It’s been two years and many client engagements since I posted my first blog on The Five Abilities®. The concepts are the same but as always, experience enhances our communication efficiency and effectiveness. With that, I want to share an improved introduction to The Five Abilities.
What is selling? At the most fundamental level selling is the act of helping people buy something that benefits them and their organization, within the bounds of what the seller can successfully deliver. When people consider from whom they will buy they look for five things from the seller.
VISABILITY – Being seen in the right way, by the right people, at the right time.
We earn VISABILITY when we present a value proposition that creates a suspicion of value in the customer’s mind, such that they ask to know more. Once a customer asks for more information, we’ve turned a one-way sales pitch into a two-way sales engagement which is what we want.
CREDABILITY – Showing superior knowledge and experience about your customer’s needs and how your company’s offering will help.
We earn CREDABILITY by sharing what is true that makes our value proposition true. We want to evolve that suspicion of value to an acknowledgement of value. Educating, sharing experiences and showing examples are ways we earn CREDABILITY.
VIABILITY – Products and services that fit the needs and readiness of customers, clients and our company.
Having no customer is better than having the wrong customer. The right customer has a real problem that we can solve, has the time to be successful and the experience to assess our deliverables. They become our best advocates for both new and repeat business. The wrong customer ends up paying for something that doesn’t help them, they demand a lot of our time and become our loudest critics.
CAPABILITY – Delivering what the customers/clients buy.
People make business decisions for personal reasons. Certainly decision-makers do the analysis to ensure they are doing something good for their company; however, every decision-maker is satisfying personal needs when making a buying decision. What do people really buy?
- Safety – Help to increase the probability of success and decrease the probability of failure.
- Simplicity – Help to reduce the burdens on the decision-makers and their organization.
- Reward – Help to get the decision-makers rewarded with added responsibilities and benefits.
- Recognition – Help the decision-makers best contribute to the success of their teams.
- Revolution – Help the decision-makers change their organization in positive ways.
RELABILITY – Being there when the unexpected happens, because it always will.
Salespeople earn customer loyalty by being accountable no matter what happens. This doesn’t mean we’re necessarily responsible for the unexpected, but the customer has to feel confident that we’ll help them course-correct no matter who caused the problem. We also earn customer confidence simply by listening and learning when they’re angry. Being dressed down can dress you up because we often learn more from angry customers and we earn their respect by being accountable.
When we focus our actions on the five things customers need, we do more to help people buy things that benefits them and their organization, within the bounds of what we can successfully deliver. The common trait of incredibly successful salespeople.
©2015 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC
