*The following is an excerpt from Mark Bishop's book, The Trusted Seller; the foundation for the What Buyers Want sales training program. Contact us for more information.
The very best sales reps make it clear they have their buyers' best interests in mind. From planning and preparation, to communication, to the negotiation of terms, everything a top sales rep does serves as additional proof that the buyer's best interests are center stage. Know what happens when a salesperson pays attention to the buying organization? The buyer notices. And buyers pay attention to salespeople who pay attention to them.
Let's take a closer look at what's involved with this behavior, starting with the issue of preparedness. Consider how much time you put into preparing for a new business meeting. From the buyer's perspective, this speaks volumes about the effort you may put forth into other activities, such as the level of service you'll provide once the buyer becomes a customer (if, indeed, this becomes a reality). Preparation is an absolutely critical component of demonstrating good intentions.
In fact, every survey I've ever seen in procurement trade publications regarding buyer complaints about salespeople ranks lack of meeting preparedness as one of the chief problems. The only other problem that's equally as predictable (and problematic) is lack of seller follow-through on action items. Both of these behaviors undermine your efforts to demonstrate good intentions toward the buyer.
The second component critical to your success in demonstrating good intentions is benevolence. The buyer simply must believe you have his best interests at heart – that you're inclined to act in a manner beneficial to the buying organization. And, if you really want to excel at sales, you should have the buyer's best interests at heart. Know why? Your subsequent efforts come more naturally when your motivation is simply to do what's best for the buyer. When you're naturally inclined to serve the buyer in the best way possible, the buyer sees that. Let's look now at specific tactics that can help you make your intentions evident to buyers.
Road trips, chess, higher education or new business accounts. Regardless of the goal, it's a lot easier to get there if you first develop a plan of action. We discussed The Plan earlier when talking about how exhibiting purpose helps you reach the first milestone in the business relationship.
Steve Salesperson, who works for A Better Cleaning Company, wrote the following objectives prior to his initial sales meeting with Tim, the buyer for Meaty Meats Food Corporation.
Key message:
Our Germ-B-Gone product is very effective at killing microorganisms harbored on food preparation surfaces – and it's safer for employees than any other product on the market.
Immediate objectives:
(1) Demonstrate the effectiveness of the Germ-B-Gone product for the Meaty Meats buyer.
(2) Highlight the research supporting the safety of Germ-B-Gone.
(3) Have the buyer affirm that he believes our Germ-B-Gone products are better for employee health than other competing products.
Mid-range objective #1:
Earn trial order with Germ-B-Gone product.
Mid-range objective #2:
Earn trial order for each product within our suite of Class A cleaning products.
Long-term objectives:
Did you know that objective planning is one of the differentiating factors that sets apart top-performing sales reps from other reps, as found by one study undertaken by a sales-management consulting firm ("10 practices..." 1996, 2)? Taking time to plan your objectives yields better results.
Your ideal scenario for one buyer may kick off with a convenient meeting at the buyer's office. Assuming the buyer demonstrates interest in your initial meeting, you could follow this effort with a tour of your facility and a subsequent meeting in your office.
Or, if you're targeting someone who works in another city but who travels a lot, perhaps you take the buyer to dinner next time their in town. Or, you may even invite the buyer to come specifically to tour your operations (if you suspect this would be beneficial). Pick up the buyer's travel expenses if you can. Include a perk or two, if possible, such as tickets to a local sporting event, to sweeten the deal. You may choose to follow these efforts with a personal visit to the buyer's site and a series of videoconference calls.
Actually, I've just mentioned two other specific planning activities that set apart top-performers from the not-performers. Those who plan "a questioning strategy to elicit customer needs" and those who prepare for customer objections ahead of time are two more of the differentiating factors observed in the behavior of top-performing salespeople ("10 practices..." 1996, 2). Just remember: Your efforts to prepare do pay off.
Storytelling is a terrific tool when used appropriately. Tell stories only when they can move you closer to achieving your objectives. (Just remember to whittle the story down as much as possible, tie it back to your main point and make sure your story is relevant to the buyer.)
Do your homework. Top salespeople do their homework ahead of time to determine where the best fit is between their products or services and the buyer's needs. In fact, the very best reps don't even attempt to develop rapport with a buying organization unless they feel comfortable that a mutually beneficial relationship is possible. This pre-work is done earlier in the business relationship, at the level of gaining buyer attention.
But now that you're here – now that you've successfully gained the buyer's attention, make the most of your opportunity. Make sure you know the buyer's business:
Interestingly, studies show a strong correlation between the accuracy of the information sales reps acquire and their level of sales performance. Specifically, when a salesperson has a more accurate understanding of a customer's decision process, it enables her to "plan and implement a sales strategy which will produce superior sales performance" (Lambert, Marmorstein and Sharma 1990, 1). But you've got to have the facts before you can get to that point!
Communicate the effort you've put into learning the buyer's business – but temper your showcasing with a good shot of humility. You don't want the buyer to think you're bragging, and you certainly don't want the buyer to perceive that youfeel inconvenienced by (or resentful of) the effort put forth. Just carefully drop statistics or industry knowledge into the conversation when it's appropriate and mention where you obtained the information.
Similarly, if you've taken action to benefit the buyer and your effort may not be obvious, let the buyer know what you've done. I remember the day that Guy, a rep for one of the vendors serving our company, approached me:
The Guy Who Took Credit:
"You know, Mark, you'd be proud of me," Guy announced.
"Oh, yeah?" I asked inquisitively. "Why is that?"
"Remember how you'd said your customers in the Southwest were having problems with support there?" he asked. I nodded, encouraging him to continue. "Well, have you noticed any problems lately in that area of the country? It should be resolved now," he explained. "I talked to my boss about the situation. We actually ended up restructuring that territory so we could take better care of your customers."
"So, you ended up canning the guy who gave us so much trouble?" I asked, arching my left brow.
"Well, no. It turns out that Steve, the rep serving that area, is absolutely brilliant in a technical sense. But he doesn't have very good interpersonal skills. We moved him into a position that allows him to concentrate on technology, and then we put someone with exemplary interpersonal communication skills in his spot instead. This solution made the most sense for everyone involved."
Until Guy spoke up, I had no idea about the behind-the-scenes work that had taken place. No idea. All I knew is that I hadn't been receiving complaints from that area of the country, but, until Guy spoke up, I never gave the matter much thought. Make sure you take credit for your hard work. You've got to speak up when the effort you put forth isn't obvious to the buyer. Otherwise, the buyer doesn't know. When you show a buyer that you've solved a problem on your own, or that you've done your homework prior to taking up his time, you're demonstrating the kind of effort that will likely be put into managing the buyer's business once you've earned it.
One reality that greatly frustrates buyers is the tendency for suppliers to promise too much and deliver too little. In fact, consider just a couple of the comments (verbatim) shared by participants of a study reported recently in Supply Chain Management Review (Fawcett, Magnan and Williams 2004, 23):
How sad that so many buyer-supplier relationships begin with the buyer believing the supplier will fail. When you deliver on your commitments, you're showing the buyer that you care about his organization. The best sales reps keep their promises – all the time, every time. In fact, this is one of the most important dimensions of trust in buyer-supplier relationships.
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