A) You cut your product line by as much at 50%.
B) You expand your product line to service all customers.
The correct answer is A, you cut your product line by as much as 50%. This has proved itself again and again in the research. But perhaps one of the most impressive studies was on an internet retailer.
The retailer cut their worst selling products which ended up being 54% of their products across 42 separate categories. The result was an average 11% increase in overall sales.
So the next time you find yourself baffled with how to increase sales and overwhelmed with products and variation – get to cutting. Focus your efforts, clean up your offerings and bump up your income.
In a related finding…
Doing less can actually help you win more, lose less and make more money.
The more you focus, focus, focus – and DO ONE THING great – the greater your success. A simple experiment conducted in California grocery stores proves it.
Customers were offered free tastes of 24 different flavors of jam. In another leg of the test only 6 flavors of jam were offered. When offered 24 flavors only 2% of those walking by the display made a purchase. When offered 6 flavors 12% bought. That is a 600% increase!
The conclusion is clear – by offering less options – you’re seen as an expert and you increase your odds of success.
The same is true in your career – when you develop a deep expertise in an area then your boss will see you as more valuable. and you will win more, lose less and make more money.
You can improve your problem-solving ability even by taking a very short break.
A study reported in the Creativity Research journal found that when you’re stuck – stepping back from the problem – escaping if you would from the challenge JUMP STARTS your cranium.
In the study 104 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to five groups. They were then told to compute the area of two geometric figures found in a complex drawing called an insight puzzle.
As soon as they came to an impasse each group was given one of the three break lengths (long, short, and none). They were also given one of two levels of activity (demanding or non-demanding tasks).
The results clearly showed that any break improved their problem solving ability.
Why? Oftentimes when people try to solve a complex problem they make false assumptions that they can’t mentally release. Taking even a short break releases their mind. It lets them apply a new organizing assumption that leads to a better solution.