Building
relationships and long term mutually partnerships with your clients, is the
best way to, get your prospects and clients to know, like and trust you. It
also changes the relationship dynamic, when you deal with them, on this level.
They are no longer in the power position, with you merely taking instruction from
them. You become an asset to their business, an additional tool, which will
serve them and their business. When you work from this modality, they know that
you have their best interests at heart and will only offer them the best value
for their business. This all sounds great, but how do you start to build this
relationship, how do you begin the journey to build a mutually beneficial
relationship with them?
As you know when
you meet with a prospective client for the first time, the tension levels are
fairly high. This is most certainly not the time to sit with your feet braced
firmly against the desk, regurgitating the benefits or features of your product
or service. This is the stage for small talk and an opportunity for you to start
to build rapport with them and to begin the process of developing a good
business relationship, which shows your commitment to support them.
Past, Present and Future
We all love to
speak about is ourselves. When I approach any new decision maker, I encourage
them to speak about themselves, by using the past, present and future as a
focal point for the conversation. As I walk into the decision maker’s office, I
look around and immediately look the decision maker in the eye, saying “Wow it
is amazing to see that you have this amazing position with such an incredible
company. How did you get started?” This immediately breaks the ice, as nobody
has asked them that question for years. The decision maker is obviously very
proud of what they have achieved and how well they have done in the company. I
have heard many different versions, but they usually go something like this “eighteen
years ago I started out as a filing clerk and I worked my way up…..
The secret to start
building any relationship is to listen twice as much as you speak. Simply sit
back and listen intently, showing real enthusiasm and authentic interest.
People will very quickly see through you if you are merely feigning interest and
pretending to care. I have learned an incredible amount of really valuable
lessons, by listening to people’s success stories, so there is real value to be
had by listening and learning from people. You can glean a massive amount of
valuable information from the decision maker during their chat about their
success journey.
The next question I
ask is about the present situation. I would ask a question like “Could you tell
me about the current situation and how you have managed to achieve so much
success? At this point, the decision maker will disclose even more valuable
information, by telling you something like “I have 25 people reporting to me,
we have plans to expand our production facility and have plans to open three new
branches…… Again sit back, listen and make mental notes. The decision maker is
not only having a chance to speak about their own favourite subject, but they
are supplying you with valuable information, which you can use to find
innovative ways to show the decision maker how your product or service can
serve them and their business. I cannot stress
enough, how important it is to ensure that you show real interest in what the
decision maker has to say.
The next way to
lead the conversation is towards the future. This is probably the most
important part of the conversation. Ask a question like “Where do you see
yourself and your company, five or ten years from now?” This is your
opportunity to sit back, show real interest in what they have to say and at the
same time be on the lookout for buying signals. They may say things like we are
looking to modernise our production facilities, grow our sales, reduce costs or
improve product quality. Listen intently and just make mental notes of all the
possible opportunities for your products or services to help support the
decision maker, achieve these outcomes.
Research, innovate
and be Creative
This information
will serve you going forward and help you to build and cement the mutually
beneficial relationship, which you are attempting to build with them. After the
meeting, record your thoughts and any valuable information, which may help you
later, to develop the relationship. I have an electronic sales recording
system, where I carefully record this information immediately after the
meeting. I then use this information to research the client and explore actual company
results or outstanding achievements, related to their tenure at the company. I
record this in my electronic sales recording system, for use at the next
meeting with the decision maker.
Remember the
emotions expressed by the decision maker, while they were talking about the
past, present and future. Those emotions will help guide you towards an
innovative way of showing the decision maker how your product or service will
serve them and their business. As you know logic makes people think, but it is
emotion which makes people act. Always focus on the decision makers emotions
when developing your sales strategy.
After the meeting explore
all opportunities you have identified in the meeting where your product or
service can support them, by either eliminating some pain or helping them to
better achieve any desired outcome. This process requires you to be a little creative
and to innovate. It is crucial to stop thinking like a traditional sales
person. Look for innovative ways of supporting them and helping them in the
long term. Focus on building a mutually beneficial long term relationship.
Forget about trying to make a quick short term sale and focus on how you can
utilise your product or service to help them in a meaningful way. I hate this
old cliché, but “think out of the box”.
Always look for
ways to serve your clients and to add real value to them and their business. The
decision maker is going to use their emotions to buy and will only buy from someone
they know like and trust and who will add real value to them and their
business. Keep this as the focal point, during all interactions with your
clients.
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