Our Jobs as Sales Professionals

Mention the word "sales" to anyone you know, in your personal life or your professional life, and you'll likely generate a visceral reaction that is immediately evident in the expression on their face.  There are a few professions that have earned their reputations well...sales being on the top of most people's list.  A few recent interactions on the customer side of the equation has certainly increased my empathy for customers of every shape and size.  More than that, it has given me a renewed vigor to do my part to reform the negative perceptions so companies would seem to want to earn with their sales efforts.

What is Selling Anyways?

I'm going to start this with a bit broader definition, that being the best definition of marketing that I've ever heard:

"Marketing is the identification and satisfaction of a given need of
a given customer at a given point in time"

If this is marketing then what is selling?   Selling is actually an element of that process, whereby the need and the solution are aligned...ideally in an optimal fashion...essentially the satisfaction of that need.  In broader terms:

"Selling is SOLVING PROBLEMS"

One of the more apt quips from the Sandler Selling System is that "people buy for their reasons, not our reasons".  Think about that for a minute...  Whether you buy a pack of mints, a car or a piece of equipment, you're trying to satisfy a need, e.g solve a problem.  It seems so simple, yet there are those times where the process seems to go awry and we end up disappointed...or worse, reputations and/or relationships are irreparably damaged. 

Let's face it, we all have our list of companies that we will NEVER do business with again, EVER!   My list includes American Airlines, ZoomInfo and General Motors (sadly, there are others).  As I recall how each of these companies made it onto "the list", I'm left shaking my head because seemingly their intent was to keep me from ever buying from them again.  Those are stories for another day...

Where Do Things Break Down?

The problem with buying is that we so often have to deal with someone that is selling.  Unfortunately, any human interaction involves communication, and virtually all communication is a game of telephone...what one person says is seldom what the other person hears.  Often times, the longer the conversation persists, the worse the "communication" gets, and people end up further apart than when they started.

You also have the issue of competing agendas...each side seeking the greatest advantage in the transaction, often at the expense of the other.  Walmart is famous for tactics that ensure that most of their suppliers make only enough money to avoid going out of business...every penny but your very last penny they will find a way to take.  Ask someone that sells to Walmart and they will tell you "I have to sell to Walmart, but every day I wonder if it's worth it...".

The result of these dynamics is ultimately a lose-lose:

• Lost Opportunity - the customer chooses either to not move forward or to purchase from a competitor.
• Poor Solution Alignment - the product / solution that ends up being presented (or even delivered) doesn't fully satisfy the customer's needs.
• Damaged Reputation / Relationship - when expectations fail to be met the cost is often greater than the loss of an individual opportunity.  We've all heard it..."keep a customer happy and maybe they will tell one person...disappoint them and they'll tell 10 (or more)"...

At the end of the day there is no such thing as a "win-lose"....there is only "win-win" or "lost-lose".  Again, think of Walmart...the only people that want to do business with Walmart have never experienced doing business with Walmart.

Doing Better...

The good news is that you can always start over, reset your priorities and reinvigorate your efforts to make your customer's success your own.  Here are a few places to start:

• Do Your Homework - before even engaging in a conversation, ESPECIALLY when prospecting, make sure you know who you're talking to.  I can't tell you how many people approach me on LinkedIn or through other channels that "show up and throw up" without understanding even remotely what I do.  Make sure your prospect / customer truly has a need for what you offer.
• Listen Actively - throughout your organization practice the art of active listening...truly listening to what your customer is saying.  Remember this test - if you have your response formulated before the customer / prospect finishes what they are saying...you are NOT listening actively.  A few other techniques:
  • Don't Speak, Ask - constantly ask yourself "was the last thing that came out of my mouth a statement or a question?".  Often times you can re-phrase a statement into a question to secure even more feedback.
  • Ask Open-Ended Questions - begin your questions with "How or What" whenever possible...those types of questions initiate the broadest responses.
  • Own the Problem with the Customer - put yourselves in the customer's shoes...ask yourself how you would feel if the roles were reversed and join with the customer to "solve the problem".
• Turn Customers Down - When you don't have the best solution for a customer, be willing to tell them so.  You'll be amazed how quickly you will earn their respect when you put their needs ahead of your own.
• Empower Your Team - make it everyone in the company's job to delight the consumer.  The math has been done many times to calculate the cost of keeping an existing customer versus finding a new one.  BTW this philosophy applies to winning new customers as well. 
• Run Into the Fire - when trouble arises, "run into the fire".  Attack a problem with more urgency and excitement than a new opportunity.  You will set yourselves apart from your competitors, surprise your customers and establish strong long-term relationships.

Make Your Customers' Success Your Own...

Paraphrasing Zig Ziglar - "if you want to achieve your dreams, start by helping others to achieve theirs...".   It may seem like so much common sense, but so much gets in the way, almost none of it being necessary.  We set up so many policies and procedures, budgetary guidelines, organizational structures all in the name of "taking care of our customers", yet so many companies fail so miserably.  It can be attributed to many things, but it generally comes down to a few simple facts.

No two customers are alike, even though they may be similar.  Consequently, what will satisfy them is likely to be as different as they are from the next.  Similarly, no two employees are alike so no playbook will be 100% effective for everyone in every situation.  Yes, we have to have policies and procedures to ensure that the company makes money while remaining consistent for all stakeholders.  However, if we don't find a way to delight every customer and "solve their problems" we'll eventually have no customers to worry about.