The earning of a reputation, of
personal authenticity is a daily challenge to sales and marketing people in trustworthiness in
- commercial and client confidentiality,
- their sales performance, ( not just sales number but activity)
- and the claims of their offer.
Of course it is
not only the sales’ side whose authenticity is questioned. Authentic buying
is similarly challenged.
It is not unknown for a ‘influencer’ to put on a 'big
time act' as if the final decision rests
with them , or to claim they can afford something when they don’t have the final
authority to do so or the budget oversight .
In our work to build up our authenticity it is helpful to first examine the word. A dictionary definition of Authentic goes as follows: of undisputed origin and not a copy; genuine
synonyms :genuine, original, real, actual, pukka, bona fide, true,
veritable; sterling; attested, undisputed, rightful, legitimate, lawful, legal,
valid;
informal expressions
: the real McCoy, the genuine article, the real thing, your actual, kosher,
honest-to-goodness;
How would your clients,your boss and your company measure your ability to
authentically sell with a client serving approach, while influencing effectively
without manipulating?
Here are some aspects, qualities they might look for the authentic sell
- Your capability and true intention
- Your approach to focused and genuine enquiry
- Your collaborative crafting of your offering
- That you are the 'real deal'
- That you actions are truly client oriented
- That you use authentic approaches
- That you are constantly developing, adapting and improving your influence and persuasion skills
- Tat you say no to manipulation
The maxims should be well known to us but doing them is the challenge!
1. Concentrate on your buyers' success and not your own.- Be Buyer oriented
2. Let the client
tell their story before you tell your story. - Shut up,listen and pause
3. When the client
tells their story, forget about instant fixes, get to fully understand it.
4. Listen with patience and interest .Avoid arguing and lecturing your client.
5. Find out the relevant circumstances concerns, consequences and conclusions that your buyers are seeking.
Know your authentic ABCU
Move from conventional 'always be closing' to being always be commercially useful
An authentic sales conversation involves you asking questions.
As you listen to your client responding to the questions you ask,
your brain will give you ideas about how you might help. In a typical
conversation, you’d probably offer these ideas as they occurred to you. In an authentic sales conversation with your client, don’t blurt out your ideas as
they occur to you. Wait and "stay in the question."
Once you put your idea
out there, it’s hard not to defend it which not a persuasive way to start a productive sales
conversation. Ideas arising after you have deeply understood
the client’s situation, are likely to be better than those you have as instant knee jerk reactions.
Traditionally selling has focused on the individual
drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck.
Today, authentic sales success is
increasingly dependent on how we interact with others.
Are you a T , an M or a G?
Most salespeople operate as either a. takers, b. matchers, or c. givers
Whereas
takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade
evenly, givers are the rare breed of salespeople who contribute to others without
expecting immediately anything in return."
Giving styles have a
surprising impact on success. Although some givers get exploited and even burn out, most achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of markets.
Here are 5 steps to bring out your inner Giver
a. Learn to research and source buyers who are likely to have
the problems you can solve
b. Learn to effectively message (aka, talk about) the value you
bring to buyers, which includes your problem-solving approach and willingness
to explore their situation and share your insight and experiences, including
what others in similar situations are doing to address the issues they face.
Done well, this should get you more meetings.
3. When in a meeting, focus on the buyer – their
situation, story, challenges, opportunities, impacts of not acting and outcomes
for taking the right action. In a perfect-world, it’s better to do this
completely independently of your solution, at first.
4. Go in with beyond Google plus info:-
With impatient buyers who have researched
their options well before talking to you .So if you’re not creating your own
opportunity with a proactive approach, it’s more difficult sometimes that it
should be, to conduct a deep discovery, drilling down to your client's real needs wants attitudes feelings and opinions etc.
In those cases, bring data, insights, experiences and
outcomes into your interaction as needed, to earn the right to have the deeper
dialogue.
5. When it’s time to discuss solutions, personalise them based
on the buyer’s situation and both their business needs and personal motivators.
At every point in the process, abstain from manipulative tricks
Be authentic.
Be transparent.
Be willing to walk away, especially if you can’t really help (although perhaps
you can refer someone who can).
Think from the Buyer's view
In the Buyer's world, it’s rare to find a solution
that is absolutely perfect in every way.
Buyers often need to compare solutions
that are close, but each competitive offer may do something the other doesn't. or perhaps the
services seem similar but there is a value-add with one who also charges more.
There are dozens of mismatch possibilities, but buyers
make compromises on what they want and are often forced to select between
multiple good options.
Professional buying isn't any easier than Professional selling.
In these situations, do you know what often makes the
difference?
Yep… it’s you !
And yes, to be clear, this “you” includes your colleagues in your company who have interacted with the buyer, too, but a great deal of it is
you. When all else is equal, the experience the buyer has with you, your
approach, your relationship, their trust in you and your company/solution… they
matter a great deal. This includes your (above-board, principle-centred)
ability to establish authentic credibility, develop relationships, influence, persuade
and negotiate.
Next Actions and related links
- What’s your mindset about your buyers and selling to them?
- What are your skill levels for selling, problem-solving,
influencing, persuading, and negotiating without manipulation? Take this sales knowledge and skills audit
- Where you
can improve the most?
- How can you bridge the gap between your knowledge and field practise ?
- For those in your company who interact with your clients and
prospective clients… how well do they do the above? Selling skills for non sales
- How can you (and your colleagues, manager, and sales support team) raise everyone’s level
this year? Add this blog to your favourites
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