9. What is the best way to build a personal relationship?
What has caused you, in the past, to think about the possibility of doing something besides selling? Here is the answer. The indifferent, reluctant, defensive attitude that greets you every time you make a sales call is what defeats nearly everyone who fails in a selling career.
Wouldn't it be nice if you were welcomed everywhere you went? If potential customers said "yes, come in, tell me more?"
What can you do or say that will make a prospect treat you favorably? How can you get them to change from indifference and reluctance to being receptive and looking at your products and services?
Here is the answer. Changing their attitude starts by managing your attitude (ATTITUDE MANAGEMENT). You have to continue to feel good about them even if they don't feel good about you, or themselves.
Not as easy as it sounds. Keep in mind that you are not selling products and services, you are selling yourself.
If your company comes out with a new product you can be sure every competitor is finding out how it can be duplicated. The same goes for services. Come out with a new way of providing extra services and you will have an edge for a while. However, it won’t be long before a competitor will be offering the same service.
Adding extra services without increasing your price is actually lowering your gross profit. As one president of a large distribution company said, "All I really have is a warehouse full of commodities."
If the difference is the personal relationship you can establish with your customers, what can you do to enhance that relationship? To answer this question all you have to do is ask what makes you like or dislike someone you are doing business with?
You like people who like you. Someone who is interested in all aspects of your business. Someone who talks about the things you want and the goals you are trying to accomplish.
Here is the secret of getting past their indifference. Here is what would make YOU buy from someone. When someone has the tools to help you succeed and their main purpose is to provide those tools for your use and help you achieve your goals, it is impossible not to feel the desire to work with them.
Let's say that again... it is important.
When someone has the tools to help YOU succeed and their main purpose is to provide those tools for YOUR use and help YOU achieve YOUR goals, it is IMPOSSIBLE not to feel the desire to work with them.
Most of the time customers and prospects don't know what they want. You, as a sales consultant, have to help your customers identify their goals and show them you are interested in helping them succeed.
Sounds altruistic, I know. But consider this - as one very successful sales person put it when asked why he did so much for his customers, why he always went the extra mile and always put his customers first; "because I am a very selfish person. I like to make money."
Another benefit of this "altruistic" approach - it gets your mind off of yourself and you lose your fear.
Comments:
I have to admit this is the area I have had the most trouble with. It has always been hard for me to get over the awkwardness of meeting people the first time and developing a relationship. Probably why I have spent so many years doing technical work behind the scenes. They need my technical expertise to solve their problems and get them up and running again. Machines can be quite complex but I can fix them and they don’t judge you.
The years I spent as a horsemanship instructor probably helped me as much as anything in developing relationships. I know people were coming to me to learn how to ride a horse or improve their skills but I was able to develop a program for getting my message across and making them feel comfortable. I try to carry some of those principles over into my work these days.
1. I first find out what their goals are. I ask them what they have done in the past and where they would like to go.
2. I convey to them that I am interested in them as individuals. I have a liberal neighbor who tries to put everybody into groups [I found out that is part of liberal thinking]. Bugs the hell out of him that I am not of that mindset.
3. I always end a session on a positive note when possible. That way they are looking forward to seeing me again.
Of course I used these as horse program director for several years. What made it easier was that people were coming to me. I have had to work at it more when I’ve been calling on customers. The intial breaking the ice seems to be the hardest for me calling on people. Once I get to know them a little bit it gets easier.
Cary McAfee
Once you gain their confidence and trust you are no longer a waste of time, a threat, an adversary – you are a problem solver, a profit enabler and a friend. This is one of the ways that I judge my personal success.
Crocker Smith
I just had the conversation with a prospect today that really didn't want to speak with me until I said the following. "Kim if I understand you correctly what you're saying is that value is more important than price. Is that correct? Then you'll be happy to know that I'm not going to give you a price until we exhausted a plausible match to every product you have in the building. And I'll do this for one simple reason: If I come in here with a clip board full of prices and an order guide and I don't ask you where you've been and where you want to go I'm like every other salesperson that knocks on your door - and I don't think that's good for your business. Would you agree?" She asked me to come back next week so we could discuss her menu and start to do cuttings at a weekly predetermined time. She gave me a copy of her menu so we could talk about it next week. Nice conversation and I believe I sold myself to her in the five minutes I had to set up another appointment.
Michael S. Hutchison
It always seems there is nothing more people hate than sales people coming by and just giving their pitch because they have to, not because they want to. When you get your turn down comments it's your job to understand, look at why they are not interested and build on that - not recite a script in your head of what you are suppose to say next if the customer says no.
To me this is hugely important. It's like collections. If I call just giving a script and don't give any understanding or make them feel like I am listening to their situation. The longer it will take me to get paid.
Nisan Krawetz
Being honest and friendly with customers will gain their trust in you to ensure that they want to do business with you. You must show the customer that you are truly interested in helping them. I personally would not only want to succeed, but to honestly want to help people. If I help someone accomplish something and know that they are happy with me this would make me feel very successful.
Jamie R. Friend
“Treat others as you would like to be treated.” This is probably something your Mother has told you many times as a child. I feel that acknowledging the importance of your clients needs and showing that you value their time, will show them that you are there looking out for their best interests. This feeling of a valued relationship will create a long lasting business relationship that they will share with others.
Tonya Sauer
I worked for Baskin Robbins for a number of years. Irv Robbins personal stationary was printed with the saying on the bottom " If people were not different, all we would make is Vanilla." A great portion of that companies success is that they were focused on their customer, not what was convenient for production or distribution.
We certainly have more efficient means to take an order, direct data entry, answering machines, fax machines...I hate them as a customer, and I hate them as a sales CONSULTANT, they leave out the most important thing, the personal perspective that will allow me to help the customer achieve their goals.
Mark Brockett
Altruism, to be honest I have never used the word but so true. If a client believes that you attain the attitude to act for his benefit, a strong, trusting relationship will develop. When a client senses that you are there to help him control costs and not cost him money by offering your services, he trusts that you have the best interest in mind for his business. A friendship has now developed and he will tell his other friends thus creating a pyramid effect.
Gregg Nixon
"When someone has the tools to help you succeed and their main purpose is to provide those tools for your use and help you achieve your goals, it is impossible not to feel the desire to work with them."