Empathy is a sales person’s middle name. As with every relationship, the best way to forge a lasting business relationship is to have a good vibe going with all interactions. You are after all, dealing with people on the other end, so make them feel good. Feel heard. Feel understood. Every customer, irrespective of the industry wants a few things as part of his professional and personal life. Below are the things that you should be fully aware while in conversation with a prospect. Make a bookmark to go over this list before you get into a customer meeting. A customer needs to:
1. Feel important
The most important aspect in the service industry is experience. Every customer will have a positive take of your interaction only if they feel that they are your utmost priority. They have come to you with a problem, so they need to know that you are giving them your complete focus, putting all your resources and devoting maximum time to their needs. You need to really listen to the customer when they are describing their needs and not think about your sales pitch or your goals at that moment. Also, no matter how low the customer is in the value chain, it’s important to pay enough attention to them. They might not take the decision on the opportunity but can be the key to getting you closer to it.
2. For you to understand their risk taking capacity
Customers want you to understand how much they are willing to risk before going all in with your ideas. Customers always need options before they are ready to purchase. Offer them a variety of options in the range of products, bundles of services, subscription options or payment options to show that they have a variety to choose from and will have the freedom to go with what works best. They want you to minimize the risks by using your expertise to understand what could go wrong and what steps you’re taking to make sure it won’t. Once you have a good understanding of the amount of risk they are willing to take, it’ll be easy for you to propose the optimum solution so as to not ruffle any feathers.
3. To look smart
They do not want to appear foolish in front of you and they definitely want to avoid being vulnerable. Always make your customers feel like they are in control and do not speak of any faux pas in the dealings if any. Customers deserve openness and transparency from the business they are dealing with so they can take smart and well-informed decisions that will not cause them embarrassments in the future or in front of their coworkers or superiors. It is your duty to keep them in the loop about all developments of your project together as it happens and any setbacks, if any, immediately.
4. Maximize their output during the work hours and not after
Customers, just like you and me, want to get home on time to their families and to enjoy life. They want to achieve everything on their to-do list and rely on you to take initiative in solving their problems so they can get ahead of all the work and priorities that keep growing. They want you to communicate clearly and concisely about all and any issues such as price, costs, availability etc. at the earliest so there are no surprises to be dealt with later. Any product/solution that solves this problem for them will be an instant hit.
5. Succeed
Who doesn’t? Success for the customer can mean anything, from a winning price point to exceptional functionality of the product or service. Customers may define the success of your business dealings with them by 1. thinking of the ease with which they were able to achieve a suitable outcome, 2. Fairness in pricing, 3. Convenience of using your product or service to the function they are desiring to use it for etc. It’s also important to note that success to a customer is what translates to your success too. Get this crucial piece right, and you’ll be on your way to success too.
6. See high performance
Not only in your product or solution but you as well. Your product or service needs to perform well so it helps the customer in achieving their goals. At the same time, you have to be reliable, so the customer has an ease of mind in turning to you for solutions whenever any problem arises. There should be clarity and ease in using your services, so you should try to minimize as much extra work for your customers as you can.
7. To have complete accessibility and information
Customers need pertinent information right from the start to well beyond the purchase. A salesperson has to educate the customers on the processes and technical knowledge needed to fulfill their demands. When providing them with solutions, your customer should have access to your services and support teams. Customers want you to be collaborators to their work to win a mutual goal. For this, they want you to work with them side by side with two way communication, every step of the way.
8. To be a hero
Customers want to be that person in their industry, company or even their group to have achieved something spectacular. This is possible for them if they are betting on the right product/solution through you. And for this, they should have confidence in your ability to achieve results. Salespeople need to thoroughly convince the customers to believe in them and their promises. At the end of the day, customers want not only new ideas and perspectives, they want you to provide value that is superior to all options. They want innovative solutions and absolute compatibility of your products and resources to their existing infrastructure. Provide them with that win they are looking for and you’ll not only be the go to sales person for them but also a trusted friend.
CONCLUSION:
As you can see from the above list, not all the points are professional. In fact in a tech sales world, most of the buying decisions are emotional rather than rational and a big reason for that are the point listed above.
I’m sure by now you realize that a salesperson will be successful if they have plenty of customers, and the customers will only work with those salespeople who can address the desires and outcomes they want to achieve.
