Finding sales success in the 21st century
I spent two hours last week talking with seven small business owners about sales. Each of the owners sells to businesses. Some of them sell products, some services and some both.
The primary challenge each owner faces is competition and its impact on pricing. Customers are constantly pitting suppliers against each other and asking for price concessions.
In the course of the conversation, it became apparent that the solutions the owners offered their customers were great. The solutions solved problems. The solutions delivered a strong return on investment. The solutions were tailored to the customer's needs.
Customers asked for price concessions because they contended that the competitor's solutions were also very good. There weren't exact matches, but differences were not significant enough to eliminate anyone from consideration.
At the end of the conversation we all came to one inevitable conclusion — relationships matter in sales. They matter for two compelling competitive reasons:
1. Customers buy from those they trust.
2. Relationships differentiate; solutions selling has become a commodity.
Every one of the owners agreed that a key component for success are the people involved. In any situation, knowing the level of trust and strength of relationship is a great predictor of success.
As one of the owners stated, if you are across the desk from the customer and the deal is on the table, the closure of the deal depends almost 100 percent on the relationship of the people there.
Curiously, everyone agreed when in a highly competitive situation, they looked to change things – product solution, services package, even pricing, in order to secure the business.
Seldom though did they look to improve relationships. The natural inclination is not to look at our interactions and the results of those interactions. Most sales organizations do not focus on relationships as a key component of their strategy and tactics. Most sales training does not emphasize relationships or train on building effective and sustainable relationships.
Strong relationships equal greater trust. Trust opens the door of opportunity. When customer trusts the salesperson, they share information, answer questions and collaborate on finding best solutions. Without trust, salespeople land deep in the competitive morass.
A second reason relationships matter is the changing sales environment. I shared with the group a study done by OgilvyOne Worldwide in late 2010. OgilvyOne interviewed 1,000 salespeople around the world. Two-thirds of the respondents in four different countries said the buying process was changing faster than sales organizations are responding.
How businesses interact, connect and access information is profoundly different today. These changes are widespread and the ability to stand out in this highly interconnected business world is difficult.
A big part of that change is the solutions-oriented salesperson – the mainstay of sales training for the last 20 years – has become the commodity. Customers expect a salesperson to bring more than solutions. The customer expectations are the solutions are the baseline for consideration. Solutions by themselves are no longer unique.
With instantaneous access to information, customers are almost as well prepared as the salesperson when it comes to solutions. If a customer does not know the answer, a simple online query to Google, or a question posted on a myriad of social network platforms, will invite more information than the customer really ever needs.
The conclusion from our conversation is the sustainable and differentiated approach to success is to focus on relationships. Each relationship is unique and built on trust.
Knowing your products and services inside and out is essential – that is the price of admission. Once in the door, develop a strong relationship. The relationship keeps you in the door and separates you from competitors.
The bottom line – relationships matter because selling today has evolved. Your 21st century sales success depends on trust before solutions.
Ken Cook is the co-founder of How to Who, an organization focused on helping people effectively build relationships and building business through those relationships. Learn more at
www.howtowho.com.
WBJ Web Partners
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