A good customer discussion begins with an understanding that people form quick personal connections based on non-verbal cues and physical appearance. During your sales call, how long do you think it takes for a potential customer to make an initial evaluation of whether or not he/she likes you? Between a minute and three minutes is the general consensus. The following 10 to 15 minutes of the meeting will be spent validating whether their preliminary decision was correct or incorrect.
That is why it is important for a sales person to adopt a customer interaction strategy or a plan of action before beginning a conversation. A project’s aims and objectives are determined by its communication strategy. A sales communications plan also serves as a benchmark for assessing how well you’re connecting with and interacting with customers. It establishes timetables, deadlines, priorities, and budgets, among other things. It is, in essence, a roadmap to comprehending and approaching the company’s target customer. This map would also be immensely helpful to them, when they are unsure of setting the tone and adopting the type of personality they would like to come across as.
To create an effective plan, you need first consider your company’s goals. What are your immediate and long-term objectives? The most important rule while building a sales communication strategy is that it should be SMART!
S – Specific
M- Measurable
A- Achievable
R- Realistic
T- Timely
How to create a Communication Strategy?
Make a list of your company’s goals
Begin by outlining your company’s goals using the SMART method. Identify your current location and focus on your objectives. Marketing techniques, customer service, progression management, ensuring that your personnel stay and receive adequate training, profit, and costs are all things to consider.
Identify the communication goals
Reduce the scope of your communication goals. What are your objectives in this field? It might be anything from raising brand awareness to educating the public in order to urge people to buy and use your products.
Conduct a SWOT analysis
The SWOT approach can be used to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. How can you make the most of your assets? What can you do to turn your flaws into assets? How can you keep threats to a minimum? How do you make the most of the possibilities?
Perform a PESTEL analysis.
PESTEL stands for the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal aspects of your company. Consider how these can all affect your success and what you can do to strike a healthy balance.
Do your homework
Begin with your competitors: who are they and what do they do? What marketing and communication tactics do they employ? Look around to see if there’s anything you can adopt or keep an eye out for.
Then consider your customers: who is your target market? What’s the most essential thing to them? To make your goals more explicit, we advocate constructing lists that divide your target consumers into distinct sorts and groupings.
Be aware of their preferred media.
Determine which social media, websites, or multimedia platforms your customers use, and which methods will be most efficient in attracting and capturing their attention.
This shows us the broad and nuanced scope of sales communication. To look away from such a wide lens and narrow it down to usable personal communication strategy, we must focus on the following:
SITUATIONAL DOMINANCE
There are three primary sales applications for the concept of situational dominance. To begin with, it is an essential component of the personal communication strategy employed during client contacts. Second, it is crucial in developing a sales cycle strategy. Finally, it is used to manage internal resources and drive sales team strategy. As a result, it can be used in sales calls, sales cycles, and how you direct your salesforce.
Customer Interaction Strategy:
You’ll find yourself in one of the three spots in every customer conversation. You can be in a submissive position if you are not regarded by the consumer, and everything you say is rejected or ignored. In this situation, the prospect sees you simply as a salesperson trying to persuade him/her to buy something. You can be in an equal position with the customer, who appreciates and cares about what you have to say. Alternatively, you could be in a dominant position where your customer accepts your reasoning, embraces it, and then acts on it.
Gaining the customer’s willing obedience might be thought of as situational dominance. Customers pay attention to your counsel, internalize your suggestions, and follow your instructions. This is based on the customer’s long-term view of you. As a result, the purpose of a salesperson is to obtain control over a freely obedient customer. In sales, dominance is sometimes confused with force, although this is not the case. It basically refers to how individuals assess others. People are continuously trying to figure out whether their position is better, equal, or inferior to yours. This has an impact on what people say and how they act in interactions. A confident, comfortable dominant salesperson speaks freely and directs the conversation while boldly sharing his or her viewpoint and knowledge.
The nervous submissive salesperson is forced into reactive behavior, and his or her natural propensity is to follow the customer’s lead, never taking charge of the account. While some dominant people want to associate with submissive people, the majority of dominants prefer to interact with individuals they see as equals. Equals have a relatively easy time conversing. When meeting with a customer, one of your most critical tasks is to establish yourself as an equal at the very least. That is why you must be fluent in your industry’s technical jargon as well as its business operations jargon. You can only describe how you will handle the customer’s company goals, business difficulties, technical frustrations, and personal aspirations if the customer opens up to you and communicates freely.
Your sales intuition will help you decide which trait to use. For example, when the evaluators are frightened or afraid, you might portray an upbeat attitude in one account to promote optimism. You may show skepticism in another account, forcing the consumer to explain why he/she thinks his organization will truly make a transaction. He/she will have established power in both situations. If you have a naturally low level of situational dominance, an indirect approach is usually the best option. This strategy is built on making your company’s and goods’ capabilities the focal point and presenting you as an equal.
Salespeople with low dominance who went from a technical role to sales, for example, can have an equally dominant presence as a seasoned sales veteran. However, they take a different method. Instead of creating a commanding presence in person, their in-depth technical knowledge of the product entices clients to follow them and positions them as the dominant force.
Sales Cycle Strategy
You can be in sync and agree with the customer’s preferred method of resolving a problem or achieving a goal. In this instance, you must submit to the customer’s wishes. You can be adaptable and gradually change their thought process until they regard you as a peer who is working in their best interests. Alternatively, you can utilize provocation to fundamentally shift the customer’s selection criteria or sales process. Remember that dominant is not a negative phrase; it simply means that someone follows your advice and suggestions.
Sales Team Strategy
Situational dominance also refers to how a salesman handles the presale resources involved in a sales cycle. All meetings, presentations, and technical evaluations should be overseen and coordinated by the salesperson. He is in charge of the company’s resources, regardless of departmental origin, that are assembled to win the account, including management, engineering, support, consulting, marketing, and product management. For all communication, the salesman should be the principal point of contact for the prospect. As a result, the salesperson must create authority within their own company.
