Test Your Knowledge
- Describe consultative selling and why it is different from transactional selling.
- Describe lifetime value and why it is important in consultative selling.
- Explain how to communicate bad news to a customer.
- Who wins in the win-win-win relationship?
- What is networking, and why is it important in selling?
- Describe adaptive selling and why it is important.
- If your customer is a driver, what is the best way to adapt your selling style?
- Name at least three ways you can use networking to get the job you want.
- Consultative selling occurs when you develop a one-to-one relationship with your customer and truly understand their needs, wants, and resources; it means putting the customer first. Consultative selling helps you develop short-term and long-term solutions for your customer. Transactional selling focuses on a single transaction with no input from or relationship with the customer.
- Lifetime value means that you consider not just one transaction with a customer but also the help and insight you can provide throughout the entire period that you do business with them. A customer that has only limited needs right now may develop into a lucrative customer over the course of time based on your advice and guidance.
- It’s best to deliver bad news in person or over the phone when time permits. This tells your customer that you think this is important. You should always communicate in an open, honest, and timely manner and provide a realistic solution to the problem. If you don’t have a solution, let the customer know when you will get back to them with an update.
- The customer, you, and your company all win in a win-win-win relationship.
- Networking is the art of building alliances or mutually beneficial relationships. Networking is built on the concept of exchange. In selling, you can expand the number of people you know, which can expand your business. When what you need provides value to someone else in your network, networking works. The more you provide value to other people, the higher the likelihood that they will go out of their way to help you.
- Adaptive selling occurs when a salesperson adapts and customizes their selling style based on the behavior of the customer. If you adapt to the customer’s social style, you can increase the chances that they will be open to hearing your message. Be professional; focus on facts and timelines that will allow your customer to see how quickly they can achieve their goal. Provide options that allow them to be in control.
- Create a networking list, join professional organizations, use online professional social networks, publicize your profile, ask for recommendations, join groups, create content, and follow up.
