Selling a Product Vs. Selling a Service
In the world of business, you sell either products or services and both of them have advantages to businesses. While either option provides you with the opportunity to make a profit, selling services is very different from selling products. If you approach the process of selling services just like you do products, results could suffer.
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Tangible vs. Intangible
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One of the key differences between selling products and services is that products are tangible while services are not. When you try to sell a product to a customer, you have the option of showing the customer a physical item to look at and touch. The product can be demonstrated and the customer can make a decision based on this. With a service, you must explain it to the customer and will not be able to show how it works.
Time Constraints
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Another difference between products and services is that services are tied to time constraints. When selling products, you could potentially sell an unlimited number of items because you can simply order more as needed. With services, you have a limited amount of time to sell. Your contractors can only do so much work in a day. When selling, you must be mindful of this fact. Otherwise, you might end up selling more than you have to offer.
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Proximity
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Another issue that comes up when selling products and services is proximity. When selling a product, you do not have to be located close to the customer. You potentially could ship a product anywhere in the world, depending on the size of the item. With services, you have to be located close enough to deliver the service. Depending on what type of service this is, you could be limited to a small geographic area.
Comparison
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When you are selling products, your customers can easily compare them to other products. For example, when buying new flooring, customers easily can compare price and the looks of the flooring before making a decision. When it comes to services, they are not as easily compared. The same customer might not be able to compare the installation packages of different companies. He does not know how good a job the installer for each company could do.
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