Fans of the show The Office know that Michael Scott might have been unconventional, but he was a great salesperson. His Rolodex was color-coded with facts about his clients – albeit, maybe a little too personal, but he was on to something. Kind of like when you are a kid and imagining your teachers outside of school; it’s hard to imagine clients outside of work. With so many demands on salespeople, market changes, and quotas, we can sometimes forget that the people on the target list are normal folks who have families, birthdays, and hobbies and are also looking forward to their next vacation. A prospect is a person, too!
We teach our clients to think of targets as people before prospects. Let’s explore this: Their job is a small part of who they are, and once you learn about them as people, how they make decisions, prioritize time/life, etc., it can actually help you shorten the sales cycle. But learning about your clients as people must come from a genuine place of curiosity and compassion. Inauthenticity can be sniffed out faster than you can send a gift basket. Clients know the old tricks of sales folks pretending to care about them just to get their business. And that’s the exact opposite of what we’re teaching. Sending gifts won’t get you very far, but building legitimate relationships will. We don’t want you to become best friends with your clients, but you will have to use your empathy muscles. Around here, we don’t think of those as “soft skills”; we call those “Power Skills”!
Here are a few that you can start flexing:
- Active Listening: Fully concentrate on what the customer is saying and respond thoughtfully. Focus on listening for their needs and concerns. You can even paraphrase what they said to make sure they feel heard and valued.
- Empathy: A challenging one to teach, you can start by picturing yourself in the client’s shoes to understand their perspective. Relating to their feelings helps add an emotional connection, building up trust.
- Communication: Communication is not always verbal. What is the client telling you with their body language? Their facial expressions, tone of voice, and rate of speech all help you to understand where they are coming from. If the content of the message is King, then the context is Queen.
- Trust: We build trust through transparency and reliability. When your customers know they can count on you, it helps them believe in your product even more. This needs to happen in the initial prospecting stages. It’s tough, but we challenge you to call out the elephant in the room confidently. You’re there to sell them something; you both know that. But when you approach the conversation with transparency and with honesty about how this will be a win-win or no win at all, it changes the course of the conversation. Also, create a safe space for your prospect to share their thoughts, challenges, and fears.
- Problem-Solving: We don’t sell to people who don’t need our product. After effectively listening and communicating, does your product help solve their problem? Or can you point them in a better direction? This shows your commitment to meeting their needs, further developing your relationship.
Besties, buddies and business
We’re not saying you should become best of friends with your clients – unless maybe they have a boat or something! There is a fine line between being a client and a friend, and it’s too easy to get stuck in the friend zone. (Feel like you’re being strung along, check out our past blog on “tough love.”) But using these skills to get to know and understand them a little bit better has so many benefits. For starters, it helps set you apart from the competition. Think about how many other salespeople they’re likely talking to that week or month, just trying to find the best fit for their company.
In this day and age, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the numbers. In a world that moves extremely fast, it’s no wonder we’re just trying to keep up. Especially when we’re competing against others in the marketplace and now against Artificial Intelligence. But in a digitally dominated world, people are craving human connection more than ever. Technology has allowed us to expand our customer bases beyond our physical reach, so there is a way to have both. At Orange Leaf Consulting, we incorporate a lot of videos into our work to connect with people. We turn on our cameras for every video call. Yes, you read that right, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Let’s face it: attending a video meeting without turning on your camera is like walking into a boardroom with a bag over your head. Let’s meet face-to-face, even if it is in 2D! Or even jump on a good old-fashioned phone call instead of sending yet another email. Little things like this help you to connect as humans, even if it is virtually.
Understanding your clients are people first can transform your sales approach
Focusing your approach on the human rather than the sale completely transforms your sales approach. When you start building relationships rather than ‘transactionships,’ you overcome the trust issue faster, and you never know where that connection can lead you—hint: a diverse referral network. One small change can make a huge difference.
Grow Big or Go Home!®