Today’s post is specifically about the value of Insight in building and maintaining relationships that are credible and trustworthy.
There’s lots of great advice out there focusing on what salespeople should do to re-calibrate their approach to their customers in a post Covid-19 environment. Strategies sales teams should employ to keep their pipelines warm and potentially moving, from “expand your network/leads” to “find new ways to demo and present your solutions.” But missing from this picture is the customer – how will they receive this onslaught of contact, and will they be ready to hear your message?
My Balanced Seller® sales process is all about putting the customer in picture first. About being smart and insightful when you reach the customer, in a way that has them anticipating that you are there to help them solve a problem, not waste their time or simply cost them more money from their already tight budget.
Today’s post is specifically about the value of Insight in building and maintaining relationships that are credible and trustworthy. Research shows that customers are engaging sales reps later in the sales cycle, after needs have been identified and prioritized. Why? Because they do not see sellers as resources to solve their problems (CSO Insights, 2020 Trends in Sales Management).
While grim, they go on to share the good news as well: buyers still make time for and invite early engagement from a small subset of sellers. “To succeed today, sellers need to provide the buyer with perspective and insights to reframe their thinking, and keep the focus on post-sale value.”
So, how can you help reframe the customer’s thinking in this tumultuous environment, AND do this remotely? Focus on providing insight in a way that keeps the customer in the picture, fully engaged and willing to take the next step in working with you:
Do your homework: it doesn’t have to be extensive research; take time to get smart about your customer’s business. (Then again, what else do you have to do right now? Reallocate the time you would be spending commuting to your customer’s location to doing some digging…) This research will percolate up their priorities, gaps they are desperately trying to fill, and initiatives that mean something to them.
Three places I go to first:
- Website: News/press releases pages: successes tell you what’s important to them and could also give insight to the processes that could be redeployed to solving other pain points.
- Annual Report: focus on the executive summary and then use that to jump to unearthing details about compelling priorities later in report.
- LinkedIn: Search by business and by people you uncover in your research to identify personal and business priorities.
Identify an unmet need: From your research, and thinking about the solutions you provide, what is an unmet need they may have? Maybe they don’t even know they have the need…but you see it. They’re likely worried about Covid-19 disruptions to their normal business routine; think about their needs related to process, not product.
Engage with insight: Contact them in whatever format you think will reach best (call; text; email; LinkedIn message) and share your insights with them. Since you don’t have visual cues, edit your message carefully, using powerful words to share your insight. Educate – talk about concerns you are hearing from industry and help them envision these insights in action in their world.
Ask for Contact: Have a clear next step in mind. Is it a phone call? Ongoing email dialogue? Opportunity to just check in on current business and relationship? Chance to talk about how their business has been impacted by Covid-19 and uncover new needs?
Done well, you’ll build rapport and credibly establish the value of further contact to the customer. By connecting your contact to a customer priority you’d like to explore, you differentiate yourself from all of the other product reps. Break the onslaught of the product-focused pummeling your customers are likely receiving from competitor reps by positioning yourself as a virtual consultant, not a telemarketer. Remember to put the customer in the picture.