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What Customers Really Want from Sales People

Written by: John Brennan

Article Overview: It’s a buyer’s market today because there is enormous amounts of money in corporations and in families, with a proliferation of buying channels. Customers like having a choice, and they also like to shop and buy efficiently. A well-trained, professional sales person can help a customer sort through the choices and streamline their buying process.

What Customers Really Want from Sales People

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.

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Article Tags: choices, professional sales person, proliferation, prospecting



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