Relationship Selling

Posts Tagged ‘Creating Customer Value’

Many local business owners have one thing in common: an excellent knowledge of their trade/service/product.  They know what they want and they go after it with vigor.  But many times they are extremely knowledgeable in their field but they lack an essential skill for true success:  Selling.  This is where learning the skills necessary for relationship selling come into play.

Local business owners are not usually salespeople and when they first start out in their business they rely mainly on word of mouth or local advertising.  This is great for getting people in the door but what happens once they have entered? Today’s market is extremely competitive and to truly succeed, you need to stand out from the crowd.   Knowing your trade or business and being an expert in this trade is crucial but if you cannot communicate a reason to buy from you and not from your competitor, then you are going to be left out.

Do you need to be an expert salesperson to sell to your customers/clients?

Absolutely not.  But you need to learn some critical communication skills in relationship selling before you hang the “Open for Business” sign on your door. One of the most important aspects of relationship selling is to understand that you are providing value to your customer.  If you are able to separate this from the idea of “selling”,  then you will have conquered a good portion of ground to learning these skills.  Providing value by solving your customer’s problem is paramount to overcoming the hurdles that many local business owners face when trying to “sell” their product/service.

There are ways to handle a customer from first contact through the “sale” which will differentiate you from your competitors.  You don’t have to be a super salesman to get the job done correctly and you certainly don’t need to be uncomfortable or feel “pitchy” when talking to a prospective customer/client.

Relationship Selling helps you understand the basics of building a relationship with your customer/client first and to dig deeper into their issues/problems so you can provide a “real” solution to these problems. Thus, you are providing them value and helping them solve their problems; not trying to make it more about you than them. These skills are not learned overnight but they can be learned and applied daily to your business. Anyone can do this type of selling.  It is the not the old fashioned “what’s in it for me” approach, but rather “what’s in it for my customer”.

Once these skills have been acquired, you will be amazed at how easy it will be to approach a customer/client with confidence and assurance that what you are offering is value based and something that will help them.  This helps to take the “selling” portion out of the picture and this is a huge stumbling block for most new small local business owners.

Being extremely knowledgeable in your field is the first step to success.  Learning the skills necessary for is the next critical step for continued growth and profitability.

Most have a strategy for attracting new customers. But what is your strategy for keeping the customers you already have? Customer retention strategy is rooted in the relationship selling process. It is based on loyalty. Loyalty is developed by knowing your customers needs and how you respond to those needs. To outshine your competition you need to focus on understanding the real needs. There is intrinsic value the customer derives with doing business with their company. 

In the olden days loyalty was taken for granted. Not any more. Today you must demonstrate value and appreciation for your customers. It is so easy for them to fall off the radar; but if they do so will the sales. Time to rethink customer engagement to boost satisfaction and ultimately, retention.

Get to know your customers. Gather information about  your customers with the mindset that you will act on it. Ask what’s important to them. There are several ways to do this: online surveys, a few questions on the phone after the sale. This may seem like common sense but my experience is that common sense isn’t so common anymore.  Follow up immediately after a sale to handle any complaints right away.  A 2-way dialogue will make them feel part of the process and they will feel respected.  

Getting to know your customer is about personal attention and recognition. These are the key ingredients for strengthening retention. Listen to feedback and apply their recommendations to everyone. Make them feel part of a community or tribe as Seth Godin writes about. Keep track of past purchases and preferences; this is valuable information. Have special offers and incentives that are for current customers only.  Communicate these via newsletter, e-newsletter or other forums. Customer retention strategies only work if the customer benefits from them. Give them what they expect and then give them more.

It’s no longer location, location, location. It’s communicate, communicate, communicate. It is important to have a follow up system in place. Incorporate the use of thank you calls, emails, cards in the mail. Stay in touch with your top 20% customers. This means picking up the phone at least quarterly to personally touch base with the top 10 to 25. Remember it is that 20% that makes up 80 percent of your sales. These satisfied customers are the most likley to give you referrals; especially if you give them an incentive for both the new and existing customer. 

Ask them about their customer experience and what would make it better. Then be willing to implement the changes. If their experience hasn’t been good you want to turn it around immediately. You will only find out if they are happy with their purchase if you follow up a few days to a week after the initial purchase. When you are accessible the relationship will only get stronger. 

Applying the relationship selling process is part of your unique selling proposition. This is how you stand out from the crowd. The personal touch is what is missing in today’s online world. This is how you can get your foot in the door for your market. This is how you can compete with the big guns who no longer have time.

Loyalty comes from applying the relationship selling process and customer retention is based on this loyalty. Remember there is intrinsic value the customer derives with doing business with their company.

Creating customer value is at the core of Relationship Selling.  Relationship selling is all about relationship building and moving a customer forward in the process while building that relationship.

So a natural component of that process would naturally be creating customer value.  But is it as black and white as it seems?

Not always, but some great ways to create customer value and have their perception of your product/service be one of value to them is a process and you need to do your homework first.

First you need to be sure you address your customer/prospect’s specific pain when looking for solutions to their problem.  If what you are offering does nothing to solve this “pain” then there is no perceived value in your offering.

This solution should be specific to your prospect – not a “one size fits all” approach but a customized, thought provoking solution that correlates the problem/pain with that solution.   Be prepared to offer them something unique.  Something that makes your product/service “stand out” from the crowd.  How do you differ from your competition?  What makes your product unique to their special needs.  If you can deliver in this area, you have provided value to your customer that others cannot.  Everyone sells pizza but does everyone guarantee it within a certain amount of time or it’s free?  Dominoes used to do that and it worked quite well with college students who were looking for “free”.  Their pain was monetary and their need was hunger so Dominoes tapped into both and created a great unique selling proposition.

Creating customer value is a process and it takes homework but it is at the core of building relationships and without it, you are just another “salesperson” looking for the big bang.

Don’t get caught up in the sale.  Be prepared, be thoughtful, be attentive and make your product/service be the solution that your customer/prospect is looking for and one that will result in repeat business, referral business and increased profits.

Creating customer value through relationship building is the key to a good, solid, lasting customer base.

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