Early in my sales career, I was taught that customers make five decisions when they decide who, what, when and where to buy. They decide on the Salesperson, the Company that person represents, the Products that person is selling, the Price of those products or services, and if it is Time for them to buy or not. And they tend to make these decisions in that order. Meaning, it will be tough for you to establish the value in your company or products if they do not have a positive judgement on you as the salesperson. If they do not have a positive impression of the company you represent, then you establishing value in the product is difficult. And finally, if they don’t have the warm and fuzzies for you, your company, or your product, then you being able to sell your price, or create the urgency for you to affect the timing of the purchase is more problematic. Let us dig deeper into these five decisions and discuss some ways for you to increase the perceived positive judgements on your complete offering.
Salesperson: Salespeople get judged by prospective customers on a myriad of factors. Some of which include honesty, integrity, knowledge, appearance, and timeliness. Many of these factors are affected by a salesperson’s time management skills, which is why I have often said that a salesperson’s time and territory skills can either make or break how customers see them in the marketplace. You need a system in place to ensure you do what you say you will do, when you say your going to do it. Consistency is key. Once in a blue moon something can fall through the cracks, but that needs to be the exception. Another thing to consider is how we introduce ourselves to prospective customers. Are you a “Hello, I’m Joe with Stack it Deep & Sell it Cheap Distribution” kind of salesperson or a “Hello, I’m Joe and I help contractors source the products they need, when they need them, to complete their projects and run a profitable business” kind of salesperson? Which do you think is better? Look at how you introduce yourself to make sure the messages you intend to deliver are being delivered.
Company: Many salespeople can talk ad nauseum about their company – all the programs, processes, and people they bring to bear in a market to service the local contractors. They focus on “what” it is their company does, but few discuss “why” they do it. The answers to “why” the company operates that way is where the perceived value to the prospective customer resides. Focus your company story on what is in it for the contractor? This will help you tailor messages of value to prospective customers and encourages you to use outwardly focused language like the words “you” and “your” when communicating your stories.
Price: I’m not going to lie…price is important. However, I believe salespeople place an inordinate amount of importance on price and bring “price baggage” from previous sales calls into subsequent sales calls. If possible, do not deliver a price to a customer without the opportunity to first explain what they will receive for that price. And I do not just mean a product, but the service, people, logistics and processes behind that product that make the whole thing go. If you provide a price, with no other information, then that contractor will be looking at your price – and prices from your competitors as well, with no variables other than the price. It stands to reason that their eyes will move to whoever has the lowest price and that price will be the only factor considered.
Time: Salespeople should be looking strategically at all their sales interactions. Not every call needs to end with a price, bid, quote, or a request to a customer to make a purchase. There are multiple sales milestones during your interactions with customers and prospects. You can attempt to introduce urgency into a customer’s buying decision, and in many cases you should. But a customer will buy when and if the time is right for them. When working through the sales cycles with contractors, ask yourself “What should be the next step in this situation?” Salespeople who are always asking to bid or quote jobs can be perceived as desperate. Consider slowing down and allowing the contractor the room to decide in the timeframe that works for them. As we learned with the story of the tortoise and the hare – sometimes you get there faster by moving slower. Happy Selling!!
