It's Not About You

I meet a lot of people who are trying to sell me something. I also buy a lot of stuff. How I decide where to spend my money and who I'm spending my money with comes down to how the person or company makes me feel during the buying process. As an individual consumer, I have a pretty systematic way of buying things. I make a decision that I need something, I ask around if anyone I know and trust has any recommendations, I research those recommendations and in the course of that research come across other reviews and recommendations from people I've never met. Once my research on the actual product is completed, I look for where to buy. Here is where most of my time is spent. As a buyer, it's all about me.

I meet a lot of people who I am trying to sell something. My selling process is very different from my buying process. I still cherish my personal references and referrals, I still research the companies people refer to me, and in the course of that research, discover like-minded companies and contacts who also might need the services and products I sell. Selling is about creating value and trust. If my client doesn't think what I'm selling provides any value, then they don't need what I'm selling. If my potential client doesn't trust me, then they certainly won't buy from me and they certainly won't refer me to anyone else. This all sounds like basic common sense, but think about your last buying experience or the last time you were being sold on something. How did that person or company make you feel?

We can learn a lot from people who are selling to us and the experiences they are trying to create for us (or themselves). Selling should never be about me. It should be about creating an exceptional experience for my client. When the selling process becomes about me, i make different decisions, I think about different things, and I lose sight of the simple rule that when the client wins, we all win. Remember, it's not about you.

Tell me about your last buying experience - good or bad and how it could have been improved? I enjoy sharing experiences and learning from others, so please leave a comment, tag a friend, or share with your contacts!

The Little Things Matter

I recently read a daily reflection that mentioned the 1954 song, The Little Things Mean A Lot. I pulled it up on YouTube and was surprised at how many different versions there were of the same song. It got me thinking about my daily tasks and how I am constantly trying to be consistent in my approach to doing the little things. As a former Project Manager, I am always reminded of how the little things at the end of a project are usually what the client remembers. In my days as a Project Manager, I was often on some very large and long office furniture installations. I can remember working for months on a projects only to do a final walk through and leave with a three page punch list filled with things like, "vacuum office 238, replace trim cover on cube 1110," or "remove screw packing from top of all desk tops". My client often times said things like, "Not a big deal, but..." It has been proven time and time again that the little things indeed mean a lot.

Today, as a Sales Consultant, I try and make it as easy as possible to work with me. From the initial discovery call to the final invoice and all points in between, the easier it is for the client the greater the chance they will have a positive experience and will want to repeat that experience with me the next time. I have found this the path of least resistance to becoming a trusted adviser. Consistently doing the little things and making the clients job easier is my goal on each project we work on. Once the client sees we are paying attention to the smallest of details, we begin to build trust and the more trust we have, the more we can begin to be partners rather than just a vendor. Three easy ways to begin paying attention to the little things are:

1. Listen - everything seems to always go back to listening. Pay attention and listen to understand, not to respond. Get to know your clients. Stop talking about the parts and pieces and learn things about each other. You will have a better understanding of exactly what your client is trying if you understand the destination instead of the vehicle used to get there.
2. Communicate - Make sure you confirm with your client that what is important to them is what you are hearing. Once you feel confident in your understanding of your clients real needs, communicate that information to your team members. While many things are benefited by a process to execute, each customer has their own unique challenges and are separated by these very little things. Understand these and communicate them to your team members.
3. Deliver - nothing destroys trust faster than undelivered promises. All the listening and communication in the world means nothing if you can't execute. Business today is a game of inches and every one of my competitors does a good job. In order to separate us from the competition, we have to do the little things better. In order to win and keep business from our competitors, it is important that we execute at the highest level possible and to deliver on all the promises we've made throughout the buying process. 

What are the little things that matter in your industry and how are you executing them for your customers? How do you create separation from your competition? Share them with me, I'd love to hear about your success stories!

Listening for the truth

Listening is at the forefront of every "ways to improve" self-help, sales list I've ever seen. Easier said than done, I know and what exactly are we listening for? Sure, I know what the sales pros tell me, but when I actually engage with my client am I being selective and only hearing the good news they are telling me? Equally unhelpful is only hearing the bad news. Imagine if the only information you had to make decisions was based around bad news. What we should be striving for is  actually hearing what the client is saying. The conversation can go like this, "Hey Marc, we really liked the solution, however it's not a good fit for our organization. Can we get together and discuss options?" With my hyper intuitive sales listening antennae all the way up, I might run back to my team and say, "Good news team, they really liked the solution!" If I only hear the good news, I can spin my wheels and waste time trying to sell a solution that my client has no interest in or need for. This happens all the time. I've done it, I've seen others do it, and like anything else the only way to hear the truth, is to practice, make some mistakes, and get some experience.

When I was first  making sales calls, I always wanted someone to come with me. It was crucial for me to make sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing. Listening has been something that I have had to develop over time. This is the good news and bad news of the situation. Listening for the truth takes practice. You have to do it to get good at it and while your learning to do it and sharpening your skills, you're going to hear some really confusing things along the way. Keep at it, the payoff of actually understanding what your clients and prospective clients are saying is well worth the effort.




mas
08/14/18