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What do clients want?

Written by: Sue Barrett

Article Overview: Clients don't expect to be coerced, bullied, tricked or intimidated into buying. They don't expect to be treated like an idiot by sales people who just talk at them and flash brochures or product sheets. Relationships do not work effectively if they are forced!

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What do clients want?

Clients don't expect to be coerced, bullied, tricked or intimidated into buying. They don't expect to be treated like an idiot by sales people who just talk at them and flash brochures or product sheets. Relationships do not work effectively if they are forced!

Clients are now after ‘Business people'who can sell.

Most clients know what they are after even if they don't know how to articulate it sometimes.

The ‘market challenger' or ‘early adopter' clients are open to new ideas and innovations and whilst they don't know what they don't know they are often happy to see competent sales people to learn and keep up to date with the latest ideas and innovations. They want to stay ahead of the pack. A key part of our job, as sales people, is to help clients articulate what they need in language they can relate to and understand so they can get what they need.

Today, clients expect to deal with a real professional who knows their own business and how that business is able to serve the client's business well.

As sales people, we need to listen beyond the obvious product need and get to know how our offering fits in with our clients' overall business or personal plans. Here are some suggestions on how you can do this:

Clients expect to be ‘helped' these days. They expect the sales person to have a reasonable degree of business acumen & commercial awareness. You need to be aware of the bigger picture and your place in it. As you well know the world does not only revolve around your product or service.

You can build your credibility and value as a trusted business partner if you:

As a sales person make sure you always have a valid business reason (VBR) to position you in context of your client or prospect's business. Think in terms of how the client will perceive you and your value to their business.

An excellent barometer for how your clients feel when you are interacting with them is to imagine you are one of your clients and you are being served by you. Really put yourself in your clients' shoes and describe your sales and service approach in as much details as possible. What did they say about you and your value to them?

‘Success' is but an artistic term

And after proper investigation, we as sales people should be able to define what ‘Success' will looks like in partnership with the client and have a planned approach for change. Remember ‘Success' is but an artistic term until you give it substance. You need to make sure you can link your client's goals and desires to work with you to tangible actions and outcomes. We are living in an increasingly evidenced based society and you need to be able to link your business offerings to real outcomes.

No fluff and spin!

You need to be able to communicate achievable objectives for the relationship while challenging the creativity of both the client and your organisation.

In short, in at least Business to Business sales, clients are now after ‘Business people' who can sell.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

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Home > Sales > Sue Barrett > What do clients want
Article Tags: amp, brochures, business acumen, business issues, challenger, commercial awareness, early adopter, initial question, innovations, li li, own business, personal plans, point of view, possible solutions, priorities, product sheets, relationships, s sales, sales performance, sales person

About the Author: Sue Barrett
RSS for Sue's articles - Visit Sue's website

'Selling is everybody's business and everybody lives by selling something' so says Sue Barrett, sales expert, writer, business speaker and adviser, facilitator, sales coach, training provider and entrepreneur. Sue founded Barrett in 1995 to positively transform the culture, capability and continuous learning of leaders, teams and businesses by developing sales driven organisations that are equipped for the 21st Century. Since inception, Barrett has worked with hundreds of Australian companies challenging thinking to create compelling reasons and continuous learning pathways for people and organisations to develop their skills, knowledge and mindsets to create the shifts they want and ensure they are well informed and equipped for the sales journey ahead.

Sue is one of the leading voices commenting on sales today. Sue has a unique way of getting to the heart of the matter - she combines extensive knowledge, research, insight, and practical experience with a deep sense of compassion to bring forth a more enlightened way of thinking and participating in the world. This makes her stand out from the usual crowd of existing business commentators.

Her ability to distill complex ideas and relate them to life's everyday challenges and opportunities has audience members and readers leaving with a stronger understanding of "self" and how they can begin to achieve excellence through purposeful action. Presenting and writing on a wide range of topics about the world of 21st Century selling Sue's presentations and articles include sales philosophy and culture, sales leadership and coaching, sales training, selling skills, resilience, neuroscience in selling and more. Sue's articles are some of the most widely read in Australia and she is gaining a following overseas as well. Besides publishing on Barrett Sales Blog site, Sue has been the lead sales writer for www.smartcompany.com.au since 2007, and is also regularly published on other highly regarded publications such as Australian Anthill Magazine, Niche Magazine, Marketing Mag, Business Chicks, and Business Deals.



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