Sales are the Heartbeat of Any Business:
- How are your sales?
- Do you have a sales and marketing strategy?
- Do you have a pipeline full of business?
- Have long term contracts been signed?
- Do you have purchase orders?
- Are your customer relationships strong?
- Do you have a strategy for developing new customers?
- Do you have issues with getting in the door with new customers?
We all know people we consider to be natural at sales. Most of us have also experienced the “leisure suit used car salesman” who pressures us to buy this “great used car for $99 down and $99/month”. If you have never experienced this, trust me when I say you are not missing anything.
What makes you successful at sales? When I think about the attributes of great salespeople, high pressure is never in the equation. Most of the time they are people who are very personable, easy to like, interested in getting to know me, come across as trustworthy, and as a result we want to buy from them. They are typically looking to understand our needs and desires and provide a product or service that meets our expectations.
That is the key and don’t miss it. The best salespeople spend the time getting to know me and understand my needs and desires. They identify the problem I have that needs to be solved and then provide an effective solution. They identify, often before I even realize it, the desire I have and present a solution that will improve my business success or give me a product or service that will simplify my life.
For many of us, we have already predetermined what the potential customer needs and when they do not immediately jump to buy our product or service, we go into high pressure sales mode. We work to convince them why our product and service is the best. We no longer listen to what they have to say, but work hard at convincing them to buy from us. The results are very predictable. The customer backs away, puts up their defenses, and focuses on how to disengage and escape. Everyone walks away frustrated, angry, and discouraged. It becomes a vicious circle with no winners.
It does not have to be this way. We need to step back, take a deep breath, and approach the next customer, not as an acquisition target, but as a person whose life we are going to improve. We can only do this by having a conversation with them and getting to know them as a person. We need to get them to talk to us and we need to listen. Many say this takes too long but it is the only way to develop long term raving fan customers. You may end up with another friend as a result.
If you are interested in learning more, read on to learn how to increase your sales effectiveness.
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