Having good customer relationships doesn't equate to siding with them on every issue. The customer needs sales people to be objective with the right balance between customer advocacy and company representation so there are no surprises when it comes time to deploy what is purchased. Find out why going native is bad....
Having a clearly strategic and unique offering is a luxury most sales people never get to enjoy in their careers. Even so, many of these same sales people have incredibly successful careers and many would say they not only got better, but also had more fun, when having to sell as an underdog. Exercising their creativity to redefine an offering to get a win, is one of the most fun things a sales person can do....
Is it always right to let your customer spend money they want to spend with you? Even in B2B, there are customers who feel they're getting a better product or solution if they pay more. Some want to take the safe route and never be caught without the maximum capability. Others don't know that they're over-buying, that is until after they've deployed your solution and realize they over-spent. How does telling a customer to spend less, result in getting more revenue?...
You can run into decision makers anywhere and you always want to be prepared for an exchange that will gain you VisABIITY and CredABILITY. With the caveat that you always want it to be an appropriate time, I recommend you always have a 30 second exchange planned and rehearsed, even if there's the remote chance you'll run in to people who impact your business. The 30-3-30 (30 second, 3 minute, 30 minute) tool has always worked for me and this is a story of how that preparation and a chance meeting, got me quarterly meetings with Michael Dell...
The customer has to be ready to listen before you can present. Relating to customers by being naturally curious about them, asking questions and listening with both your ears and your eyes, is the way to get them ready to listen. This is the formula for developing long-term CredABILITY and long lasting, productive relationships. ...
Imagine scheduling a first meeting with a Fortune 100, Senior Vice President. A key decision maker in a huge project you're competing for. Imagine that you both have clear agendas and are extremely excited to meet each other. Imagine two minutes into the meeting, you learn that he thought you were there to fix something you couldn't even work let alone fix and he has no clue what you're talking about. Would it surprise you to learn that these two people ended up having a great relationship and the sales person won the deal?...
Trust and confidence are still earned best via personal connection. The information age has been significantly accelerated by social media. Many business leaders are enhancing their focus on building great social/digital marketing campaigns and that's absolutely needed today. However, this ease of access to product and service details means face to face time with customers has to be even more focused on addressing the personal needs of the decision makers. This has always been what great sellers do and it's needed more today than ever before....
