How to Build Better Rapport with Needs-Based Selling

A confused customer never buys, and won't even want to give you the time of day.

SALESPERSON: “Hello ma’am, how can I help you?”

GUEST: “Hi, I’m looking for a mattress. My current bed just isn’t comfortable anymore.”

Scenario One:

SALESPERSON: “Excellent! We have a ton of great brands that include various levels of gel-infused memory foams, wrapped coil design, and even our specially designed cover with super-tinsel technology!”

GUEST: “What?”

Scenario Two:

SALESPERSON: “Great! Let me show you how our beds can help this problem! Let’s start by finding what kind of feel is right for you. Do you toss and turn at night?”

GUEST: “I am always tossing and turning, but that’s normal”

SALESPERSON: “You’re right! Normal people toss and turn about 60 times on average each night. Normal people get their sleep interrupted constantly because of it! I work hard to make sure my customers aren’t normal! If you toss and turn, you’ll need something that cradles your body’s pressure points (shoulders, hips, etc.) Does this make sense so far?”

GUEST: “Yeah, that makes sense!”

SALESPERSON: “Let me show you how each of these beds does this!”

You can probably guess which salesperson built a better relationship and ended up closing the sale. Scenario One doesn’t last as long as Scenario Two because the customer in the first scenario became uninterested and felt like she didn’t know enough information going into the conversation.

These two scenarios read like a cheesy example, but these are real situations that I saw in stores within one week of each other. Here’s the lesson to be learned from this that can be applied to any industry:

A confused customer will never buy.

This was one of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my time as a field sales representative at Serta Simmons Bedding. By selling to customers based on the features of the product or service, you can lose their interest. By selling to customers based on the benefits these features bring to the table, you can directly relate to your customer’s needs. Let’s call this needs-based selling.

“How can I build a quality relationship with my potential customers or clients?”

Sell and present your product/service to them based on their needs. Most people care about one thing; themselves. I’m not saying that people are selfish in nature. What I am saying is that if you walked up to a stranger right now, and talked about your kids, they might pretend to be interested, yes. They might even engage in a short conversation. But if you walked up to this same stranger and asked them questions about their kids, and their life, they will be much more interested in the conversation.

What does this mean for sales? It just provides one example out of many that needs-based selling is a much more effective way to engage the customer in the sales process. If the customer isn’t engaged, and isn’t learned from the salesperson, what’s the purpose of a salesperson anyway?

Needs-based selling can be applied to any industry. If I’m selling advertising services to a prospective client, am I going to get “into the weeds” and bring up every single detail of my services? Well, yes, eventually! But when I’m pitching my services, wouldn’t it be much more effective to focus on the direct benefits my services will bring, like a better return on investment and increased brand awareness, market share?

How about if I’m selling a washing machine to someone? Should I focus on how exactly the washing machine works, or should I focus my efforts on explaining how my machine will clean your clothes the best? If I’m selling software, do I want to explain how it works, or explain the benefits it will bring to me?

You get the picture by now. Let’s stop speaking the language of our industry and start speaking the language of the consumer. Let’s stop focusing on features and start focusing on benefits. Let’s stop confusing our customers. Let’s start improving their experience and building their confidence in us, and our products of services.