In today’s market, sales teams are getting hammered for more sales. Companies are looking for ways to conserve cash and increase revenue, and sales departments are caught in the cross hairs. The fundamentals of sales that drive success remain the same and are even more critical when times are economically challenged.
There are some important keys to success in sales, and we have found that most of these key elements apply to any industry, product, or service.
Seek to build a relationship not just make a sale
Making “a” sale is important. But many may argue that is a shortsighted view. Building a positive relationship with a customer and really understanding their business and their specific as well as their ever changing needs will lead to the first of many sales. Look at your current customer base through the lens of customer loyalty. Are you and the rest of your company creating relationships with customers who want to work with and buy from your company alone? The concept of selling through the lens of customer loyalty may take a bit more time up front, but it eliminates a lot of extra work on the back end. Building loyal sales relationships is about you working smarter not harder, all the while exceeding your customers’ expectations and making them want more.
Provide value before the sale as well as after the sale
Every interaction with a potential and existing customer should provide value and exceed their expectations. Many sales teams say they believe this but often their behaviors tell a different story. If we know providing value is important, how can a sales person or sales team create a measurable process to make sure that value is received with every interaction? Every sales team may need to look at the concept of a measurable process differently however some examples of knowing that value has been received may include: a thank you note or letter, a verbal thank you due to an unexpected follow up call or visit, a referral, or a repeat order. Look closely at your process and start measuring these subtleties as they tell you a great deal about the customer’s perception of value within the sales relationship.
Questions sell, answers do not.
People don’t want to be sold, they want to buy. Therefore the sales process should be about identifying and understanding a clients needs, not about the features and benefits of your products of service. The best way to truly understand a customer’s needs is to ask questions that seek to engage the customer, to uncover his or her real needs, and to understand the benefits of making a buying decision to the organization. How will the organization measure the benefit? As a sales person you will know by the dialog whether you have a solution for their situation and at some point you may spend time explaining why your product or service will achieve the measurable outcomes they are seeking. But most decision makers often don’t care about “the how” (your features and benefits) until you uncover “what” they need and “why” (their need and their measurable outcomes).
Really Listen
The second most important component after asking questions is really listening. Asking questions is not effective unless you really listen to the answers. Being present and really listening for understanding still does not give you the right to get into features and benefits. If your sales dialog typically flows question, answer, explain feature and benefit, you are missing opportunities. Asking questions and really listening gives you permission to ask the next right question. The sales dialog should be about digging as deep as you can to understand the problem, the magnitude of the problem, and why it is important for the problem to get solved. It is only after this deep line of questioning and effective listening that you will get permission to talk about your solution because now in the decision maker’s mind it has direct value to his/her needs. Do yourself a favor and stop losing sale opportunities because you don’t really listen.
Be proactive faster and stay close
Speed is essential today, and sales are no different. Some folks say timing is everything but I believe having a proactive process in place to stay in close contact with your prospects and customers makes all difference in the world. If you or your department has a process in place, you don’t have to rely on the old adage of “timing is everything,” and being proactive links directly to developing loyal customers. Customers want to know that you are there and that they can count on you. Building that confidence starts in the first step of any sales process. Being there creates trust, and trust is a key component to establishing loyal customers and generating more sales.
Have a great attitude and contagious sense of humor
This component is fairly straightforward. Have a great attitude all the time, as attitude is everything! But in addition to having a great attitude, have a sense of humor. I am not suggesting a comedic level of humor but the ability to laugh and make others laugh. Life and business is serious stuff, but that does not mean that we have to take every moment seriously. Life is to short not to enjoy it! “Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.” Arnold Glasgow
Be authentic
If you are not authentic, you will not be easily trusted, and it is pretty tough to build relationships and loyal customers without trust and authenticity. Be true to your personality, spirit, and character, and use them to your advantage. People want to do business with people who are real.
Often when times are good we forget about these fundamental components for success in sales because sales come easier and faster. “It doesn’t seem that we have to work as hard.” I believe when the business environment becomes more challenging we have a tendency to forget about the fundamentals, and we start combating the symptoms of current times. We wander away from what we know works. To solve the mystery of sales in a tougher economy, stop looking at the symptoms but rather identify the root cause and attack it; and most importantly, never give up on the core component of successful sales.
Author Resource:
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com .
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