#801
The differencebetween a new account and a new relationship.
I MADE THE SALE!
Great. Way to go!Okay, now calm down. What kind of sale? Any chance for an up-sell? Areferral? Another sale?
The sale is just onesmall part of the relationship. It’s not the beginning of it, andhopefully it’s not the end. It’s somewhere between establishingrapport, building value, lowering barriers, eliminating risk,developing trust, winning the business, delivering what youpromised, training, serving in a memorable way, and getting the nextorder.
Thepower of sales is not selling or making the sale. The power of salesis building trust, value, and relationship to earn referrals,testimonials, and the next sale. The power of sales and selling isbuilding reputation and market dominance, whether it’s local orglobal.
Salespeople and salesmanagers put 90% or more of their emphasis on product knowledge andmaking the sale. “Here’s what our product does, and here’s howto sell it.”
What about therelationship? That’s where the real sale is. That’s where thereal value is. That’s where the real profit is.
Managers should beteaching 90% relationships, 5% product, and 5% selling skills.Inside the elements of relationship are the answers of how to buildloyal customers. And those answers are way more powerful than justmaking a sale.
If you’re looking tobuild a successful business, it doesn’t start with sales andevolve to “satisfied” customers (unless you’re still sellingin 1985). It starts with relationships and builds to loyalty.
Here are theelements that will HELP you move toward ((add in a word?)relationship.
The value offriendly. How friendly are you?
The value ofenthusiasm. How enthusiastic are you?
The power of belief.How deep is your belief in your company, your products and service,and yourself?
The power of a firstimpression. How excellent is your first impression?
The ability to engage.Dialog, not monolog. How much does your customer talk in yourpresentation? How compelling are your questions?
Tell me what you CANdo — not what you CAN’T do. Create a (sincere) positiveatmosphere.
Tell me how Iprofit and how I win. Customers want to know what’s in it forthem.
Uncover the realcustomer buying process. If you know how they buy, it might help youget to the real decision maker.
Uncover their motivesand reasons for buying. Why they buy is a million times morepowerful than how to sell.
What’s your”toaster” offer? What’s my incentive (beyond price) to buyfrom you?
Reducing risk. If therisk is too high, I will stall, object, or lie (“We spent ourwhole budget”) to get rid of you.
View the customer fromthe other side. What does ownership of your product or using yourservice look like to them?
Get to know yourcustomers. How do they use your product? How do they profit? Whatare their obstacles to success? What are their goals? How can youhelp them achieve?
Building loyalrelationships means taking loyal actions. How do you respond totheir service needs?
Howeasy is it to do business with you? When I call your office, are youasking me to select from among eight options (to serve me better)?Or is your phone answered 24/7 by a live answering service?
What are you doingto build value? How are you helping your customer beyond yourproduct?
Does the customerconsider you a vendor or a resource? Are they calling you and askingfor vital information and answers?
What are you doing tostay in front of your customers? Do you have a weekly, value-basedemail magazine? Why not?
Are you treating allcustomers the same — like gold? Why not?
Are you seizing theopportunity to be your best? Why not?
Are you creating bestpractices to build your business? Why not?
Theroot word of relationship is relate.The better you are able to relate to the customer — their needs.their desires, their goals, their ownership, and their use of yourproduct or service — the better they do business, and the more theywant to do business with you.
Relationship has ZEROto do with some system of selling. It has little to do with yourproduct knowledge (unless they ask for it or need it). And verylittle to do with “price.” It has everything to do with how youview the importance of relationship, what your customers expect –and what you’re willing to do about it.
Can you relate? Or areyou still trying to “make a sale?”
If you want a fewquestions you can ask to get a relationship dialog going, go towww.gotomer.com, register if you’re a first time user, and enterRELATE in the GitBit box.
