Good morning everyone,
I remember a story of a successful business owner that had sold his company and stayed on to support the transition. The new organization had a Chief Financial Officer making the decisions. This CFO also did not like sales people and had a belief that every sale could be done automatically. No need for outside sales people. Salespeople were just an expense to the organization.
If we are not meeting with customers regularly to learn about their needs, then how are we going to build influence? Sales is influence and the more influence we have the more sales opportunities we have as a result. A lack of influence will quickly turn us and our product into a commodity! The only differentiating factor for a commodity is price. Then starts the race to the bottom where there is no margin and likely no quality.
Some of the most successful business owners that I have had the chance to sit with state that it is imperative to build the relationship with the customer. The larger the relationship, the more influence we are granted and as a result the move opportunities we have with the customer. We need to have relationships before we are ever going to be able to sell something to someone. That is of course unless we are the cheapest price which typically means less value proposition.
I have been able to visit some of my old customers that I have not called on in years. They will smile, ask me out to dinner, and sit with me for hours to discuss where they are at with their current business situations. They even have asked for insight on what I might recommend still to this day! It is a great feeling that I was able to influence individuals enough that they will take time to catch up as well as look for my advice.
These conversations would not have happened had I not worked on the personal side of the business as much as the transactional side. Knowing our customers on a personal level and understanding their aspirations is a huge benefit. People want to know that they matter. Building that relationship is extremely important in helping them achieve their goals.
It is almost an art form watching an old sales professional work the personal relationship and send birthday cards for the customer’s family, as well as celebrating wins that the customer has had.
Meetings on the golf course have transacted in large business deals that cannot be instantaneously measured. Looking back on the sales process and building relationships will allow our business to grow with our customers. The transactions do happen, but not until we have a level of influence that the customer allows us to show them a better way. People will not buy from us if they do not know, like, and trust us.
I encourage you to leverage the personal side of business along with the professional side. If learning about people was not important than why do Amazon, Facebook, and your smart phones listen in on your conversations as well as track your searches?
Send a card for your customer’s birthdays, kids’ birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc. It is a great feeling to celebrate with customers and form lasting relationships.
Remember the first buying decision a potential customer makes is the Salesperson!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”