STOP SELLING, MAKE CUSTOMER WANT TO BUY!

In most companies dominate a very inefficient model of marketing and selling that concentrates on the sold product or called solution-based selling or consultative sales process.

Typically when we ask an entrepreneur ‘How large is your company?’, in most cases we hear: â€œwe have 170 trucks and trailers”, “12.000 square meters of factory space”, “we hire 80 people”, or “we have 50 milion turnover”. Sounds interesting! I wonder what they would say if they were instead asked: ‘How effective/good is your company?’ What would your answer be? Not so simple, is it? And certainly – not so obvious!

Let's think - how it works in most companies. I know from my experience that a large percentage of companies use a very "short-sighted and ineffective" approach to sales, applying linear method of three-stage selling process.

- First contact with the customer (stage I), 

- Offer (stage II), 

- Implementation of the deal (stage III).

Working that way, we are not able to win for one main reason. Mostly we take part in a bidding only, where price is the most important and even the only one subject of conversation. The customer considers the transaction as an expense, which in these times of increased competition inevitably leads to the same question at the end – “so how much does it cost?”. Sound familiar?

Obviously, acting on this level we can get two, three interesting orders (e.g., from the group of ten potential businesses). However, the question is different. At what level of margin? What would your answer be?

If the market is transforming, we have to transform too, especially in case when the economy has transformed and the era of excess of demand over supply has gone.

I know that transformation process typically covers both the reconstruction of the mentality of the management and strategy and constructs business companies – which require specific skills to manage the complexity of a change. 

Therefore, to secure a solid opportunity for growth and significantly strengthen its market position in this new economy, companies should change their approach to marketing and selling by adopting transformational selling approach. Nowadays, having good relationship with a customer is helpful, yet not sufficient to bring the sales, since so many companies nowadays compete for customer’s “pocket”. 

Thus, instead of using a three-stage selling process, companies need to implement more effective method. For example: five-stage selling process (called the IV Generation of Sales). This process consists of the following stages.

- Preparation before contact with the customer (stage I),

- Positioning and building trust (stage II),

- Creating proposals for cooperation together with the customer (stage III),

- Refining of the proposal (stage IV),

- Implementation of the deal (stage V).

In this place, I am going to only describe the most important part of this method that decides about winning or loosing.

Stop selling (Sales Presentation Trap), but focus on making customers want to buy their products or services! Yet, to do so effectively you should take care about stage II 

Positioning and building trust consist of 

- BUILDING TRUST in us and in performance capabilities of our company in the customer’s mind;

- DEVELOPING THE AWARENESS in the customer’s mind that our attention is focused on the CUSTOMER and its COMPANY with its FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTIVES. Initial defining of a potential cooperation STRATEGY and TACTICS;

- DEVELOPING in the customer’s mind the knowledge about our technological and competitive potential, and about our distinguished position in the market;

- Use of Non-Offensive Communication and COMMUNICATION ALGORITHMS;

- Use of assumptions for the SALES CALL PROCESS, avoiding the PRESENTATION TRAP and premature OFFER MAKING (“SELLING”);

- Defining BARRIERS when initiating cooperation and DEVELOPING TACTICS FOR THEIR ELIMINATION;

- Defining POTENTIAL PROFITABILITY OF COOPERATION AND THE RISK LEVEL to establish WHETHER THE INITIATION OF COOPERATION IS JUSTIFIED.

We can prove to our client our technological potential, our facilities, abilities and qualifications. However, we will not prove to them that ‘something will happen’ – this is impossible. That's why in my opinion, this is a good and proven way to enhance the activities within your company towards the clients - making make the customer so convinced that we will do what we say that he will make a ‘yes’ decision and proceed smoothly to next stage (III). It ensures the safety and opportunities for development. Do you want to know rest of the parts? 

What do you think about this and how are you effectively dealing with challenges of today’s extremely competitive global business?

Please contact me by phone, email or Linkedin message. I'm always ready to listen your views on how to make companies better and more effective.