Consumers have changed – the change started ten years ago and has accelerated over the past five. Anyone who doesn’t realise that has not been near the internet for a long time or is in denial. It’s a buyer’s market and it’s likely to stay that way because the amount of information and connectivity available to consumers will only increase.
Selling to this type of consumer is different. It is not necessarily more difficult – unless you try to sell to them using the old process which assumed that the buying cycle and selling cycle were in sync. Nowadays, the buying cycle has started a long time before the salesperson knows there is a cycle. To sell effectively in this ’age of the buyer’, four skills must be mastered.
1. Create a Great Trust Impression
While trustworthiness has always been an important factor in the buying choice, factors that emerged during the Global Financial Crisis made it front of mind. Pictures of Bernard Madoff being taken off to prison have made trust front of mind for consumers; and while corporate trust may be ‘on the nose’ consumers have sown that they want to trust – even complete strangers. Think of Ebay. An entire model based on sending your money in advance to buy from complete strangers based on references of...complete strangers. Yet it works – over $8billion worth in 2009.
You need to be able to create a great impression of trustworthiness – which is different to actual trustworthiness. Some people are very trustworthy, but they create a poor first impression. The trouble is, they often don’t get a second chance.
Often, nowadays, your first impression is not made by your business attire, smile or handshake, but by your social networking presence. This can be either a good or a bad thing depending on what they see. If they see nothing, you will appear out of touch; if they see albums of you leering drunkenly at a camera, it may compromise your professional image.
Here are two hints for creating trust quickly.
Firstly, people trust those that they have the most connections with. Try to find out how many points of connection you can identify in the first meeting. If you can leave the impression with them that they have more connections with you than your competitors – all other factors being equal – you will get the sale. This is where your social networking can be an advantage. Even before you meet, check them out on Linked-In or Facebook to see if you share any connections – and, of course, the more connections you have, the more likely this is to happen.
Secondly, build trust by demonstrating it. Find non-threatening ways to show your customer or potential customer that you trust them – and they will be inclined to trust you.
2. Put Yourself in a Position of Influence
In business, you are either in a position of influence or inferiority. The buyer –dominant process - where the customer is able to progress through all the steps without a salesperson, only involving him or her at the last step to haggle price – certainly puts the salesperson in a position of inferiority.
To be seen differently by the consumer, you need to provide information or understanding beyond what they can access on a Google search. You need to be seen, not just as a product expert, but as an industry expert. Your opinion of a competitor’s product carries as much credibility in the client’s mind as what the competitor says about it. Then you have a chance to influence their buying criteria.
3. Create Leverage
Always be on the look-out for opportunities to create leverage. Here are two suggestions: (1) find ways to make them look good. Be their ‘inside contact’ who sends them information before they can get it elsewhere. (2) Help them by understanding their systems (both formal and informal) enough to make sure that your proposal is the best fit with their systems. This might involve giving your clients the tools they need to convince the others influencing this decision (some of whom you may never meet).
4. Trigger the Buying Decision
This is no longer about ‘selling’ or ‘closing’. Clients don’t want to be sold to – they want to buy with confidence. It’s not the ‘close’ of the relationship – it’s a sign that it’s going well. Where you can help the client is in recognising that they are in a state of information overload and facilitating them through it. The salesperson who can recognise what a client needs to confidently decide about this will probably get the sale.
With the ability to take a customer through these steps, a salesperson can be confident that they are adding value to the sales process and truly satisfying the post-internet consumer.
Article Contributed by Kevin Ryan, an international speaker , workshop leader and author with Training Edge International. He is a business communication expert specialising in the areas of employee and client engagement, sales, humour intelligence and presentation skills.
Email : kevin.ryan@trainingedgeasia.com
Website : www.trainingedgeasia.com
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