Last Thursday, a story came on NPR's All Things Considered titled "From Clunker to Cruiser, Ford Posts Quarterly Profit". One of the interviewees stated that people didn't want new cars right now. I quickly turned to my wife and said, "That's not true. People want new cars, they just don't want to buy them."

That is a significant difference. Think about all of the things you want to have. If you are anything like me, you could probably make a list a mile long. Think of the things that you have or use at little to no monetary cost.

Of all the things on those lists, how many of them are you willing to purchase? Right now?

Your reasons may vary. It may be because of the cost. It may be because it's not practical. Or it may be because you just don't want it that badly.

Your customers feel the same way, even if the things on their lists are different. Your job is to create a compelling case for the right customers to buy the right product of yours that is going to meet their needs. And by compelling, I mean that the product must perform as advertised. Unless you don't want them to repeat as a customer or to spread good word-of-mouth about you.

They might want what you're selling. Give them a reason to buy it.

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