The first step towards developing long term relationships with people who
you have qualified as perfect prospects for your product or service, is to
think long term. Do not try to make a sale, focusing on a single transaction.
Take a long term view of the value proposition you offer and work to show the
long term value you and your product and/or service bring to the table. When
one of these prospects says they are satisfied, that does not mean that the
satisfaction they feel is permanent. Their needs may change and once they fully
understand your value proposition, they will see a good reason for switching to
you.
Know your Value
Proposition
The challenge that most sales people have at this point, is that they
give up on their perfect prospect because they do not see how they can proceed.
They do not completely understand their own value proposition and so cannot see
how they can add real meaningful value to the prospect.
Action Idea: Explore your product and/or service and
completely know and believe in the value it offers to your partners and
prospects. Once you are clear and you believe in all the benefits you and your
product or services offer. It is really simple to show your prospect how they
will better satisfy a need or eliminate a challenge if they utilise you as a
supplier.
Research and
Qualify Prospects
Remember that I am referring to qualified prospects here. These are
people within the perfect businesses, who need exactly what you have on offer.
You are certain what you have to offer will serve them as well or better than
their current supplier.
Action Idea: As you are absolutely clear on the value you
and your product and/or service offers, you can carefully research your markets
and identify your perfect target business and the individual within that
business to approach with your value proposition.
Develop a Long
Term, Mutually Beneficial Relationships
Approach your prospects in a non-threatening way, with a real mind-set of
“How Can I Help You” and try to develop rapport with them. Your objective is to
build a positive relationship with them, sale or no sale. Your prospect will
very quickly see through you if you are inauthentic and are only there with
your own self-interest to try to make a sale at all costs. When you show a
genuine interest in helping them solve any challenges or better satisfy any
need they may have, they will warm to you and want to build a mutually
beneficial relationship with you.
Study and
Completely Understand needs
Take a long term view when building the relationship and always put the
prospects needs ahead of your own need to sell to them. Your objective must
always be to find innovative ways to support and help them. Take your time
whilst building rapport and a long term relationship with your new prospects.
Ask a lot of non-threatening questions so that you can completely understand
their needs and how your value proposition can best help them. The key during
this phase is to establish a needs gap and then to utilise your extensive
knowledge of your own value proposition to offer a solution, which will help
them to eliminate a challenge or better satisfy a need.
Sell Yourself
Remember that people buy from
people. Businesses do not buy from businesses. Personal chemistry is important
when building the relationship, where you are working to get the prospect to
know like and trust you. The prospect will respond to your knowledge,
enthusiasm, professionalism and caring, ethical approach and will want to do
business with someone who displays all those attributes. You will be an asset
to them and their business. Always have your prospects best interests at heart
and show them that you are on their team, sale or no sale. Try to come up with
new ideas for your prospects, even if they do not relate to your product or
service. Show them that you really care. When you help people to get what they want,
they will most certainly help you to get what you want.
Add Real Value
It is often difficult to differentiate your product or service if you are
selling a commodity. This is when the differentiation must come from you as the
sales professional and any other value add, such as service and performance
guarantees, better delivery schedules, and superior customer service. Be
innovative and find as many ways as possible to be better.
A perfect example of how you can differentiate yourself and utilise this
to sell your products or services, is shown by the example I want to offer you.
I conducted sales training for an office furniture company in Cape Town a few
weeks ago. One of the sales professionals there was one of the most unassuming
people you could ever meet.
He had spent eight years building mutually beneficial relationships with
his perfect clients. He started with a new company and went to an exhibition to
sell his new companies office furniture. He was alone in a 3 square metre booth
with only a brochure. He sold four times more office furniture as his large
competitor, who had a 66 square metre cubicle containing furniture. They had
eight sales people in their stand. He made the sales based purely on who he was
and the relationships he had built with his partners. .
Offer a No-Risk
trail Order
Many prospective clients are loyal to their current suppliers. This is
however not a major challenge if you can show the value you offer. Virtually
every prospect will give you the opportunity to run a trial order with them.
This must be a no-risk proposition, which can easily be facilitated, by
offering a satisfaction guarantee. I offer any new client who works with me a
100 % money back guarantee, if they are not satisfied with my work in any way.
This make them feel very comfortable to utilise my services to train their
sales staff. It is crucial that you bend over backwards to ensure that the
trial order makes a very positive impression.
Persistence wins
the Day
There is no better sales skill than persistence. With all things being
equal, the persistent sales person, who clearly understands their value
proposition and believes completely in what they have to sell will win the account
every time. The secret is to stay in contact with prospects, constantly think
long term, always be consistent and become a valuable consultant and ally to
them. Keep soughing positive seeds and you will eventually reap great rewards.
Author: Andrew
Horton motivational Speakers
http://www.andrewhorton.co.za
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