are we trying to make a connection or just make the sale to please our bottom line?
Today’s Short Story is a piece to help you achieve your long-term goals, aka the Big Picture.
We can evolve our sales processes to make our clients like us so much that we could show them anything and they would buy it. Let’s be someone they look forward to talking with, not someone they have to mentally prepare for, ya know?
Below are some ways we can achieve that:
Strategic Partner, Not the Vendor
A vendor provides a product. A partner helps you reach your goals. Clients remember vendors when they need a reorder; they keep partners around because they create business value beyond the sale. You can accomplish this by bringing fresh ideas, offer solutions even if they don’t directly benefit you, or by being proactive.
End goal: they should see you as part of their team, not a line item in their budget.
Offerings Around Outcomes, Not Features
Too often, distributors lead with product features: “This is the color you were looking for,” or “Look, it has Bluetooth and it’s a water bottle.” But features don’t sell, outcomes do. Clients want to know what problem you’ll solve or what success you’ll create. Start with the “why”, quantify the benefit, and use stories or case studies.
Key phrase shift:
From: “the product has…”
To: “here’s the result you can expect…”
Long-Term Relationships, Not One-Off Orders
Most distributors focus on closing the sale, but client retention and lifetime value often matter more than the initial deal. When you focus on long-term success, you naturally build trust, repeat business, and referrals. Develop an SOP that adds: checking in regularly, creating value between transactions, celebrating milestones, and Asking for Feedback.
Focus: When clients feel like you’re invested in their success over time, they become loyal advocates for your business.
We, as promotional products professionals, are so much more than the products that we have access to.
Leave that suitcase at home, stop the “show up and throw up” tactic, and become a valued member of their brand.