Are you listening to the answers?

Asking questions conveys a message to your customers that you care about their needs. Asking the right questions can be the determining factor of whether you or your competitor gets the sale.

People commonly will pay more for goods and services to do business with someone that cares enough to focus on their needs. Be aware of the importance of comfortable sleep to one's health and quality of life and understand the significance of your influence in the process of buying and selling a mattress set.

With more than twenty years of first hand experience, I have seen the incrementally increasing problem that the current warranty "system" has created. Unfortunately it seems that there has been a tolerance or acceptance of the problem, written off as the "cost of doing business." But, consider the analogy of boiling a frog alive by gradually heating up the water. Well, the water is starting to boil and we are being cooked.

Warranties have not always been such a problem, so what happened? I believe these are some of the significant contributing factors.

"You don't need any mattresses today do you?" has been replaced by "Let's take a look at your GMROI an then plan out our next six months of promotions."

WOW! That's professionalism, and it is just part of a relationship that can be found between many bedding manufacturers and their retailer partners.

I believe one of the biggest influences on the bedding industry is what I call the Needs vs. Wants Phenomenon. (Note: I have revised this to the Needs vs. Wants Paradox, because it is hardly a phenomenon, it is a way of life.) Basically, we (most of us) don't like to do or buy the things we need and depend on, but love to do or buy the things we want, even if we can't logically justify doing or buying them. It is just human nature.