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What Can AV Pros Learn From A Shoe Store?

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I’ve said before that a successful business is nothing more than “selling stuff to people.”

But there are many ways to go about doing that, and by far the most effective is building lasting relationships, and the best way to do that is to take care of people’s needs and wants, and make them feel good about being taken care of. Here’s a story whose lessons can be applied to your own business:

Last week I needed new dress shoes. Not far from where I live is a family owned shoe store that is a fixture in the community. I’ve shopped there before, and I returned because I know that not only do the stock quality brands, but their level of service and expertise is high.

The store was busy when I walked in on Monday morning, and I ended up being helped by the owner himself.

Two things were immediately noteworthy in our interaction. The first was that he correctly identified the make and model of the shoes I was wearing, and he actually listened when I told him what I was looking for, and after measuring my feet brought out several choices that related to what I wanted.

The third thing that was noteworthy occurred to me afterwards. Because the focus was entirely centered on meeting my needs and wants: new shoes that were both comfortable and stylish the discussion stayed focused on which pair I liked most, and why I liked them.

Because of that, the selling price never came up.

It never came up, because as a customer, I found something I wanted that made my happy.

In that same state of mind, when we went up to the counter to pay, I spied a display of wallets.

They were very nice wallets.

And since my old wallet was starting to look worse-for-wear I examined these very nice, luxurious wallets and after selecting one that I found particularly appealing, impulse purchased a new wallet in addition to my new shoes.

It wasn’t until I got home that I even looked at my receipt. I knew that my shoes were going to be expensive. If I wasn’t willing to buy expensive shoes I would have gone to a big box store like Payless.

What I didn’t know was that I just paid ninety dollars for a wallet.

I just spent a lot of money on shoes and a wallet, and feel good about it almost entirely because of the owner’s commitment to offering quality products, taking care of people and making them happy.

So, what have you done lately that makes your customers feel good about giving you money?

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