What Do Clients Really Want?
By Elinor Stutz
Clients want the same thing the rest of us want, and that is to be understood and be given respect for what they do. Clients buy you, not the product or service.
How do you sell “you”? The first step is to establish credibility. Credibility is begun by sounding knowledgeable about the prospect’s industry and company. Are you able to relate how their issues can be solved by what you have to offer? Once you paint a picture that you understand their situation, you will attract their attention.
Now that you gained their attention, the next step is to establish trust. Your prospect will ask you a series of questions to determine if you are telling the truth. Are you willing to admit your company does not handle a specific service well or that your competitor may do a better job on a product that you both carry? Your prospect will make requests of you that may be tedious but it is your job to follow through within the timeframe upon which you both agreed.
Still in the testing phase, your prospect may make statements using jargon with which you are not familiar. Rather than glossing over what was said and hoping for the best, are you willing to ask, “I’m not certain what you mean, would you please explain?”
While these mini tests are being conducted, the prospect is all the while determining if you are in for only a quick hit sale or are truly interested in their business. Ask questions related to what they tell you. Once you build credibility and trust, your prospect will seriously consider purchasing from you.
The third step is to sell yourself and your dedication to delivering service. Let it be known should anything go wrong with your product or service during the course of the term, you will be available to take care of the issue. Make certain your prospect understands the importance of your service to both them and to yourself.
Fourth in line is to sell value. Take price out of the equation by painting a picture of you being the representative standing behind what you are selling; that you have the solution(s) to their problems; and the price is fair for what they will receive.
The last piece of the puzzle to what prospects seek is ease of doing business with you. If you were the prospect trying to do business with someone just like yourself, how easy would it be for you? If you can admit to one or two things being a tiny bit difficult, seek ways to improve your systems. The easier it is to conduct business, the more assured you will be of gaining additional business.
In summary, clients want to be able to find you credible and trustworthy, they know they can depend upon you in a time of need and you make it easy for them to give you their business. Finally, make your prospects feel good about giving you their money. That’s what clients really want.
Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC and Author, transformed her highly successful sales career into training entrepreneurs, network marketers and beginning salespeople. “We help you turn stormy sales cycles into a Smooth Sale”.
Smooth Sale Delivers:
Original work in the form of Professional Sales Training, Licensing, Coaching, and Motivational Speaking and a full Product Line.
Products Include:
“Nice Girls DO Get The Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, published by Sourcebooks, “The Sales Toolkit”, “Smooth Sale audio training seminar” and Entrepreneur kit – “How to GROW Your Business: mindset, strategy and implementation.
“Nice Girls DO Get The Sale” was featured in TIME Magazine, translated into multiple languages and is selling worldwide. Elinor writes a column for Bay Area BusinessWoman News and contributes articles to Diversity Edge Magazine.
For more information call 800-704-1499 or visit www.smoothsale.net
Author site: Elinor Stutz | View all articles by Elinor Stutz
Topics: Business, Sales Tips |
February 8th, 2008 at 7:48 am
“Clients buy you, not the product or service.”
I do not completely agree with this. If it is about a service, yes, that is possible, but if it is about a good product (don’t even bother if it is bad), the product sells itself and you as the seller are of secondary importance. Look at Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, they are both aggresive, moody, unreliable and unpredictable. Yet, we all buy their products in perfect confidence.
February 8th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Most of the time, I’m a business-to-business marketing consultant. Yesterday, for the third time this week I found myself on the other side of the fence–as a consumer. Here’s what happened…I found out that one of my vendors–with whom I’ve always been high satisfied has a policy of charging for additional services that they choose to deliver. Their customers cannot avoid paying for these services either by asking to block them or refusing to access them. Calls to customer service fell on deaf ears. Here are the marketing lessons that were reinforced. Your existing customers are your best prospects for future business and for referrals–so outstanding service is job one. As Elinor states, the next most important thing is demonstrating understanding and respect when things go wrong. It’s often as important for customers to feel visible as it is to get the desired solution. Often, when I do qualitative marketing research for my clients, I learn that the main reason clients select a vendor is because they felt the salesperson understood–and cared–about their business. On the flip side, customers are more likely to stay when problems are handled well. At the extreme, malpractice insurers have learned that physicians who apologize are far less likely to get sued than those who appear insensitive. So, even if you can’t fix the problem, listen and make sure your customers feel understood. In short, especially for in for B2B companies, your service is your brand. Don’t jeopardize all the investment you’ve made in marketing collateral and public relations, with casual indifference to existing customers.
February 11th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Hi!
How can a good point of sale product help your business? As a business owner, I know that my goal every day is to sell to my customers. I have also learned that a good point of sale product can help me with that. The point of sale, if you aren’t sure, is wherever your customer goes in order to pay for items or services.Thanks!
September 10th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. :) Cheers! Sandra. R.