An article by Vincent Rush
Every salesperson I speak with today talks about relationships and what a good one they have with their customers.
Granted, since the beginning of time, relationships have been the backbone of any great sales professional.
But a lot of younger sales people in today’s climate have a misconception of what a proper client relationship consists of. Ask most struggling Account Executives what they think relationships consist of and you’ll likely get answers that speak of buying lunch, delivering doughnuts or a round of golf.
The fact is, that if you want to build a PROPER and PROFITABLE client relationship, you must first understand this…your clients do not want friends…they want RESULTS!
1) You must minimize their risk! Lets face it, clients have been burned too many times by sales people who are long on promises and short on delivery. In today’s economic climate, everyone is very “Risk Adverse” when it comes to making decisions.
2) Enhance their competitive standing, both as a company and against their colleagues. Make them a hero in the eyes of their boss and you’ve done more for them that 1000 lunches and dozens of Krispy Kreme doughnuts could ever do. (OK, that last part may be a stretch)
3) Help them achieve their goals. Lets face it, all companies have the same foundational goals at heart; Increasing Profit and decreasing costs…But what about the individual goal of partnering with your client to help take his company to the next level?
Most sales people never ask the client to VIVIDLY describe the problems that they are facing and even fewer ask the client, how they themselves are affected by those very problems.
Any salesperson can gather facts and pitch feature/benefit selling, but the GREAT sales people ignite the emotions of the client and uncover what motivates them to act.
Even those sales people I meet, that are very good at uncovering the pain in a situation, use that as a trigger to launch into FAB selling.
When is the last time you heard a professional problem solver ask you, as a client;
“If you and I could find a solution to this problem, what effect do you think that would have on your company, over the next five years?” or “What would it mean to you to be able to solve this problem, once and for all?”
Even more importantly;
“If you came to your boss, with a solution that could save the company $$$$$$ a year, what would that do for your personally?
Once you help your customer accomplish these goals, you are no longer a salesperson but rather a trusted and valued PARTNER.
Vincent Rush is VP of Business Development for Lynx Telematics, a full service telematics provider that not only supplies fleet managers with the tools and education to reduce their operating expenses by nearly $2500 per vehicle on an annual basis, but helps assist managers in increasing the overall CSA scores as well as managing their telematics projects to achieve maximum return on investment.
Vincent Rush is also a professional consultant and has run multiple businesses ventures and provided career coaching and mentoring to thousands of business professionals throughout the United States.
For more information on how Lynx Telematics can assist with operational challenges and escalating operational costs, contact Vincent Rush directly at Lynx Telematics (513) 702-0495 or vrush@lynxtelematics.com
