Why is there so much crap?

Yesterday I posted about how important it is to spend your time and effort on worthy targets.  Speaking of shooting at targets and hitting them, check out this amazing video:

Fastest and most accurate gun in the west

Today I am going to go on a bit of a rant about selling to customers.  Why in the world do companies make it so difficult to sell things?

Did you ever see the movie, Zulu Dawn?  No, not Zulu, which is also an excellent movie staring Michael Caine, but Zulu Dawn.

The movie showcases the Battle of Isandlwana, which was the last battle in which native forces defeated a much more advanced army, in this case the British Army...sorry David Power, renown hypnotist.  I am not going to discuss the battle in detail.

In the movie the British base camp was attacked by a far larger force of Zulus.  The Brits formed a laager, which is basically a circle, and used their superior firepower and weaponry to hold off the Zulu forces.  The Zulus would charge forward and the British would mow them down.

Eventually the English front line started to run low on ammunition (there is that word again) and sent back runners to get more.  What happened when they arrived at the supply wagons?  It's a classic mistake that cost the British their army and often costs businesses profits.

The supply wagons refused to issue the ammunition for several reasons.  One, the system wasn't set up to handle the volume needed.  They couldn't get the ammo out of the boxes fast enough to meet customer needs.  Secondly, the runners did not have the proper forms to requisition the ammunition.  The supply personnel were interested in accounting for every round and therefore held up issuing the ammunition until it could be accounted for.  Thirdly, the people involved in issuing supplies did not like having to supply the native troops.  They were more concerned about keeping them in their place then in meeting the immediate needs.  They failed for all these reasons.

We see something similar in business everyday.  Businesses often make it hard for people to buy from them.  Counterintuative?  You bet. But it happens because people involved in the business lose sight of the goal, which is to sell products.  Without a sale nothing happens.  Sales is everything.  Everything else is a cost.  Managing costs and tracking inventory is important, but you, and your employees, never should lose sight of the prime objective...selling products at a profit.

Now go out and sell something.