Think Like a Customer!
While you’re in the business to sell your products, it is beneficial for you to think from the customer’s perspective.
While this may seem like a logical thing to do many sales persons can only see their perspective and therefore are unable to understand the customer’s needs, requirements and why the customer is not committing to buy their product or service.
The customer may require your product, however, just like you are looking to create value for yourself, the customer is looking to create value for their company. While you are offering them your product, there are not only other people offering similar products to the customer, but also other people offering different products. The customer therefore has the harder task to choose from many vendors to create the most valuable solution for them.
Make their task easier by being the most viable choice for the customer. Understand that to cut through the clutter you need to set yourself apart from your competition. The customer should be able to recognize and put your product at the forefront of their choice. Make your product offer unique for them by tailoring your offer. Present it in a way which is different, so it stands out in their memory. Make getting information about your product or service easy for the customer.
When the customer looks at their business, they should see you as an integral business partner because you understand their needs and are able to deliver according to their requirements. Take the time to study the customer, understand their business, their manufacturing process. Find out which products in your portfolio can close the gaps that the customer has in their process to maximize their output. The result will be that the customer will call you every time their requirement for purchase comes up.
If you don’t think like the customer and only focus on your own product, you will not be able to understand what the customer needs. The product you offer may need slight tweaking to become the product of choice for the customer. The customer may require quantities which you are unable to deliver because you have not understood their demands. You may not understand their buying cycle, so you would miss out on crucial opportunities to engage the customer which could lead to your product being ordered.
Sales people need to understand their customer’s product, processes and buying cycles and how their product can fit into the customer’s needs to maximize their sales. Therefore, they need to think from the perspective of the customer.