 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
The Myth Of Relationship Selling Revealed At Last
The second you quit being the 'best deal' for your customer, he'll drop you like a hot potato. Regardless of how many lunches you've bought him or birthdays you've remembered. Every business we've ever consulted tells us the same thing about their sales force. They say that their industry is different from all the others and the only effective way for their salespeople to sell is to build buddy-buddy relationships with their prospects and customers. We hear it from printers, bankers, jewelers, accountants, industrial equipment manufacturers, office equipment distributors...and every other industry that sells stuff. The argument usually goes something like this: "You see, in our industry, people put a lot of thought into this type of decision. They just don't go out and buy from whoever has the prettiest advertisements. As a matter of fact, we still have many of the same customers from when my grandfather owned the business. Now their grandsons buy from us. You just can't change these things overnight." Relationship Selling Is A Myth. Like all myths, there are some elements of truth to it. Yes, it's true that your customers should like you. Yes, it's true that you can't necessarily influence big buying decisions overnight. But get one thing perfectly clear - your customers buy from you for one reason: they believe you have "the best deal." Now their definition of what's the best deal may be different from the next person's. But generally, it has a lot to do with a combination of things like convenience, quality, consistency, service, and price. Usually, about 80% of a given target market will have the same needs, the same problems they want solved, and the same attitudes about buying. If you can solve their problems in a cost effective way, then getting their business is just a matter of staying in front of their face long enough to let them know you have the answers they need. Don't Manage Cherries, Manage Trees! The cherry tree is a useful sales analogy. Like a fruit tree, sales prospects must be cultivated in a certain way if they are to bear fruit. The problem is that most salespeople spend 80% of their time managing leads and trying to build relationships...managing each cherry on the tree. If the prospect doesn't happen to be 'ripe' at the exact moment the sales rep makes the call, the prospect is forgotten. Goes rotten. At best, he gets the annoying monthly phone call from the salesperson that invariably says, "You ready to move on those widgets yet?" In the MYM system, you spend your prospecting efforts on the entire tree. You provide the tree with light, water, and nutrients - and it bears fruit. You provide your entire target market of prospects with information, education and knowledge until it becomes self-evident to them that you are the only logical choice when it comes to your products or services. By the time the prospect figures out that you are the best deal, he doesn't really care who YOU are. He only cares what you have to offer HIM. When you finally sit down face-to-face, it will be to discuss details of the sale - not to 'persuade' him to do anything. Rich Harshaw is the founder of the Monopolize Your Marketplace system and CEO of Y2Marketing Business Marketing Strategies
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Tap Employee Passion For Business Success Meriwether Lewis set the stage for the Corps of Discovery's success before one single "employee" had been hired. From the outset Lewis and Clark engendered a communications culture that brought in the right prospects, then kept morale high and increased the productivity of those eventually hired. Juggling Demands in an Organization JUGGLING DEMANDS: All leaders constantly juggle a multifarious array of demands from those of their organization, employees, and themselves. Good leaders, never drop one demand at the expense of another equally important requirement. Create Your Dashboard for Success Driving down the road our eyes frequently scan the vital instruments on the dashboard that monitor speed, fuel level, coolant temperature, and oil pressure. The modern vehicle also has many more devices that constantly monitor various systems for fuel mixture, exhaust gasses, timing adjustment and others. How to get an Audiences Attention A trainer dryly discussing how to motivate people in an organization basically has just another "point-by-point" presentation. But suppose that he mounts the podium and begins to speak. Survival of the Fittest: The Road to Human Extinction I was watching a TV program some months ago about a biologist working in Central America who was dedicated to protecting the panther species from extinction. During the program I heard him make a comment that upon reflection I found had embedded in it seeds of wisdom that not even he was aware of. When Change Is In the Wind...Heads Up! In these days of takeovers and mergers, of downsizings and lean management, chances are that you are going to be caught in a job upheaval at least once in your career. Probably more than once!Change in the wind may come like an invigorating breeze on a hot humid night. Learn to Assert Yourself Pinpoint your own blocks to assertiveness: fear of disapproval, need to please others, fear of being too masculine or feminine, or the dread of making mistakes.Visualize yourself dealing effectively with a problem situation by considering alternative responses. Getting Software Developed for Your Business At some point, your business is going to need to have some software development. Maybe your business is small, but existing software doesn't fit your needs. Status Quo Pep Talks That Can Threaten Your Leadership Organizations live and die by results. Yet most organizations get a fraction of the results they are capable of. Keys to Feeling Powerfull In An Uncertain World Life has always been full of uncertainties. Over the last several years with downsizing, bankruptcies, scandals, crime, the economic environment, and the threat of war, people are feeling power-less, fearful, and stressed about their present and future lives. Employers - Protect Yourself from Custody Battles that Hold Your Company Hostage Child custody? How'd that get to be an employer's concern?When an employee faces child custody litigation, it will effect their ability to do their job. And it often causes legal consequences for their employers as well. A Management Strategy I witnessed some interesting behaviour from one of our premier management schools this summer. A behaviour that I have since discovered is not uncommon. From Boring to Interesting - Making Training Effective Being a good trainer requires experience and skill. Experience comes from practice and skill from learning the theories, applying them, getting feedback and consciously improving. Improved Communication to Improve Results Facilitating good communication can make the difference between a well oiled, effective team and disorganization and ambiguity. By following the tips below, you, the supervisor, can take steps toward improving communication with your employees:1. Choosing the Right Corporate Training According to a Gallup Poll, 80 percent of employees said the availability of company-sponsored training programs was a factor in deciding whether to accept a new job or stick with a current one. And yet the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the average number of hours of formal training per employee per year is only 10. Lone Rangers Suffer without Tonto A lone ranger is someone who prefers working in solitude or isolation. Sometimes life circumstances can call for us to adopt this attitude. Creativity and Innovation Management - Hierarchies Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. He Hate Me: Turning Their Bad Attitude Into Your Great Results "He Hate Me" was the nickname of Rod Smart, a leading rusher in 2002 for the Las Vegas Outlaws of the now defunct XFL pro football league. Looking for an edge, the XFL allowed players to put nicknames on their uniforms. Know the Source of Business One of the first questions we ask a prospect or new client is, "How did you get the business you have so far?" Some can answer exactly. Others aren't as certain. My Companys Leadership Sucks! Maybe it's the season or just a more buoyant job market; but lately I'm sure involved in a lot more discussions about leadership.I'm receiving more requests for help defining the key characteristics which make a great leader; and I'm hearing a lot of negative stuff from clients about their bosses.
|
|
|
 |
 |
