Selling in a global pandemic is no easy task, not least when businesses have been battling against the odds for almost a year. However skilled sales people are taking a proven approach to tackling the challenging sales climate, and – perhaps surprisingly for some – it doesn’t involve shouting about the bells and whistles of their product or service.
Tony Hughes, CEO at leading specialists in sales, communications and negotiations training and pioneers of the world-famous SPIN® Selling, Huthwaite International, reveals how the most successful sales people are boosting business growth by taking stock of the lessons of 2020 and teaming this with proven methodologies, to step away from feature selling and focus on adding real value for clients in 2021.
Last year, people were overwhelmed with content, more so than ever before. The worse thing a sales person can do is to add to the noise. If you want to stand out in a crowded market, don’t be just another business shouting their way through the pandemic – stop talking and start listening to your customer’s needs.
Forget the script you have in mind about the bells and whistles, advantages and USPs of your product or service, and starting thinking about who you are talking to and what they might need so you can ask the right questions – invite them to tell you more. Find out how they’ve dealt with the crisis, how they’ve been impacted – show that you really want to help them find solutions to the actual problems they’re facing now.
As sales people we are naturally passionate about our offering, but this passion can often stand in the way of effective sales methods. Showing clients you’re passionate about them and their concerns will help you to break through the noise and provide a relevant product or service that they will really value.
Of course, the most effective salespeople enter a pitch already knowing what those all-important client needs are. By preparing in advance, conducting research and planning to meet the needs of your clients, you can position yourself as a problem solver and build credibility quickly.
By giving yourself the time to do your research and fully explore the wants and needs of the both the individuals and organisation you are working with, you’ll ensure you consider all the factors that will impact your client’s market both today and in the future.
Despite the all-important plan, it’s also essential to try to stay ahead of the game and anticipate what might happen. In acknowledging to the customer that you’re aware their Buying Cycle™ will inevitably change during this turbulent time, your understanding and flexibility helps them to see you as trustworthy. Offering to be patient yet keeping in touch regularly will help to build a solid relationship overtime.
Being adaptable doesn’t mean being unprepared, it’s about anticipating changes and issues before your customer highlights them to you. After almost a year of the pandemic, clients will not just be wanting adaptability they will be expecting it.
We know how easy it is to be all consumed by your own worries and stresses during a crisis, and your customers will feel exactly the same. Increasing your communication with a client is the best way to nurture the relationship. Whether it’s internal, to customers or to third parties this communication is reassuring and helps keep spirits and motivations high.
When people don’t feel informed, they tend to panic which stops them from focusing and prioritising. Keep conversations clear and consistent. If the advice and updates are confusing and provide conflicting opinions and frequent changes in direction, confidence will be damaged or lost completely. Many businesses were so focused on their external communications in 2020 and looking as though the pandemic hadn’t affected them, they forgot to communicate internally. Ensure everyone, both inside and outside your organisation understands your business and current position so all customer touch points are unified in their message.
Confidence is a vital skill for any sales person, that said it’s important that this isn’t confused with (the archetypal, yet false) aggressive or bullish behaviour often associated with complex sales. This can be a challenge whilst communicating virtually, so be mindful of your online behaviours.
Being a confident sales person means harnessing and building a quiet, calm but unshakable belief in yourself, your company and your offering. This is important, as committing to a sale can often be overwhelming for buyers. Don’t forget to show your emotions as this kind of verbal behaviour also reveals something personal, which is likely to encourage trust within a conversation, making the customer more likely to be honest about their thought process.
Huthwaite’s research shows that up to 30% of sales are left open due to unaddressed concerns. By remaining confident in your product, you create an open environment for questions and issues to be raised and addressed in advance, helping to build a stronger relationship.
In hard times like those many businesses have faced over the last year, consider that people may be looking for safety over price. More often than not, businesses will not go for the cheapest option anyway as it can ring alarm bells
Customers want to know that someone is going to be around and they want to believe that they can feel safe in your hands. As we go through what is hopefully the final hurdle of this pandemic, businesses are looking forward and want to ensure they’re still around to see the back of it, their confidence in you as a safe option will help them to achieve that.
As businesses prepare to secure growth in 2021, it’s important that sales people focus on the issues their offering is resolving for customers. By meeting customer needs by offering tangible solutions, sales people can generate trust, demonstrate value and build stronger relationships for the future.
To discover how your business can benefit from investing in quality sales skills, visit: https://www.huthwaiteinternational.com/business-performance-solutions/sales-training/
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category . |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
CookieLawInfoConsent | 1 year | Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
__gads | 1 year 24 days | The __gads cookie, set by Google, is stored under DoubleClick domain and tracks the number of times users see an advert, measures the success of the campaign and calculates its revenue. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites. |
_ga | 2 years | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. |
_ga_2DFKH2LM4H | 2 years | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. |
_gat_gtag_UA_93233250_1 | 1 minute | Set by Google to distinguish users. |
_gid | 1 day | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
aigm_tracking_consent | 1 year | Created by Monster Tracking v2 for internal tracking/fingerprinting - determines whether the user has consented to being tracked by allowing cookies. |
aigm_tracking_id | 1 year | Created by Monster Tracking v2 for internal tracking/fingerprinting - contains the consent ID number of the user. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
IDE | 1 year 24 days | Google DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile. |
test_cookie | 15 minutes | The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookietest | session | No description |
GoogleAdServingTest | session | No description |