what 

happens if we type these here

Starting the Relationship Right
How to Initiate a Mutually Beneficial Sales Relationship

When I do sales training, I usually start by asking participants what comes to mind when they think of the average salesperson. Their responses are predictable, words like “pushy,” “insincere,” and “fast-talking.” There are even occasional references to appearance, such as “polyester suits” and “slicked-back hair.”

Most will admit, however, that they rarely encounter a salesperson actually matching those descriptions. Yet the image persists—and that’s precisely my point in asking the question. If we are to be successful in selling, we must overcome the negative images associated with it.

This is one of the chief reasons I favor an approach I call Service-Centered Selling. I provided a general overview of this approach in my last article. Now we focus on how to get started, for the way we initiate the sales process sets the stage for how the client-consultant relationship is likely to develop.

The Relationship Balance

Every good relationship requires a balance of give and take. Each party should draw roughly the same amount of benefit from the relationship as he or she provides to the other. Relationships typically suffer when there is an imbalance, when one party is deriving or demanding more from the other than he or she is returning in kind. This is certainly true of the sales relationship.

Now let’s consider how the typical sales relationship starts. You make a cold call to a prospective client and ask for some of his or her most valuable commodity—the client’s time. What does the client get in return? Usually nothing of real value. Do you really think it is important for the client to learn that there is yet another consulting or design firm vying for his or her attention?

If you are serious about building a good relationship with a potential client, you should strive to maintain the relationship balance from the very  beginning. Make every meeting and conversation with the client mutually beneficial.

Delivering Your Entrée

Your entrée is a justifiable reason for the client to spend his or her precious time meeting with you. Typically this involves sharing information and insights that are useful in helping the client solve a problem or meet a need. Your initial goal is not to make a sale, but to become a valuable resource to the client. This should be evident from your very first call. Some suggestions for delivering your entrée at the start of the sales process:

u Learn all you can about the client before calling. Remember, your focus should be on solving the client’s problems, not peddling your company. The more you know about the client’s needs up front, the better you can offer value for his or her time in that initial meeting. With the research capabilities of the internet at your fingertips, there’s no excuse for calling a client completely “cold.”

u Create a positive expectation. Just because you get the appointment doesn’t mean the client is looking forward to your meeting. Your entrée should be something that the client immediately perceives as useful and a good investment of his or her time. Expectations are important because they strongly influence perceptions of the experience. So give the client a good reason to expect a beneficial meeting with you.

u Start the meeting by confirming your entrée. Remind the client of your entrée and stress that you want to make the meeting well worth the client’s time. Confirm that your entrée is what the client was expecting. Then ask if there are other objectives that the client has for the meeting.

u Don’t focus too much on what you’ve done for others. Likely your entrée will involving discussing other projects and your past achievements. That’s fine, but don’t overdo it. Keep the focus on the client and his or her needs, not your or your firm’s credentials. Demonstrate that you’re familiar with the best practices and achievements in your industry, whether or not they involve your firm. Draw from wherever you can to help solve the client’s needs. The lens of your expertise should not be limited to what you’ve done.

u Establish the purpose for a subsequent meeting. As hard as it can be to come up with an entrée for your first call to the client, it can be even more difficult for the next. Let the client help. Explore in that first meeting what he or she would find useful for a subsequent meeting. Schedule it before you leave, if you can.

Climbing the Commitment Ladder

You should not presume that  maintaining the relationship balance involves your making all the concessions. The goal is a balance of give and take, meaning the client must be investing in the relationship as well. If this is not the case, you need to consider whether to continue.

From the very first meeting, you should deliberately seek reciprocal action on the part of the client. This may be as simple as the client agreeing to meet again, as suggested earlier. With each subsequent meeting with the client, you should look for evidence that the client is committed to the relationship, and not merely taking advantage of your efforts to serve. At the same time, you are evaluating whether the relationship is worth continued investment on your part. This is what I call “climbing the commitment ladder.” Here’s how:

u Ask for some kind of commitment during every sales call. A key goal for the first meeting, as mentioned above, is establishing the basis for a subsequent meeting. In fact, this should be a goal for every meeting. Additionally, you should seek information, introductions, and other indications of the client’s mutual commitment.

u Determine in advance the minimum commitment you will accept. This is essentially part of your qualifying process. Before the meeting, identify what you believe is a reasonable request to gage the client’s interest. If the request is denied, consider whether to continue the sales process. This isn’t intended to be selfish, but wise in how you spend both your and the client’s time.

u With each meeting, ask for increasingly greater commitments. As your time and costs grow during the sales process, it’s fair to expect the client’s degree of commitment to increase as well. This is an important test of a developing relationship.

u Don’t settle for maybes or vague promises. Like the friend who says he’ll have you over sometime for dinner, ambiguous commitments are unlikely to materialize. Try to get the client to make a specific promise to perform some action by a certain date.

u Don’t be afraid to hear no. Our reluctance to ask for commitments is often rooted in our fear of being told no. But getting a firm “no” is much better than a “maybe.” It’s the maybes that can keep you wasting your time trying to build a relationship that’s going nowhere.

Service-Centered Selling does not imply forfeiting your own interests. On the contrary, excellent client service must always be rooted in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Copyright © 2004, The Business Edge, all rights reserved

Home    |    Experience    |    Articles    |    Links    |    Contact