Making All The Difference As Sales Professionals
Welcome to the first of four Sales Blogs from Marcavel Consulting Group.
Authors: Scott Cosens Chief Commercial Officer & Founder, Rick Makos Chairman & Founder.
We trust this will provide some insights and ways you can create a truly differentiated sales experience for your customers. The first in our series of Blogs “Making all the Difference as Sales Professionals!”
Let’s start off first by thinking about the sales professionals you most enjoyed hearing from and seeing in your business.
What are the best attributes of these sales people?
Exhibited Trust and Ethics
Provided Friendship
Always had a positive attitude
Learning continuously
Brought new ideas to the table
Extreme Customer loyalty
Controlled emotions in face of adversity
Always has a solution to the problem
Listening and understanding what they have heard
Ability to find a positive result to a difficult situation
They challenge my thinking with innovative ideas
Truth over the price, value, product, features, quality
Demonstrates an understanding of your industry and business so they can help you avoid problems
Consistent follow-up and follow-through
It is amazing how true Sales Professionals get remembered by the very smallest of gestures and actions. While other sales people aren’t willing to put in the effort or aspire to have the above attributes; they see the opportunity for it what it is now, rather taking the perspective of the customer and the longer-term relationship.
True Sales Professionals never stop listening and learning even when it is extremely tough. They tailor their message to being reflective of their customer’s current situation and pain. They execute as if they are an employee of your company and are a true partner. They strive to provide a differentiated sales experience.
When you have a challenge on your next project, tackle it head on and go that extra mile for your customer and your team. When you get that call from a customer, at 6pm of the first day of a long weekend take it. When their system has crashed at 11:30pm on a Thursday be the one they can call to resolve the situation. When the manufacturing line halts in the midst of a huge production run be the one that will pull the resources in to fix the problem. Bring new ideas to help the customer innovate, or avoid a barrier or avert a potential crisis.
These Sales Professionals are the ones that sometimes they will find their name on the directory of the company they are consulting for; these are the Game Changers. Research tells us that the sales experience is the biggest contributing factor to customer loyalty, if fact it has 53% contribution to customer’s loyalty, more the price, value, or product features.
How to go about differentiating your Sales Experience for your probable customer or existing customer:
Take more time in careful preparation for a call, research the customer personally, their industry, key trends affecting their business, know their competition.
Understand the financials of their business and their industry.
Create solutions that have a positive business impact.
Statistics have shown “fail to plan, plan to fail”.
Bring new ideas to the sales discussion, give people a reason to partner with you.
Be there for them in difficult situations so they trust you will look after them in good times and bad.
Pick up the phone and call them, secure a face-to-face meeting even if it is a video session. Face time with the customer is one of the biggest success factors to a great sales experience. Great sales people spend more than 600 hours face to face with a customer.
Book the meeting in their calendar, send a Proposed Agenda (invite changes, as it will get them involved in the meeting prior to call).
During this pandemic people are getting tired of all the video calls. If possible, meet in a drive thru parking lot for a coffee and or have lunch delivered to their location (business and or residential). Be a game changer and challenge the norm.
People will make time for people who they wish to make time for. Think on that, yes, they have to run a business, but if you give them a great reason for them to meet with you, partner with them to resolve one of THEIR problems the calendar will open up.
Before ending this first Blog on the Sales and People side of the Marcavel business, we wish to leave you with the following thoughts.
“Your motivation to sell must be pure because you are driven, (first and foremost) to deliver maximum value and the best possible outcome for the probable customer / client.
You want the probable customer, because you believe deep down - they will be better off buying from you. Do not see yourself as an annoyance or unwanted interruption; view yourself bringing great sales professionalism, value and assistance which they badly need.”
With this attitude you and your customers will achieve success.
Look for our next Blog in our series of four “How to Get There First” ….
We look forward to our next discussion, Scott and Rick.