In doing a quick internet search for information on best practices in selling or sales, the number of options was overwhelming. There are so many books, audio, videos, training, etc., that you might think everything and anything about this topic has been written and rewritten hundreds of times. In fact, you are mostly correct. The information on many of these access points is a rework of some approach with a particular author’s spin on the topic. In this week’s insights, we will do a bit of the same.
This isn’t about specific selling methods or how to close a sale in a given industry. It is a bit more basic. It starts with the client in mind and keeping them top of mind in the sales process. Regardless of selling a product or service, the client or customer will likely only proceed with a purchase if it meets their need or want. In some cases, the need or want is to resolve a specific challenge they are experiencing. In other cases, it might just satisfy a desire for some perk in their life.
If your business has the privilege of routine purchasing events from the same clients/customers on a recurring basis, you might stray from the importance of how your product or service meets the customer’s want or need moving forward. You might just fall into the order-taker mode. There is nothing directly wrong with receiving a recurring order for your business. In fact, it is downright outstanding for cash flow, profit, etc. If you take that recurring order-taking process for granted and don’t validate the value of your product or service to your client/customer, their needs might change, and they may move on to a different source. They might not feel the same support they did at the start of the business relationship.
With so much automation in the marketplace, the context of a business relationship is taking on a different meaning. At the same time, there is a bit of a resurgence in the fundamentals of client/customer relationships going beyond a transaction and more deeply into an actual satisfying of needs/wants at a personal or even an emotional level. This level of sales interaction is a bit foreign to younger members of the business world because they have grown up in a technology-based work world. When they are faced with this level of interpersonal interaction, they get uneasy and quickly turn back to technology to resolve relationship challenges. Unfortunately, technology, the internet, AI, and the like can’t replace authentic one-on-one, person-to-person interactions.
This week, as you pause and look at your organization’s progress, take a moment to assess the nature of your sales process. Are your salespeople making transactions, or are they getting invested in their clients’/customers’ challenges and bringing authentic resolution to the buyer?
Not directly related to business sales, but to help shape the dynamics of a sale in today’s marketplace, a recent study found that much younger people are turning away from dating apps and internet hookups and going back to more traditional means of meeting other people. These included meeting through family and friends, going back to places of worship, etc. These more traditional ways of finding your soulmate reverse the earlier focus on finding the right person online.
As business leaders, we must leverage technology when it enhances the client/customer relationship, but we cannot abandon authentic personal relationships by relying on technology or automation.
Looking to strike a balance in your sales processes, leveraging technology and weaving in personal relationships? Call JKL Associates and speak with Promise Guide about your options. MI (313) 527-7945 or FL (407) 984-7246
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