The beauty of the Strategy of Preeminence is that it applies to any business, whether you‘re selling life insurance or you own a hardware store. The steps you must take always remain the same. You must first identify what your client really needs, even if your client doesn‘t recognize what it is he or she needs. The client may think that a particular item is what he or she is searching for, but if you probe a bit you might see that an entirely different solution will solve your client‘s problem, maybe even a less expensive solution. Now you have become more than a salesperson. You‘ve become an adviser. You‘ve begun the process of winning trust and, ultimately, additional business from your client. This approach to business may seem pretty obvious to you.
But you‘d be amazed at how few people in business understand this very basic concept. It‘s hard for them to understand that what they really are selling is solutions to problems, not merchandise. And it‘s hard for them to see that selling a person what he or she needs versus what they have to sell will set them apart from the pack and result in repeat business and referral business.