Today the terms Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C) is being replaced with the term Human to Human (H2H).  This change is occurring do the realization that our interactions on every level must treat everyone as a human being.

This begins and ends throughout every interaction with our client.  It is the lifeblood or any organization.

Years ago, one of my bosses had a plaque – “Everything begins and ends with the sale”.  This wisdom is being re-recognized by our society.  So today I thought we would examine the basis for this.  The sales process.  In doing so I created six (6) easy to remember points to refresh ourselves wth.

We often forget how important a good sale is versus an OK sale.  Every sale should be a good or great sale.  A great sale is not determined by price, but how our service and product is perceived by our customer.  A bad sale can end not only our client relationship but can also destroy a company.

1. Listen to your prospect/client!!!

• One thing I always remember from a sales course I did back in the 90’s was the goofy cartoon image of the perfect engineered sales person – They had really Big Ears with a small mouth.  That image stuck.  It was to remind us that our biggest skill is to the listen and when we speak ask very succinct questions.
• By listening to our client we will begin to understand them. Understanding your client is the basis for a long term relationship
• This skill goes beyond sales.  If you don’t listen to your spouse or significant other – you will get into trouble.
• Historically we as a society we do a terrible job of this.

 

2. Identify and Understand your clients’ needs and desires/wants.

• Use your listening skill – Big EARS again!
• Ask intelligent open questions.  This is a must have skill.  It is something we must strive to perfect.  It’s so easy to ask closed questions.  A good interviewer asks questions that enables the answers to be more forthcoming, more details that enable us (if we listen) to ask yet more questions and grants us the insights to truly help our customer.
• Open questions give you more information than closed questions
• Strongest smallest word – WHY

 

3. Manage your Client through Education – Educate them.

• A customer has been educated or trained by your competitor.  We need to patiently educate them on how you do business.  Failure or frustration that a client may feel is most often the result of lack of education on how you do business.  We have seen so many of our clients mess up client relationships because of this.

 

4. Value over Price

• Price wars have no victor! It’s a war you cannot win.
  • Price impacts quality of product and service.
  • Price impacts attitude!
  • Price will lose you a client
  • Do not become a commodity
• So how do you provide or show value?  (Most companies and by extension their sales force cannot show or articulate their value – because they don’t know it themselves).
  • Understand your value
  • Experience
  • Professionalism
  • Quality of product/materials
• CLEARLY – Articulate your value
• Know When you cannot provide value – prepare to walk away.

 

5. Choose the right Sales person.

Your sales person reflects you, your brand, your company.  Choose your sales personnel wisely.

• Do they have your mindset?
  • Your values?
  • Your people skills?
• Invest in them
• Do they build a strong relationships (look at someone’s personal life)
  • Strong Relationships weather the storms
  • Guarantee that if something can go wrong it will go wrong.

Remember that People do not want to be sold too. They want to buy things.

• People buy from people they LIKE
• People buy from people they trust
• The #1 role of the sales person is to remove the obstacles from a client buying your product or service.
• OH and a bad sale – screws everyone!!!

 

6. Once you have the clients trust, don’t neglect or abuse it.

• Never screw them over, abuse, rape or gouge them
• Always be willing and able to justify your product and service (Price is a reflection of this)
• Treat them as you wish to be treated

 

So why is H2H the new norm – because it focuses on treating each other as humans – not as money trees/suckers or simply the client…

Successful clients – successful business  or Happy client – Happy Business