will often find opportunities to bring something extra to the table, such as information, your expert advice or superior knowledge. Your customer will start to see more value in working with you.
Know when to trade. You won’t gain respect if you just do everything the customer demands. When you’re asked for something they value, ask for something reasonable in exchange.
Be open, honest and interested in your customer to build their trust.
One of the most powerful ways of winning against the competition is through the relationship that you build with your customers. You, and the approach you take, make the difference.
A good example of this is the way in which we all choose between suppliers of very similar commodities. There might be four hairdressers in the town where I live, but I always go back to the same one, because I enjoy the company of the chap who cuts my hair, even though he is a little more expensive than the others.
You are unique. Remember that your relationship with the customer is the one thing that the competition cannot copy. In a close, competitive contest, your behaviour and approach will make the difference.
case study Ian’s sales manager was unhappy that Ian wasn’t visiting the customers more regularly. Ian thought he could be more efficient just telephoning and sending letters. His boss didn’t see it like that. “I might as well send out a catalogue, instead of employing expensive salespeople!” he told Ian. The point of employing Ian as one of the company’s salespeople was that he could build strong relationships and add value to the selling process through person-to-person communication. He could influence the customer’s decision process and build trust for the longer term.
“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity”
Douglas Adams, English comic writer
Be visible. It goes without saying that if you’re not making the effort to stay in regular touch with your customers and prospects, you can quickly become invisible, and perhaps the representative of another company gets the chance to exert their influence instead. This is sometimes called ‘mind-share’. Find reasons to call, to visit, and keep yourself at the forefront of the customer’s mind.
Push and pull. The key to maintaining a winning relationship that makes the difference in a sale is to achieve the right balance between ‘pushing’ and ‘pulling’. Pushing means keeping yourself visible without annoying or irritating the customer with your constant ‘nagging’. Pulling means drawing the customer into the relationship using ‘Business Doctor’ skills (see 4.7), for example, showing empathy, being curious, and adding value by being their ‘capable friend’.
A relationship is based on two parties making an investment in it.
One of the most common mistakes made by salespeople, even those with years of experience, is trying to sell to the wrong people. In this chapter we’ll look at the importance of identifying the individuals who have the power to make change happen, and the value of analysing the customer’s organization to discover the roles that people play in the buying and selling process.
Because we salespeople are often under pressure to find new prospects and constantly add more opportunities to the pipeline, we can often find ourselves tempted to chase every possible sales lead. But not everyone who expresses interest actually has the authority, motivation and ability to buy.
Let’s look at some pitfalls and how to avoid them:
Who owns the problem? One of the best guides for identifying the correct people, or person, is to find out who has ultimate responsibility for the business problem or ‘pain’ that you think you can solve. Remember that they may still lack the authority alone, but it’s a good starting point.
Come out of your comfort zone. It’s easy to get stuck in your comfort zone, convincing yourself that those friendly individuals who always take your call are the ones who will buy. This is especially true with existing customers. Force yourself to ask hard questions of yourself and them, and to make new contacts with greater authority.
“There are one hundred and ninetynine ways to get beat, but only one way to win; get there first”
Willie Shoemaker, American jockey
Make a straw man. Draw up a profile of your ideal customer, and their attributes, as a sort of test. This is called a ‘straw man’. Look at your previous and existing customers. Consider the ideal types of business they are in, and typical job roles.
Spot the ‘tyre kickers’. There’s a big difference between people who take great interest in your product, and those who actually have the authority to buy. Some people, and companies, just want a free education, and will give the impression they can buy so that you’ll let them play with your product.
Are you first? Ask yourself: is this customer already evaluating other suppliers? Have you come to the party late? If you’re second or third, it might be an indication of their serious intent. On the other hand, experience shows us that if you didn’t get there first, you’re probably just ‘cannon fodder’, there to provide a comparative offer.
Do some analysis and research to make sure you target the right companies and individuals.
2.2 Understand their organization
Whether you are approaching a new prospect for the first time, or selling to an existing customer, it’s vital to understand how their organization is structured, and who does what. Doing this will help you target the right people with the right messages.
Broaden your horizons. Your likely starting point with a new customer is often a single person. Find out who else works alongside them, above them and below them. The more contacts you create across the wider organization, the more chances you will have to discover ‘pain’ and determine how and if they will buy.
Draw the organization chart. As soon as you can, you should try to draw out the whole of the customer’s organization on a sheet of paper, showing the different departments, divisions, teams, individual job titles
case study Alison represented a large software company as the account manager for British Telecom (BT), an enormous UK company. She made it her business to try to talk to every part of their organization, and make contacts at many levels of their hierarchy. It took some time, but eventually she had formed a pretty
