Written by: Tove Zilliacus
I’ve had some extremely interesting conversations the last few days. We’ve been discussing sales, sales management, leadership, motivation etc. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with these inspiring business leaders.
One question keeps coming up: Why do you love sales so much?
That is an easy question to answer. To sell is to help someone achieve something. As easy as that.
Wait – what?
Let me explain. None of your customers actually buy your product/service because it’s the best or coolest (well, maybe not true for Apple). No, your customer has issues, plans, targets they need to achieve (also called drivers). If your product/service helps them in that – then you’re in.
An example: In a public tender for a hospital’s Managed Print Services, competitor A came in and told the customer “we can help you save 35%”. Competitor B came in and said they would save them 40%. Company C told the hospital “we can help you save lives”. Guess who won the tender.
So find out what is important to your customer. I can tell you that in your initial contact, they could not care less about how many employees you have, what your turnover is, or who your CEO is. Leave that power point show at home! They want to know how YOU can help THEM achieve THEIR goals. Do you know their business? Do you understand their issues? Do you know who THEIR CEO is? The company presentation doesn’t come into play until stage three of the Decision Making Cycle.
There you have it. Boom. Done.