What Customers Really Want from Sales People
What Customers Really Want from Sales People
Know your products. Customers will forgive you for a lot of things, but they won’t forgive you if you do not know your own company’s products. Being able to answer questions about your company and product’s capabilities is the chief qualification for admission to the customer’s office. Your polished selling skills, your personal charisma, a Fortune 100 company on your business card, even your 10 years in the industry matter little to the customer if you do not know the features and benefits of your products. It will not guarantee you an order, but it will get you respect from the customer, and an opportunity to use your selling skills to get an order.
Know your industry. Many customers view the consultative sales person as source for finding out what is happening in the industry. They expect you to be fully aware of industry trends, the major players, your key competitors, emerging technology, and innovations in customer purchasing. They expect you to educate them about their choices. They expect you to understand, and have a viewpoint on, alternative solutions to their problems. Are there experimental or emerging products that some day may replace the products they are buying today? Are there alternative delivery methods? Are there any companies outsourcing, or bringing inside the services or functions you are selling? What industry publications might be of interest to them? They want you to know and freely share this information.
By keeping your customers up to date on these and other issues, you reinforce your position as a consultative sales person, and reassure your customer that he/she is making the best choice available. More often than not, these conversations lead to new ideas for the customer and new business opportunities for you.
Know your customer. Your credibility is at risk if you have to ask a customer what his company does. Customers do not expect you to be experts in their company, but they do expect you to know the fundamentals, especially if they are a leader in their industry or a prominent company in the local community. Here are some basics you should know about your customers and prospects:
Their main products or services
The industry groups they sell to
Their position in the market
The locations of their major manufacturing, distribution and regional offices
Approximate size in revenue, employees or industry rank
Divisional structure and names of any subsidiary companies
Current issues in their industry
Current issues in their company
The name of their CEO
You need go no further than your computer to get most of the information you need to prepare yourself. Try www.Hoovers.com or your favorite search engine -- www.ceoexpress.com is mine.
What Customers Really Want from Sales People - To learn more about this author, visit John Brennan's Website.
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In survey after survey, when customers are asked what they want in a sales person, these bubble to the top:
Know your products. Customers will forgive you for a lot of things, but they won’t forgive you if you do not know your own company’s products. Being able to answer questions about your company and product’s capabilities is the chief qualification for admission to the customer’s office. Your polished selling skills, your personal charisma, a Fortune 100 company on your business card, even your 10 years in the industry matter little to the customer if you do not know the features and benefits of your products. It will not guarantee you an order, but it will get you respect from the customer, and an opportunity to use your selling skills to get an order.
Know your industry. Many customers view the consultative sales person as source for finding out what is happening in the industry. They expect you to be fully aware of industry trends, the major players, your key competitors, emerging technology, and innovations in customer purchasing. They expect you to educate them about their choices. They expect you to understand, and have a viewpoint on, alternative solutions to their problems. Are there experimental or emerging products that some day may replace the products they are buying today? Are there alternative delivery methods? Are there any companies outsourcing, or bringing inside the services or functions you are selling? What industry publications might be of interest to them? They want you to know and freely share this information.
By keeping your customers up to date on these and other issues, you reinforce your position as a consultative sales person, and reassure your customer that he/she is making the best choice available. More often than not, these conversations lead to new ideas for the customer and new business opportunities for you.
Know your customer. Your credibility is at risk if you have to ask a customer what his company does. Customers do not expect you to be experts in their company, but they do expect you to know the fundamentals, especially if they are a leader in their industry or a prominent company in the local community. Here are some basics you should know about your customers and prospects:
Their main products or services
The industry groups they sell to
Their position in the market
The locations of their major manufacturing, distribution and regional offices
Approximate size in revenue, employees or industry rank
Divisional structure and names of any subsidiary companies
Current issues in their industry
Current issues in their company
The name of their CEO
You need go no further than your computer to get most of the information you need to prepare yourself. Try www.Hoovers.com or your favorite search engine -- www.ceoexpress.com is mine.
What Customers Really Want from Sales People - To learn more about this author, visit John Brennan's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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