In business, it’s not the sale that is the reward, it’s the people!

Yes, I know that sounds crazy. I mean after all, you have a business to make money right? True, you do need to make money to survive over the long term but money is not the corner stone of business: people are.
Last night I set up my little shop at the Farmers Market in Los Altos. In my planning for the market, I was excited as this is always a good market for me. The customers are wonderful and I do pretty good in sales. Well, sometimes what we plan to happen doesn’t manifest itself in the way we think we want it to at the time. I was very pleased with all of the visitors coming by to see and sample products. I remember thinking of how the number of people coming in was even a little more than what I had before, so this is a good sign. The customer traffic was very good.
We had great conversations about what is a butter and what is a lotion. We chatted about different carrier oils and the ones I use. We talked about different skin issues and scent blends. As the night progressed I noticed something peculiar, I hadn’t sold one item! Not even a bath bomb or a tub tea (great for using with your clothes in the dryer). All these conversations and all the wonderful positive comments from the visitors about the product quality, scent, look, and feel; still no sale. Oh dear!
I began to worry that I had done something wrong. Of course I began to wonder all kinds of things. Some were serious considerations and some very silly. Did my products have value to the shoppers? Was my packaging not attractive? Did the display not attract people? Is my hair wrong? Is it because I didn’t pluck my eyebrows? Of course I know from experience that my product does have value to the customers. They feedback to me all the time even though they may not have the time to rate the product on the website, they like to tell me in person. There is not an event that goes by when I don’t hear great reviews about my packaging. Of course the display is attractive to people as is evident by the number of visitors I get. I am certain the customers do not look that close to my eyebrows and as long as my hair is neat, I don’t think that matters much to them.
So why aren’t they buying? Well it is a simple answer. Because they don’t need soap or skin care products right now and they don’t need a gift at the moment. So rather than focus on the instant revenue, I focus instead on all of the things that will have them come back to shop when they are ready. Taking the time to listen to them and talk with them about their cares, concerns, and interests. Having genuine conversations with the people who come by to see me. Or simply being still while they enjoy the scents and the feel of the products they can try. Of course, it is equally important that I provide a good quality product that I am proud to stand behind.
By the end of the night I was able to make a couple of sales, some new customers and some returning ones. It was a rich event, not because of the money but because of the people I met, all of the great feedback they gave me, and the many interesting conversations we had.