Well ok, the idea may not be all that new but it’s one that is always developing and on the radar of Sales and Marketing professionals.
The old ABC of Sales – Always Be Closing – is a tactic from a by-gone era when, as customers, we were all less informed. We just didn’t have access to the plethora of information on every possible subject and product in the palm of our hand.
No matter how good the Sales person is at convincing us a product is right, we often won’t go ahead with a purchase until we’ve done at least some independent research, looked at alternative products and reviews etc.
The informed buyer is what the new-age Sales person is dealing with – and therefore needs to support.
Always Be Caring
Ok, so ‘Always Be Caring’ may sound a little OTT – but essentially it’s the only way forward.
And hopefully, many of us are already doing it anyway.
You cannot be successful in sales today unless you are considerate of what your customer is looking for, what pain point they are trying to relieve or simply what desire they are trying to fulfil. Because from there you can give the best advice on a solution to suit the customer’s individual needs.
In the end, no one wants to be sold to, they want to make an informed buying decision, so the role of the sales person now has to be to help ‘inform’ the customer.
Equip yourself to help and inform your customers
A more recent common phrase is ‘The Right Message to the Right Person at the Right Time’. This is much more relevant today.
Informing a customer may take place over:
- The course of 10 minutes in a shop or by phone
- A week or so while a consumer decides on the right piece of tech for their new home
- Many months as a business person decides on the best piece of software to suit their changing business.
However long the process, make sure as a sales person you have the tools in your arsenal to supply the information the customer may need – at the time they need it.
This is the best way to help guide the customer on the path to making their buying decision.
So work with your Marketing team to ensure you have the right support materials for you and the client for each stage of the process.
There may well be stages where there is little you can do during the prospects decision making. Letting Marketing or Sales Automation pick up the nurturing process can also be an effective option here.
Good for everyone
As a customer we want the people we are buying from to give us honest advice based on what we are looking for, not based on what will make the company or sales person the most money.
As a Salesperson, we can be honest, upfront and truthful knowing that ultimately this is the only way to ensure happy, repeat customers, retention and therefore long-term higher sales.
We do love a win-win.
Join the conversation
- How do you and your team approach Sales?
- Has this approach changed in the last 5 years?
- Any other thoughts or questions – please comment below
