This may be the most important sales and marketing article you read this year. This simple, common sense sales tip can turn around a business career. To increase your sales, get in line with your customer’s vision. If only this powerful concept were easy to put into practice! Let’s take a look at how you might find ways to align with your customer’s vision and close more sales.
What is Vision?
Vision is how we see our business in the future. Your customers have a distinct and powerful vision of their futures. Some are very much aware of this vision and can discuss it openly. Others are not clear on their vision. Your job is to uncover and become a part of your customer’s vision. You add tremendous value if you help customers discover their vision and make it a reality.
Determine Vision through Insightful Questions Ask big picture questions that help you better understand their vision. Plan these questions in advance and probe with no assumptions or prejudices that can skew this investigative process. Customers will probably not tell you how to help make their vision a reality. They do not want to appear eager to be sold, or they may not have a clear vision. They are looking for you to take the initiative and offer the right solution. The customer will see you as a valuable resource when you notice what is important without them having to tell you. This is a real benefit and builds a large amount of trust and confidence. You discover this by asking questions and listening, not by talking.
Help Improve Profits Showing your customer how you can improve their profits is the key. The most important business equation is: revenues minus expenses are equal to profits. Work with clients to find ways to improve this equation in their favor. In consumer markets, the equation deals more with desire and fear. People will buy when the desire for owning the product overcomes any apprehension they may have about the purchase. Getting in line with vision will help you uncover solutions that will lead to sales and overcome customer fears.
How to Discuss Vision on the Sales Call The key questions to ask are related to improved profits, return on investment and the customer’s vision of the future. Ask straightforward questions about the future of their organization. Ask customers to elaborate. Ask about how they can increase profits. This will open doors and enable you to be a part of the solution. Ask your customer about his or her comfort zone for buying. This will help you understand how he or she can move from the fear of buying to a desire to purchase.
Plan, Practice and be Persistent It is important to prepare a sales strategy that focuses on determining your customer’s vision. Write down your questions and script the sales process. Focus on discovering the benefit to the customer. Keep the focus on the customer's perspective and what makes sense to the customer. Get away from your perspective, because it may be wrong.
Use Trial Closes Help the customer make a decision with trial closes. Ask this great question: “If we are to move forward, how do you see it happening?” Ask “what if” questions and make recommendations based on what the customer has told you. Focus your questions on the client’s vision and helping him or her increase profits.
Use Caution with Objections Be careful with customer objections and questions because they often have a purpose unknown to you. Respond with a question such as, “Is that important to you?” “ Why do you ask?” Objections and questions are signals for more information. It is your job to figure out the right answer by probing gently. Resist the need to answer questions immediately because this turns off the buyer.
Put the Customer in the Driver’s Seat Customers want choices. They want to drive the decision-making process and do not want to be sold, yet they love to buy what is a part of their vision. Aligning yourself with the customer’s vision is perhaps the best way to close sales. You become a valuable asset as you help your customer make his or her vision of the future a reality
Connect with Your Customers Vision - To learn more about this author, visit Thomas Young's Website.
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