Sales Training From Amazon

Because of the date of the announcement, it seemed like an April Fools joke. But Amazon was serious… and inspired.

Photo: Amazon

Amazon Dash is a pack-of-gum-sized button with an adhesive strip. It connects to your Amazon mobile app, and allows you to order a pre-chosen product in a predetermined quantity, just by pushing a button. While it might seem to be a solution to a problem we don’t actually have, the genius of Dash is that it makes doing business with Amazon significantly easier.

How much easier? As Mary Nahorniak of USA Today explains:

Parents, imagine changing a dirty diaper at 2 a.m. and realizing you’re dangerously low on diapers. You may already use Amazon services to get a pallet (yep, buy enough of them, and they come in pallets) of diapers at regular intervals. But if you don’t already subscribe, or you’re going through them faster than you planned, all you have to do is hit the Dash button on the changing table when you notice there are only a few left, and they’ll be on your doorstep in two days. No further thought or energy required.

Sure, it’s not that hard to pull out your phone, open the Amazon app, search for the item, add it to your cart and check out — but that’s already four more steps than simply pushing a single, physical button. And that’s assuming you’re already an Amazon member with your credit card information and address saved — if not, add “hunting down your wallet” to the list of steps. If you’re not already an Amazon customer or ordering from another online service, you’re headed for the store, a trip you might not have otherwise been making.

I will let others ponder the significance, positive or negative, of this development (although I share Ian Crouch‘s disappointment that there is no Cheetos button). 

As a sales trainer, I look for sales lessons, and there’s one here. Amazon Dash gives us a dandy question to ask: how can we make it easier for our customers to do business with us?

[bctt tweet=”When you deliver a bound proposal, give the client an extra, loose copy of the signature page.”]

Sales Tip
3 Ways for Media Salespeople to Make It Easier

1.  Make it easier to sign. Kimberly Alexandre of the Center For Sales Strategy laments that many proposals don’t have an obvious place to sign, and recommends making sure there’s a dotted line. Great advice, but I’ll go her one better: When you deliver a bound proposal, give the client an extra, loose copy of the signature page. That way they don’t have to tear the whole thing apart to give you the John Hancock.

2. Make it easier to communicate. Listen to your voice mail messages before returning a client’s call. Seriously. Many clients over 40 (and that’s likely most of yours) still leave messages because they want you to hear them. Getting a return call from an AE who hasn’t bothered to listen forces them to repeat the whole thing. They don’t like this.

3. Make it easier to decide. Skip the “Good, Better, Best” 3-option proposal and give the prospect one well-thought-out recommendation. As Jill Konrath points out, “the more decisions a prospect has to make, the tougher it is to get them to move.” Your overwhelmed, time-deprived clients will appreciate the fact that you did the thinking for them.

These are small steps, but little hinges can swing big doors.

Question: What are some ways you’ve made it easier for your customers to buy from you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

h/t pdxknitterati