When I ask most people what business they are in, the answer will be: manufacturing, advertising, software or some other type of business. But this isn’t the right answer.
I was talking to a successful business person recently and when I commented about what business I thought he was in, he completely understood. Successful people usually do understand. So before I tell you what business you are in, ask yourself: What business am I in? Hold that thought in your mind for a moment.
Now here is the answer that is going to help you be successful. You are in the people business. What you sell is relationships. Your product or service is whatever your company does.
The reason you are in the people business is that everything in this world revolves around people. If you understand people, if you know how to meet their needs, if you know how to get along with them, you can be in any business and be successful.
What you sell is relationships. The stronger you develop relationships with people, the more successful your business will be whether they are employees, bankers, accountants, vendors, customers or anyone else you do business with. You must develop a relationship based on mutual benefit and trust.
Finally, you sell what you sell. But it goes deeper than that. Do you really understand what you sell? Do you know what it costs you? Do you know why you are better than the competition? Do you know why someone should do business with you? Do you understand why someone would want to work for you or stay employed by you for a long period of time? Why do your customers want to buy your product? What benefit is it to them?
By thinking these concepts through, you’ll have a better understanding of your business. The more you understand, the better your business will be.