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One of my favorite shows growing up was ABC's Wide World of Sports. I loved the introduction with the dramatic montage of clips (who can forget the poor ski jumper tumbling end over end?) over the catch-phrase narration describing the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat."

That quote could also sum up a number of marketing and sales careers, including yours truly. When I look back in time, one of the major problems I believe we all have suffered from is making our professions more difficult than they really should be. Too many sales meetings and "rah-rah" seminars, along with mixed messages on what we should be doing, continue to keep us self-evaluating our efforts and questioning our strategies.

It wasn't until I started to ask myself a few simple, but powerful questions that I gained the focus to stay on target for the goals I'm trying to achieve. The same approach and questions can work for you. Whether you're building a distributorship or seeking new clients, it's important to consistently ask yourself the following three questions.

Why would people buy from me?

This is the most important question you need to answer. Why? Because it's much more difficult to separate the commodity products you sell than it is to let buyers see the personal value of doing business with you.

Write down a list of the personal skills you have that you really believe bring value to prospective buyers. Think about your strengths and how they can be a benefit to others. Here are few examples of what this assignment should look like:
1. I'm a good communicator. I listen intently to the problems my customers are describing. My initial response is to first explain or even demonstrate solutions, not immediately go after the sale.
2. I'm respectful of people's time. I have a reason for my call or appointment. I have information on a product or service that will increase my customer's productivity saving them both time and money.
3. I know my products and how they will perform. I'm prepared to answer questions when needed about the safety, smell or performance of the products I'm presenting.
4. I can be trusted. I work diligently and I leave no doubt about my knowledge of the products. People have confidence in me and that confidence builds trust.

What makes my company different from the competition?

If you know what makes your company different -- tell people, and tell them often! Make sure to share the benefits of your uniqueness, not just the features. Some examples of this would be:
Feature: Same day delivery
Benefit: Helping you stay productive
Feature: 40 years in business Benefit: You can count on us to be here
Feature: Order online
Benefit: Order online -- day or night at your convenience

Too often brochures and other marketing materials list their features and not the benefit or "what's in it for me" to their audience. Capitalize on the differences between you and your competition, big or small. Everyone has their own set of needs that you might be tapping into.

Am I giving my prospective customers the right message?

Now that you know why people buy from you and what separates your distributorship from the competition, continue to feed your customers with information that fits their perception of you. If you dominate in equipment sales and service in your area, your newsletters, sales fliers, customer conversations and other marketing strategies should consistently identify you as the expert to call on for equipment.

If your customer can't think of a reason why they should pay more for your vacuum cleaner when they can buy it cheaper down the street, they haven't been getting the message.

When you are providing value through ongoing education and informational solutions to your customers' problems, cost will rarely be part of the discussion. But you have to work to receive the reward.

As you can see, these are three pretty simple questions. I ask these questions in my own business regularly. It's easy to get caught up in new products, trends and what everyone else is doing. But if you ask these questions often, you and your distributorship will experience the "thrill of victory" much more frequently.