Reading my friend Bob Poole’s book, Listen First – Sell Later, he reminded me about the value of getting to know your customers’ industries. This is important to all salespeople and marketers, not just to soft sell sales and marketing people. To really help yourself get established in your sales and marketing efforts, study up on your ideal customers’ market or industry. Once you choose where you want to initially focus, start reading up as much as you can about it. There are several approaches to successful research. Likewise, there are at least three purposes to your doing this research and getting involved in a low key way. [...]
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Think about it. Do you cringe when you meet a salesperson? Why? Is it because you expect to be bombarded by all sorts of information you really don’t care about? But what happens when he or she actually asks about a problem or desire you are facing? Do you notice how you gradually start to come alive, to become interested in finding out if this could be the solution you’ve been looking for? The key to soft sell sales and soft sell marketing is to only talk about the benefits your products and services offer that your ideal prospect cares about. Remember, everyone, consciously or unconsciously, is always wondering WIIFM — “What’s in it for me?” When you maintain your focus on their interests, using your understanding of your ideal customer profile to guide your questions, you build relationships. Take it slowly enough to fully understand what they are looking for before moving to the solutions. In this way, you help customers buy resulting in sales that are fun and mutually rewarding. That’s heady [...] I had fun Thursday consulting with a husband and wife team, small business owners, on sales and marketing for their flow control manufacturing company. This is one of the few times, if not the first, that my CMTC (California Manufacturing Technology Consultants) client was already gathering information on the profile for their target prospects. Soft sell sales and soft sell marketing are about developing relationships based on people who know, like, and trust you. When you identify what your best customers have in common, you can seek prospects who match those traits. When you speak to a real problem they want and need to fix, you are going to find them more open to discussing what you can do to help them. Provide information and show you sincerely care about them. You’ll be able to help customers buy. And both you and your customer will enjoy the process more and find it mutually rewarding. As one of my clients said Monday, that kind of sale is “a rush.” It’s not just about the money. It’s about the [...] |
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