There is a relationship between a salesperson and a customer. The salesperson has to know what pain points or challenges the customer is facing to determine if their product or service will work for them. Then, salespeople need to effectively position the value of their solution to their customers to build understanding. Here are few ways to sell successfully to your customers.
Do your salespeople sell their product over a potential solution?
Yes, product knowledge is an essential sales skill. Understanding your product or services features allows you to present the benefits accurately and persuasively to your customers. All too often, salespeople are so wrapped up in their products and services, it hinders their connection with a potential customer.
An easy way for salespeople to connect with their customers is by asking questions in their discovery calls. In many cases, the discovery call is the most important step in the sales process. It sets the tone for the entire relationship, both before the sale and after. Either you'll be able to establish an authoritative positive relationship, or you'll be hung up on.
The purpose of the discovery call shouldn't be for you just to sell your product, rather let your prospect know you understand their problem and you may have a solution for them. Good discovery happens when a salesperson uncovers the client’s needs. Great discovery occurs when salespeople introduce conditions that the potential customer might not have thought about and ties those needs to a business impact.
You'll want to qualify your prospect using similar questions, in the order presented below and disqualify them at any point if it becomes clear they're not a good fit.
Questions like these validate your research and help to learn about the customer's situation, identify their goals, and clarify their pain points. They also help you to learn about their problems so you can find a solution. It is also a good idea to find out what you can about the decision-making process, from budget to schedule.
There are areas a salesperson will want to sell from to make a better connection with their customer. The first area is business wins. A business win is something that improves the business in some way.
Some examples of this will be if your product or service saves the company money, helps the company avoid a big risk, or makes the company more productive. Others could include a competitive advantage to having your product or service, better functionality, their customers get something more, or get them to market faster. These are impacts that will help you sell to the decision-makers.
Even more important than business wins are personal wins. A personal or emotional win is something that impacts you personally.
Some examples of this would be if your product or service makes the customer's job easier, makes them look better, saves them time, offers more personal gain, or makes them more productive. Connecting with your prospect on a personal level is vital to selling.
Marketing Charts states “B2B brands need to consider emotion as well as a reason when marketing to buyers, according to a new study by Google, the Conference Executive Board (CEB), and Motta.” Their research determined perceived personal value to have twice the impact of perceived business value for buyers across a range of business outcomes. The study results show "that among roughly 3,000 B2B buyers surveyed, those who see personal value are more than 3 times as likely to say they would purchase those who do not recognize any personal value (71% vs. 22.6%), and about 8 times more likely to pay a premium for the product or service (68.8% vs. 8.5%)."
As the sales leader, you don't need to know the inner workings of every deal. But, it would be best if you knew how your salespeople qualify leads, what questions they are asking, and how they connect on both the business and personal levels. You may also like to know what is important to your customers and how your salespeople are selling to help in that area.
To sell successfully, you must know your customer's business wins and personal wins and not solely focus on your product or service's features. Your salespeople will want to understand their customers and position how your product or service is a solution to help them.
