One of the best places on earth will be the barber shop. Although that wasn't always true during my long haired mid teen years, being a little kid I loved my barber. Bill was actually a great guy. He had enough sense at about the time I turned 10 to hear what I requested in the way of a haircut, and what my mother told him to accomplish. And for the most part both of us were happy with the results, although my mother had some abnormal obsession in me not having any bangs, but that is beside the point. In addition, it didn't hurt that he had one of those traditional coke machines and that i got any money to acquire a bottle of soda after my hair cut was done. Of course this was within the days if the family-run service station still ruled the countryside. And quickie marts and corporate monolith gas and grocery marts hadn't moved too far from the cities. - barbers in greenbelt md
Over time, my childhood barber scale back his hours. He had enjoyed a successful and long career and it was actually a one chair kind of shop in a small South Western Pennsylvania town. Eventually, I went off to school and when I came back he had retired completely. I needed to visit find a person else to cut my hair.
Since I Have enjoyed a few extra bucks inside my pocket, I used a few of the fancy salons. Sure that they had these wonderfulcandles and couches, and all these other luxurious services. All of these were nice, all of these were adding income and margin to their businesses however it wasn't why I showed up there to begin with. Not unlike plenty of customers in the world, I knew the things i wanted. I'd tune in to new ideas but after your day I needed a darn good idea of the things my problem was. In this instance my hair was getting long and shaggy and I have about three wicked cowlicks on the front of my head alone. Because of that, I'm the type of guy who knows how he wants his hair cut. I'm not trying to find a new style and color. If I'm trendy or cool, i don't care. I knew a few things i wanted, tried to communicate it clearly plus it never once translated directly into a repeatable output. They'd be too concerned with the art of their profession. It wasn't like I purchased an unsatisfactory haircut; I really didn't get the things i wanted. After a couple of years at places similar to this I went the chain haircut strip mall route.
There are chain hair cutting places around. They be expensive less than the fancy salons. Rather than overstuffed couches, there are plastic chairs within the waiting area. Again all I wanted was a good haircut done my way, although the list of additional services was limited. Sadly, despite being simple to find, plentiful and well priced, the quality of their work was hit or miss. Not knowing what outcome to expect is simply frustrating and it doesn't make for good customer service, as a customer. I really could never get the same person twice consecutively. There was no consistency. The poor kids cutting hair there have been new. New isn't exactly bad. But while they experienced a license to hold on the wall, most had just finished school previously few years. There's no problem with being new, all of us have been at some time or any other. Like a lot of people who have just finished school, that they had the essential concept of how to proceed however they were missing the experience of methods to refine things. There is not a mentor there to help them as you go along. No person truly skilled, that may offer insight and an experienced perspective.
Eventually, I ended up within a little old barbershop with 3 guys cutting hair within it. Two old guys as well as the "new guy". In this instance, the new guy was one of many other guy's sons and that he was cutting hair for 22 years. Sure I wasn't out in the united states anymore. And by the standards of my childhood barber shop it had been huge. In the end, there was three barber's chairs. Even new guy had experience and had with time come into his own. Not that his original mentors didn't still tell him what he was doing wrong. Over time he had developed his own perspective and was the one I waited for over and over.
So what does any of this have to do with business and selling? If you look at it right, everything. Was the $60.00 hair cut six times a lot better than the $10.00 one? No! Because it wasn't what I wanted, price alone didn't make it better. Had any of the people as you go along given me the things i wanted and not the things they thought I needed, I'd be paying reduced for service. In addition, i probably might have bought to the other high margin things every once in awhile as you go along. Were the strip mall $10.00 haircuts equal to the $10.00 barber shop cuts? No! Even though the price was exactly the same, the client experience as well as the quality varied greatly.
Instead, I discovered someone who listened and did what I asked. Even if you ask what your customers want have you been really hearing the things they are saying? Or are you hearing it out of your perspective and neglecting to meet their demands? If you'd only listen to them and truly work to meet their needs and solve their problems then there is more business to be had than you would have ever imagined, odds are there are a lot of corporate buyers and business owners saying what they want and. This isn't about fancy questions or dazzling sales moves. It's about asking a few pre-determined questions, knowing the person you're speaking with along with their real needs. Only after taking all of that in could you apply your knowledge, perspective and expertise to make a good outcome on their behalf.
So, when I moved 5 states over a few years back and had to give up my barber yet again, I went about things differently. I drove beyond the half a dozen newly sprouted chain places, past the ornate and glamorous ode's to beauty that have been very popular and located a basic little old shop in the center of town with three old chairs and three barbers. In the past, it fit my needs which one did too. Your prospects are no different. Sure along the way there will always be the temptation to try something different, but most people won't do that unless what they have isn't really what they want and need.
That didn't matter because they cut my hair right and delivered that same predictable result time after time, although back in the barber shop I was the only guy under 50 in the place the first few times. Ultimately as more new people transferred to my town the average customer age came down, thus they may have guys just like me who will hopefully still be needing haircuts long after the youngest barber retires. Recently they raised the price from $11.00 to $13.00, but as far I'm concerned it could have gone to $20 and I wouldn't have flinched. They are giving exactly the same great service and also the same predictable quality each time I'm there. As a matter of fact, i've sent at least six guys there who are now regulars. Even though you're not obviously in sales there is nothing that can compare with referrals.
And when you're not listening you'd better start before they find someone else who does. - barbers in greenbelt md