How can any person in a sales or service role get closer to their clients and win more business? It’s not a new idea but it is one which many of us could reflect on…
By getting better at understanding the prospect’s needs and wants. It is simply about gaining a better understanding and demonstrating that understanding of their needs and wants. Taking more time and being better at gaining that understanding.
A piece of research carried out some time ago asked clients what they most valued in any one who was selling to them. The findings included attributes like being reliable, having a clear explanation of the product or service offering as well as being concise. But the number one, most valued factor, was the ability for the sales person to not only understand the client’s needs, but more importantly to be able to articulate those needs accurately.
When we summarise our understanding of the client’s needs we are actually presenting our ability to listen, to ask questions and to understand. If we do a good job at the summary and the client says something like, ‘Yes, you’ve got it.’ Then we’re on the right path.
Implicit in this is the ability to ask questions, good questions. I was recently in a conversation with a sales person from an IT business in which I was the buyer. He was asking lots of questions and trying really hard. But the problem was they weren’t that good. They didn’t make me think and they didn’t get to my needs or wants. It took some time which I didn’t mind at first because I was in the market, but after a while I thought this is going nowhere.
So perhaps we could all reflect on our questioning skills. How good are our questions? Do they get to the heart of a prospect’s needs and wants? Are they engaging the prospect? The skills of good questioning and great listening will be looked at in future posts.
It is the sales person’s job to sell and one of the best tips in selling is to become brilliant at understanding the prospect’s or client’s needs and wants.