Partnering Can Sometimes Mean Patience

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Partnering Can Sometimes Mean Patience

Written by Kathy Maxiner

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Are You Keeping Your Customers Up at Night?

You may make suggestions and recommendations, but until you see your customer take action, don’t let them off the hook. And, don’t let them try to provide easy answers, otherwise nothing will be accomplished. Your interest and attentiveness to what’s being done might cause some discomfort for your customer, but by following-through, they will realize the benefits of the exercise and having you on their team.

Effective consultative salespeople know how to keep their customers up at night. By that I mean they know “how to get in their customers’ heads” by asking questions that will force them to think about the issues that are important to their business. It’s up to you to become their business conscience.

True, not everyone wants to be reminded of the difficult challenges that may be confronting them, but by filling this role, a consultative seller will further enhance their credibility and value to their customers. You’ll be the person who attracts their attention and keeps their interest because of your ability to get them to focus on the important issues at hand that can’t be overlooked.

For example, one of my client executives was concerned about the fact that only 19% of his sales force was making their quota. At the same time, he saw an opportunity to greatly improve their revenue position based on the fact that 76% of the remaining sales force was regularly within 20% of their quotas. Last November he told me that he wanted to make it a priority to find a way to get the sales people, who were within easy reach of their quotas, to achieve their sales goals.

Viewing myself as his sales consultant even though he had not yet purchased anything, I stayed in touch and prodded him – always to hear this was still a priority but that no action had been taken. His many business priorities had gotten in the way. I then posed one very well thought out question.

“Why was he avoiding taking action when he had already quantified the lost revenue this situation was causing?”

Based on my question – one that certainly got his attention and made, by his own admission, for some sleepless nights – he and I have established a plan that he’s now following through on. Without the prodding and attention I displayed, the opportunity to find a way to increase revenue may have been lost while he continued spending money and time, and losing revenue, on the wrong sales strategy.

In my situation, the questions to ask were fairly obvious, but it’s not always easy to know what the most effective and strategic questions to ask are. With this in mind, there are three thought-provoking questions any consultative salesperson can use that will cause their customers to hesitate and give a situation serious consideration:

What are the strategies you’re not focusing on? -- This question will cause your customer to think about what they may be overlooking or not giving enough time and attention to. People frequently lose sight of even the most basic strategies for success, and you can help them become grounded again.
What is the return on investment you’re not getting, but should? -- This question will help your customer to consider if they’re achieving the results they expected, and if not, why. It’s an excellent way to address any problems or issues before they become unmanageable.
What is causing the biggest issue; your people, processes or budget? -- This question will help your customer pinpoint where their biggest challenges exist and begin to develop a plan to resolve the situation.

Once these questions are presented, it’s critical for you to continue to follow-up on what’s been asked. You may make suggestions and recommendations, but until you see your customer take action, don’t let them off the hook. And, don’t let them try to provide easy answers, otherwise nothing will be accomplished. Your interest and attentiveness to what’s being done might cause some discomfort for your customer, but by following-through, they will realize the benefits of the exercise and having you on their team.

Get Smart | The Sales Store

So you thought by now you’d stop hearing the words, “No” or “I’m not interested”, from your prospective customers. Yet, time and again it appears that there just isn’t a need or worse: Salespeople are being told that prospects just aren’t buying or that their decision to purchase is “on hold”. What many salespeople do when they hear the bad news is to mark on their calendars a reminder note to call in 60 days to see if the prospect’s decision to buy has changed.

If you fall into this kind of postponement thinking where you plan for success at a later date, your chances for success are significantly reduced. Think about it a minute: Why would you accept at face value that your prospects don’t need what you have to offer, regardless of what the economy is doing? You know yourself that you will always find a way to purchase if you see that the value of your purchase outweighs the financial or emotional risks of buying. In other words, if your prospects are like most people they’ll find a way to buy what they need and justify why buying was the smartest decision they could ever make.

Your role in fostering a good buying decision is in knowing how your customers measure a good return on investment. Before you assume that paying as little as possible is the highest priority on your customer’s wish list, consider some other possibilities:

Would your customers spend a few extra dollars if it meant saving them huge amounts of time?
Would they invest a little cash to get control of a perceived chaotic work environment?
Would your prospects talk to you if you could show a way to move them to the forefront of their industry and increase their sales revenue?
Would your customers pay for a way to improve their working relationships with their own customers?

Regardless of market conditions, customers are still buying. Fortunately for those of us who can meet their needs, they’ve become highly selective concerning who they’ll buy from. They’re looking for straight talk and for salespeople who can see beyond an immediate sale. Let’s face it: Some of your customers are getting less business than usual from their own customers. The main challenge, then, for the smart salesperson is to create ways in which to improve your customer’s profitability.

Ask yourself: What is my role as a salesperson? What do my customers expect from me? How can I be of the most benefit to my clients? While salespeople are notorious for wanting to close deals quickly, a sales consultant positions him or herself as a partner who can help customers in reaching both their short and long-term business goals. If you’re not sure how your product or service will positively impact these goals, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and take a look at the bigger picture.

Once your customers see you less as a vendor and more as a consultant or strategist, your opportunities to solidify long-term business relationships increase significantly. Position yourself to succeed.

Kathy Maxiner
		About the author:
		*Kathy Maixner* is the President of Selling Smart, a results-driven consulting and training company focused on accelerating top-line growth and improving bottom-line profitability. With more than 20 years’ experience in consultative sales, Kathy has directed her clients in winning multi-million dollar contracts from prospects where no previous business had been awarded. As a professional member of the National Speakers’ Association, Kathy is a sought-after speaker to turn hum-drum conferences into powerful sales events. .