In my previous post, “Old and In the Way,” I discussed how, from the buyer’s perspective, the salesperson is more often a hindrance to the selling process- in the way- than helpful. And by “old” I mean the old school style of selling. In the post I listed some signs and symptoms that a salesperson might be “old and in the way.”
In this post we’re going to discuss, as one reader put it, how to be “new and out of the way.” From my view, selling is something you do “with” your customer, not “to” them. To put it another way, the job of a salesperson is to help the customer buy, if it’s a fit.
Today’s buyers are more savvy, smarter and busier than ever. They are less tolerant of salespeople who are not of value to the buying process.
Here are some signs that you’re not “old and in the way,” but helping people buy:
- You return calls and emails promptly.
- You define the impact of acting or not acting together with your customer.
- You facilitate the customer convincing themselves to act and act with you; you don’t do the convincing.
- You sell results, not a solution.
- You share insights and ideas with them.
- You’re comfortable with silence.
- You allow them the space to finish a thought without interrupting them.
- You listen, truly listen, to what is being said and what is not being said.
- You’re not afraid to say, “here’s a better way to do it” or “have you thought about this?” when what they’re doing or thinking of doing isn’t the best thing in your professional opinion.
- You help them see and understand problems before they do.
- You call on them not to just sell them something.
- You approach things from their point of view.
- You meet with all stakeholders and understand their issues and concerns.
- You understand the buyers “why” and “why now.”
- Together with them, you not only understand their problem, you’ve also painted a compelling vision.
- You consistently hear “that’s a good idea” and “I hadn’t thought of that.”
- You walk away from opportunities that aren’t a good fit for you or for them.
- You’re looking to solve problems or serve their vision, not sell/push a product or your service.
- Working together, both parties are clear on the problem to be solved, the vision, required resources (money, people & time) and decision making process.
- You ask what needs to be asked or say what needs to be said, regardless of how uncomfortable you feel.
Some people reading this might be thinking, “I know that.” The more empowering thought/question is, “how good am I at this?”
Selling has changed and today’s salesperson must be better than ever. A salesperson needs to provide value to the customer and this is not done by talking product, features, benefits, specifications and price.
This is not a comprehensive list. What would you add to this list? How do you look and sound different than everyone else?