Consumers today have more options to buy a product or service than ever before. But having too many options often causes more problems than it solves. When there is saturation, selling a product or service must take a different approach. Everyone sells something. A product or a service. We do it all the time and not even realize it. When you go to a job interview, you are selling yourself... your skills. Even when you are playing the role of a consumer and are buying something, like a car, you are selling something to the actual seller to negotiate a better price. All and all, you are always selling something.

Sometimes, you are selling the product to yourself. This applies when you are trying to justify the purchase of a high priced ticket item. Justification is really the key to selling. It is that last example I used, When you are trying to convince yourself there is a need. Professionals use this all the time when selling. This is why some are more successful than others.

While some try to sell a product or service, others sell you solutions. What this product or service has to offer. The best example I can use is within my field of website design. There are countless website designers and developers out there. Bargains can be had. And you can save even more when you outsource the work overseas. Individuals are now even able to build their own website with some do it yourself website hosting companies. So selling a website is not as easy as it once was. It is no longer based on who can offer you the best price. The attention is slowly shifting to who can offer the better service. And price is sometimes not even the determining factor.

Case in point? Sites like Weebly and Wix offer do it yourself solutions at amazing deals. But notice they are actually selling a solution. They are selling new businesses and small companies with limited budgets a solution to having a website presence for pennies on the dollar. And yet, there are still countless agencies offering websites at premium prices. Why? because those offer a different kind of solution.

I have always felt that educating the customer is also part of providing a solution. Many times they are not exactly sure what a website really is. Today I still educate my clients. Which is why I still manage clients I acquired back in 2003. When you can retain a client for 15 years, it says a lot about you. Selling solutions instead of a service or even a product is a very good approach because it offers more value. While there are still clients who tend to look at services or goods based on cost alone, many are recognizing that value is more important.  The way they approach value is by seeing significant return on their investments, even if it means spending more. This is why you can get websites ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, despite the fact that they are very much identical in features. The key is how you market the site. 

So when you want a leg up on the competition, focus on selling solutions instead of services or goods. Find out what the client's pain points are and sell them a solution to that pain point. You will be surprised at how effective this concept truly is.