You want to be an amazing sales person? Have you ever wondered what the best of the best do to connect with their customers and prospects? How is it some sales people always make quota, are labeled “rain makers” and are continually in the top 5% of sales organizations? Like most things, there are many reasons, but one of the key reasons starts with the solutions they create.
Yes, I said solutions “they” create.
One of the biggest mistakes most sales people make is they assume everyone on their sales team is selling the same thing and that couldn’t be less accurate. What the most successful sales people recognize is every solution they are selling is different, even if the product is the same. With this knowledge they work tirelessly to create unique and targeted solutions for each and all of their customers and prospects. They know they’re never selling the sames thing twice. This simple recognition and commitment is the difference between being just another sales person and being the best.
Every customer and every prospect has their own set of objectives and goals. They have their own unique set of problems they are trying to fix. The best sales people know this and are keenly focused on those problems. They recognize that each customer or prospect will use the product or service they are selling differently. These sales people recognize it’s how their product is used and for what gain that dictates how it is to be sold. With out this obeservation and commitment, the sale is just another product or service.
To do this the best sales people do two things; they put themselves into the seat of their buyer and they build a solution they would chose themselves if they were in the buyers position.
Put themselves in the buyers position:
The best sales people put themselves in the buyers position. They look at the landscape as if they were they were the buyer. They don’t see themselves as sales people, but rather as business people trying to solve business problems. They understand a complex sale is the result of a complex problem that needs to be solved. The best sales people dig deep in order to intimately understand the issues, challenges, environment, players, politics, detractors and everything else that affects the ability of the buyer to solve their problem.
Build a solution they would use:
In addition to intimately understanding the challenges of the buyer and what his or her problem is, the best sales people create unique solutions for their customers and prospects, solutions they would chose themselves if they were the buyer. This point can’t be glossed over. It is at the core of success. After having developed as robust and complete picture of the problem their buyer is facing, the sales person develops a solution with their product or services they themselves would implement if they were the buyer. They build what they would use. They then deliver the solution with a solid and detailed description of how it solves the problem(s), what the risks are, why it’s the best solution, and what the impact of implementation is.
The best of the best don’t start with their product, but rather with the customer or prospects problem. They recognize that they aren’t selling the same thing everyone else is, but rather a unique solution targeted at a unique problem. They recognize they are selling something different to each customer or prospect, even if it is the same service or product every time.
The best know, you’re never selling the same thing twice.
