When was the last time you received a call from a sales rep?
Regardless of what they are selling or how they went about their service? How did it make you feel? Did you feel defensive? Irritated? Now imagine you are that sales rep. Do you feel desperate? Uncomfortable?
Like we’ve mentioned in our Old Fashioned Sales post. “No matter how much technology you have at your fingertips, many sales are made in a very “old-fashioned” manner.”
Despite the prevalence of new techniques available today, sales are still about serving a human.
The concept of sales is not just about reaching weekly or monthly quota. Neither that it’s only linear and passive transaction.
Customer-Centric Vs Target-Centric Business
A customer-centric business has a sales process that is all about fulfilling actual customers’ need. However, instead of focusing on customers’ need, some sales reps and sales managers would rather focus on “the close”. And “crushing the quota”. Instead of actually connecting with customers. That is, they embrace sales targets.
Rather than listening better and understanding why their solution is needed by the customer. That is, a target-centric sales agent throws heavy discounts and promos. That is to entice people to buy from their service.
The Service Deal
But when the deal finally comes through, we just ring the sales bell and move on to the next target, because that is what our “sales process” tells us. In times when our customer has a problem, we are too busy to bother.
This approach is what kills sales. If you truly want to provide your customers with positive buyer’s journey, you should focus on ‘intangibles’ that really impacts your bottom-line in the long haul. In B2B sales, we call this the “client engagement”. Ask yourself: “Are we doing sales “to the customer” or are we helping along a purchase “for the customer?” Ignoring that subtle distinction can undermine your trust and credibility, which is fatal to any sale.
Service Is The Heart Of Sales
Regardless of how complex your sales process is, it can’t be denied that at the core of it is the duty of your business to establish a genuine connection with your customers, so you can service them accordingly. It’s important to view the sales in this perspective in order for you to set a state for long-term customer relationship properly.
From preparing for the initial meeting to delivering your pitch and closing the sales, you should aim to humanise each stage of the sales pipeline and cut it down to its most basic form – an exchange between two people. And that is the most important aspect that your sales team should focus on as well.
That being said, the care of customers is the responsibility of everyone that interacts with the customer. That especially includes sales.
Overall, you should take time to reexamine how you approach your sales process from the ground up.
Your process should align with your buyers but should not also compromise your sales requirements. It’s also best to provide your sales team with proper sales management training in order to instil the “customer-centric” approach in their minds before they are deployed in the field.
To learn more about Business Coaching and Sales Training services, contact Healthy Business Builder today at 1300 833 574.
