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In the short term, in the beginning of the commercial relationship of a salesman/woman with a potential client, we have to make a thorough planning of the contact.
To the extent that there is a commercial history, you must know how to recapitulate the previous relationship or the background, and in any case have the best possible knowledge of the relevance, activities and possible unspoken needs of the client.
For the latter, it will be also important to have other reference documents, those that give us clues about sectoral private or public initiatives, other value chain trends and drivers, client’s statements and strategic innovation agendas and news, responding to all that.
Client’s needs
Regarding client’s needs, both tacit and express, we can be guided by assumptions (what, why, how much, how, when, who, …) However, there is no better way to answer these questions, or to confirm or rule out the opportunity of our services for the client, that by means of a good communication with him.
We must accompany the client directly or indirectly in their life cycle, in their vital moments, related or not to the consumption of our services.
Through the technique of questions, asking them in many different ways, we will get the client to position himself first, giving us clues about his needs and positions.
That is why within the planning of the contact you must establish how to direct the conversation with questions, or even with silences. Ask the right questions to the client, create the right environment, in order to dictate the answers that you are most interested in obtaining.
Knowing how to ask is knowing how to “find” what the client wants. Find out at each contact the reason why they really open the door or why they don’t open it for you. Clarify your doubts in a subtle way and resolve the ambiguity.
It is key to know how to be in control of the conversation, to lead it listening more than speaking. Simply helping the client to express themselves naturally, through an attitude in the salesman of active listening, understanding and empathy.
The salesman’s listening and silence are an emotional investment in the interlocutor.
A single conversation
In communication, there must be a single conversation between the salesman and the client, a single image, a single vision. We must put all the senses to prevent the risk of not understanding well what the client wants and does not want to transmit to us.
Are we also clear about what the client values most when working with us or our competitors? How do they evaluate or will they evaluate your service? Price, agility, result, value, …
It is necessary to give a good acknowledgment of receipt and to echo what the client says positively, reinforcing and repeating his ideas. Convincing yourself of what the client really needs, agreeing with them, is already starting to sell. Of the negative, better not to echo.
In the medium term, the value of obtaining adequate answers to adequate questions also lies in the fact that information is the basis for developing new services and trying to capture a greater share of clients and solutions in a given market.
The salesman must conform to the situation that occurs in the commercial communication, to the number of the interlocutors, if there is more than one, to their profile (decision maker, advocate, user, etc.), to the relationship between them and their personality.
The client’s personality and strategy
It is important to know the client, anticipate or know how to improvise your performance according to the personality of your interlocutor to make the best impression (first counts). Both when we initiate contact with trivial opening conversations, as well as later in the conversation, and at the closing.
A good way to get closer and prepare can be to think about the profile of our interlocutors. Depending on whether their personality is more task or relationship oriented, complacent or overbearing. In any case, within a possible group dynamic we will strengthen the advocate of our products or services.
How does your client interact with you?
The RELATIONAL interlocutor gestures and talks a lot and quickly, he asserts himself in his convictions, he leads the conversation. It will be convenient for us to interrupt him from time to time, making partial summaries of what was spoken, and we will ask him closed questions
The HARMONIC interlocutor gestures and talks a lot and slowly, he is patient, he suggests. It will be recommended that you maintain eye contact with him, do not press him, make suggestions and help him decide.
The OBJECTIVE interlocutor gestures and speaks little and slowly, he is patient, he suggests. It will be best to give him analytical and orderly presentations, give him data, and help him to decide.
The RESULT-oriented interlocutor gestures and speaks little or quickly, takes control, affirms and addresses himself. Recommendation: always keep to the point with him / her.
Photo by Katya Austin on Unsplash
