Relationship selling is all about creating value for the customer. When you recognize customer needs and help them define them better and deeper, your value increases. It’s not just about seeing value in your product. They want value from your solution to their problem. They must perceive a unique value from you. This is where your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) comes into play. You must differentiate yourself from the competition.
So how to differentiate? Why should they buy from you?
Simply being different is not enough. They want to see your added value. As a business professional, you need to take a leadership role in creating value for your clients. You want to understand your situation and accommodate your particular wants and needs. If you recognize the needs of customers and create value for them, they will go from the initial meeting to a decision much easier. In today’s world, you can’t survive if you don’t create customer value.
What creates value for the customer?
Relationship selling skills. In the old days, this would be a qualified sales force. Today, this is another hat to wear as a small business owner. Understand that the sales process is a process. A step by step progression that requires learning some new skills.
In relationship selling, you create value when you recognize customer needs. You can create customer value at every step of the sales process, but most value can be created early in the process by helping customers define their needs. Asking open-ended questions will open the door to meaningful conversation. By creating a specialized situation, you can put them in a buying mindset even if it wasn’t what they were thinking before your call. Asking the right kinds of questions will help them dig deeper and better define their true needs.
Identify your triggers. What is your real bread? What are your real needs? Not all customers are the same and as such should be treated differently. What works for one may not work at all for another. Know your real reasons; understand your bread. Know what keeps them up at night. Find out what is happening in your life. These answers give you a very powerful tool to tailor your query to your needs.
Focus on prospects goals. If you’re just selling your product, you’re missing the point. Customers look beyond the product. That they are looking for the solution to their needs and that you are understanding their situation. You are a solution provider. That means that in addition to your product you also include help and advice.
Focus on understanding their problems and show them how to solve more than one goal with your product. When you create customer value in this way, you’ll make the sale regardless of price.
Alternatively, if you don’t do this, you won’t get the sale whatever its price. Even if it’s the lowest price on the market, it won’t mean much to the prospect because they won’t see the difference between your product and the competition. Buyers buy from someone who has created a compelling solution for their needs and understands them. They then focus on the financial part of the deal. In one word; Create value through how you’re selling, not just through what you’re selling. That’s his way of being a true business professional.