Home Add to Favorite Contact Submit  
             28 March, 2024
 

    
Category:  Articles » Business » Sales Management

 

C-Level Relationship Selling - Take Control and Your Relationships Will Flourish

Popularity:
         Views: 1854
2008-10-13 07:34:45     
Article by Sam Manfer

In a selling situation, "How can I help you," seems to be the spoken or implied question from one person to the other. Typically your prospect or customer will say, "I have a question or a problem," or "Can you help me?" or "I need some information on ...."

As an experienced sales person, you'll listen for a few seconds, and think you've got it. Then you start selling, i.e. trying to persuade the person to buy your idea of the solution. Somehow sales people feel one sound-bite is all they need. It's similar to "Name that tune in 3 notes." This is a big mistake when trying to establish or enhance relationships.

Here's why. First, the prospect doesn't know you understand, so s/he will have continual doubt that you really understand his or her situation. Second, as you're giving away all sorts of information, you're getting committed to your rhetoric, and this will make it difficult to be open-minded for solutions that the prospect has in mind. This will cause resistance, frustration and uneasiness - not good feels for prospects to have.

Sales people feel that by grasping the problem quickly and talking about solutions they'll be perceived as experts and in control. Where as control is knowing what the other person is thinking and then using those thoughts to influence him/her or run away. So to learn those thoughts and be in control, ask more questions and let the person tell you.

It's good to ask, "How can I help you?" but then listen and without formulating an answer. Now here is the difference between what you do now and what will make you extremely effective. Let them tell you their idea of the solution. Say, "Ok tell me more about how you want to do about it?" or something to this effect.

For example, you're talking with a prospect. He says, "I've got this widget system and it's not right." So you say, "What do you mean?" and he says, "Well it's too slow, etc." Now this is the point where you'll have the urge to offer advice, abut don't. You'll want to offer you're suggestion of how to make it better - preferably using your services. If you do, your prospect will get all your wisdom; factor it into his vision; and mentally determine how you fit his world. He'll nod, but you really won't know where you stand. He's in control.

So to gain the knowledge that will put you in control say, "Well, what do you want to do about it?" and listen again without formulating an answer.

Then take it to the next level. He'll tell you his vision solution, or he'll say he doesn't know and that's why he asked you. But you can't give him the answers yet, even though you've got (in your mind) the perfect solution, and/or even though you believe (deep in your heart) that you know what he means. You can't because he doesn't know you know. So you have to work with him to build-up his confidence that you understand him. This will be your ticket to success.

So you say, "I have some ideas, but I need to ask a few more questions. You said it was too slow, how much faster do you want it to be?" He'll answer and you say, "How come?" You explore and you will get a whole new prospective about this prospects issues as he builds his confidence in you. This will be very hard for you because you've been trained to give your commercial instantly and this makes you look creditable. But the more you hold back and the more you explore the more you'll learn, the more the person will feel trust in you and the easier your relationship will build.

Your prospect says, "It's too expensive." You say, "What price would you like it to be?" It is smooth and customer focus. You get to learn what's in the person's head and you can choose what to do about it. You can address it, support it, refuse it or do whatever you want with it. Now that's control.

And now I invite you to learn more.

Bonus Tip: FREE E-Book "Getting Past Gatekeepers and Handling Blockers". Just click this C-Level Relationship Selling Link. Sam Manfer makes it easy for any sales person to be effective and feel comfortable connecting with and relationship selling C-Level leaders.

Specialized in: C-level Selling - C Level Selling - C Selling - Selling To Executives - Top Level Selling - Selling At The Top
URL: http://www.takemetoyourleaders.com
Print article      Bookmark this page
Related Articles 
Mesothelioma Lawyers Ask.... (Popularity: ): What is the Government doing about mesothelioma? Mesothelioma is one of the biggest killers in the UK, and statistics are set to peak over the next 10 to 15 years as the disease has a long incubation period. Swept under the carpet for years, the problem of the 'Silent Killer' (as the disease has become known) has recently received much higher public exposure with the successful conclusion of a court case ...
The Art of LeaderShaping - People First, Then Build a Strategy For Execution (Popularity: ): With growing organizations in today's troubling downturn economy, opportunity continues to present itself for progressive thinkers to act. I believe that organizations across the United States of America have the resolve to remain on task for being some of the more progressive thinkers in the world. We have come through tough times in the last ten years and more are in front of us. I am proud that the Bison ...
Cash Practice Physical Therapy - Three Ways to Bring More Cash to Your PT Practice (Popularity: ): At about 12:15 p.m. today (3-11-2008) I saw PT Scott's pickup along with another vehicle parked near the door of one of his clinics. This didn't look good. I'd seen signs of a possible move out previously and today stopped to see what I could do to help. I had previously left him messages by phone too. Today it was too little too late. Scott was indeed moving out - ...
Micromanagement - Killing Employee Morale (Popularity: ): Employee morale is something that no business can ignore. It is something that greatly impacts employee performance, especially in a sales environment. Sales environments can, by their very nature, be very stressful and it falls to the managers to ensure that morale is kept up and performance optimized. Many managers are aware of this and create performance related incentives to their sales staff, including bonuses, nights out or even weekends ...
Sales Team Motivation - A Pathway to Success (Popularity: ): Most Sales Managers believe the way to success is in the numbers. This is not necessarily true. Since a sales team is primarily comprised of a manager and the people that report to that manager, we would all agree they have one thing in common. Salespeople are first and foremost people. In years past, there was a Vice President of Sales and a Sales Director sitting in an office someplace ...


Related Business 
Save My Marriage (Popularity: ): All relationships need work, there are times where everything is perfect and you couldn’t be happier and there are times where you are constantly bickering and tempers are stretched. This is normal for any relationship whether it be a new or an old relationship, but the strength of the relationship is proven by how you deal with these good and bad times – developing a healthy relationship.
The Relationship and Personal Development Ctr. (Popularity: ): Articles on relationships, marriage, divorce and stress. Free newsletter on relationships.
Spoke Software (Popularity: ): Enterprise Software for Relationship Selling. Spoke improves sales productivity by harnessing the power of relationships
Trusted Advisor Associates (Popularity: ): The single greatest factor driving effective client relationships, including sales effectiveness, is the level of trust in the relationship. We teach the building of this trust.
Nivelco Process Control Co., Inc. (Popularity: ): Manufacturer of a wide range of level control equipment including vibration, conductivity, and float based level switches, capacitance and hydrostatic level transmitters.
Pivotal (Popularity: ): Provides e-business relationship management (eBRM) solutions that manage marketing, sales and service relationships. eRelationship 2000 - manages interactions over the internet. eSelling 2000 - supports the sales of complex or configured products and services by providing recommendations and advice during the selling and ordering process. Integrated into IFS.
Relationship Skill Consulting and Training (Popularity: ): Provide the relationships skill coaching vital to create and sustain loving, dynamic and successful relationships. Personal coaching is supportive yet direct. Includes a short but useful advice section.
Pest Control Modesto (Popularity: ): Are you plagued with bugs, rodents, or other pesky critters that not only are a nuisance but can cause serious damage in your yard, home, or business? Fortunately, there is help for these problems when you use AAI Pest Control. Our technicians know which animals and bugs flourish in your neighborhood. Therefore, we are able to determine the best way to remove them.
HiTech Technologies (Popularity: ): Level control instrumentation for municipal water and wastewater - offers a wide variety of level controls, because there is no single technology that can satisfy ALL level applications.
Efficient Control Systems Manufacturer (Popularity: ): A leading manufacturer, exporter & supplier of non IBR boiler floatless level control system, automatic boiler bottom blowdown system, automatic blowdown control system, floatless level control system, IBR boiler floatless level control system etc.