Selling Is The Winning Strategy
Jim logan, wrote this good blog on Further Proof Solution Selling Is The Winning Strategy To Grow Your Business
Jim asked the question?
Would you say it’s better to take a consultative approach to selling, working with a customer to create a solution that meets their needs or do you think it’s best to determine ahead of time what you have to sell and force-feed it to as many people as you can?
Yes, of course it is right to sell to the identified needs and wants of the customers. The buyers don’t like finding out later that they bought something for the seller’s advantage rather than their benefit!
But having the sales team change is just the tip of the iceberg. What about the after-sales team? If they are still in “old” mode, what will the buyers experience?
The proof of the pudding will be when the paying customers get the whole company totally customer focused! That is the evidence they need, not just a “PR” exercise to encourage more sales. What they experience when and if things go wrong. That’s the real test!
February 5th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Hi Richard! Thanks for the kind reference to my post.
I agree with the question of post-sales support. Often, businesses look at support as an expense. And while this may be true in some markets, in most (certainly most I spend time in) they’re actually revenue centers and should be treated as such.
BTW…I don’t just mean customer support is profitable, charging for post-sales support. I mean post-sales activities play a huge role in future sales to customers. There’s more money in the customers you have than many companies realize – repeat purchase, word of mouth, referrals, testimonials, etc. Customers are a huge company asset.
Taking a customer for granted is beyond foolish. It’s eliminating one of only three ways a company can make money – the other two being to get more new customers and increasing the value of your average sale.
I believe placing value on your prospects and customers, serving their best interest (both before and after the sale) is the surest way for a business succeed.
Thanks again for sharing my post!