A participant in my Consultative Sales course asked me to summarise what customers want from the sales professional. To answer this question, I looked back at the valuable customer relationships I had over the years.  Here’s my list:

Customers want you to:

1. Greet them

This sounds too easy and too obvious. Who wouldn’t greet their customers? You will be surprised at how often novice sales professionals demonstrate familiarity too soon in the relationship.

Don’t underestimate the importance of courtesy, especially when building a new relationship. Depending on your culture and industry, there are norms and etiquette that are observed and expected. In some culture, first names are accepted while in other cultures, formality is observed regardless of the age difference or position in society. Smiling is universally accepted as a positive sign. However, there is a culture where you should refrain from smiling as a form of respect.  Know how to greet your customers will help you create rapport quickly.

2. Value them

Have you walked into the store and they treat you like you are special to them?  It feels nice, right? That’s how your customer wants you to make them feel.

Do you take the time to learn about them? About their business? About the challenges? When they call you on a busy day, do you sound distracted on the phone?  Is their satisfaction a priority?

Some of you would have heard of the Konmari “Spark Joy” trend right now. Do you spark joy in your customer? If no, they will ‘throw you out’. If you are lucky, they thank you first for sparking joy once. (Did you?)

3. Listen to them

Another obvious one. Listening builds trust. But it’s so common to see sales professionals start selling their product features almost immediately. That’s the easiest way to push customers away.

Many years ago, I walked into a car dealership. I told the sales representative that I was looking for a new family car and trunk (boot) space was very important to me.  He walked me to the latest model which came with a price promotion package. He then started telling about the engine of the car and how I can opt for leather seats. Didn’t he hear me?

I am sure that first car is a really good car but for someone else.  I ended up buying a car with a  from somewhere else despite it having a slightly higher price tag. Yes, the sales representative there opened up the trunk to show me the space.

But what if the customer does not want volunteer the information?  This is when sales professionals need to ask questions. Questions are the most important tools in a sales professional’s toolkit. They can be used to discover needs, hidden concerns, and desires. There are different methods to use questions. If your product is complex, you may require doing strategic pairing of questions; or you could use SPIN questions.

4. Help them

Finally, customers want you to help them buy; instead of selling to them.  Sales is about solving problems.  People will only want to spend when there is a problem to be solved or a gap to be filled — avoidance of pain or desire for pleasure.

You need to listen to them before you know how to help them.  They want you to help them make a decision or to make it easy for them to decide. Focus on their biggest needs.

Some time back, I was looking to make a customised kiosk for a project with the intention to turn it into a standard product. Since this was a customised piece, I required both technical and design know-how from my supplier. I also needed a supplier that would be able to accept an order for only 1 unit for this first project.

Out of the two potential proposals I was evaluating, I selected the smaller-sized company. That was because they were willing to help me with customising the design, accept small orders, and grow the business with me.  Together, we went out to build that part of the business, serving customers in different parts of the country.

 

That’s my list : greet them, value them, listen to them, help them.

I am interested to know what’s on your list. What do your customers want you to do?

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#sales #customer #businessrelationships #tips  #gp

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About the Author: Gina Phan is a consultant and trainer with Zinfinity Consulting. She currently conducts courses in sales, business communication and negotiation. Click here to contact her or follow her on Facebook.

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