By nature I am a person who values relationships. I guess that is the reason I got my graduate degree in psychology. But in business it has made me averse to "hard selling" techniques.   I never wanted to be a salesman that convinced someone to buy something that they didn't want.

I know that for many people even the word salesman is a description and person they want to avoid.  Yet, you cannot have a successful business if you do not sell your product or your service.

HOW TO CHANGE SELLING FROM NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE

I have learned through much of my training and experience in marketing, that the best business people are successful because they sell what people want and need. If you sell what people want, then you are really doing them a service. In actuality, you are building a relationship.

One of my favorite stories about this comes from a famous Northeast clothing store retailer Jack Mitchell. He wrote a book called Hugging your Customers. A business executive customer called his store looking for a winter topcoat to take on a business trip, Jack brought samples to the executive's office.  When none fit or were the right color, Jack gave him his own coat off his back, and ordered the new one from the factory via Fedex.

In essence, Jack Mitchel saw himself as being in the service business and not the clothing business. His customers could always rely on him to have what the customer needed, even if he had to take it "off his back".  It was surely a way of building a relationship.

Just as the strongest personal relationships are built by emotional bonding the same can be said for sales relationships. It is important to focus on the emotional needs of your customers and not only the features of your product.

UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEATURE AND BENEFIT

Rather than focusing on the technical aspects of the electronic appliance you are selling, or the new coverage on an insurance policy, you focus on understanding your customer.  Try to connect with them, ask them questions, and guide your offer to satisfy that need.

I came across this issue in a telemarketing consulting project I am working on.  The company was selling a referral service for home repair contractors.  They directed their marketing pitch to their own needs and features rather than the benefits to the customer. The original script they used to call prospects, started with: "Hi, we have referrals in your area for plumbing contractors that can do high quality work, do you do high quality work ?"

I worked with their team to re-focus on the needs and challenges of the contractor. The script changed to "Hi, my name is Morris from XYZ co. We offer exclusive high quality leads in your area.  We know the tough economy is making it hard to get new business.  How would it help if we provided you with regular monthly referrals  ?"
It was an introduction that tried to open up a dialogue and conversation, with the emphasis on the needs & challenges of the customer.

TRY TO ANTICIPATE THE NEED & KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER

The more understand the challenges your target customer is facing the better position you are in to help. As a psychologist, I think of it as being able to help an adolescent or a marital couple, because you have studied child development and marital communication.
The message you convey about your business product and service must focus on understanding your customer and their needs. In the referral example I used above, it would even have been better to be more specific in identifying the challenge, e.g. "We heard that the tough economy had hurt home contractors because people aren't spending as they did before…."

CHALLENGES THAT PREVENT BUSINESS FROM FOCUSING ON CUSTOMERS

CHALLENGES
1. A business does not monitor their customers closely.  They may not pay enough attention to what type of customer is buying from them.  Or they may not speak personally and get feedback from their customer, so they do not have a clear sense of who they are and want they need.

2. Some business owners try to serve too broad a market. They think that by making offers to the broadest possible group of potential customers and not narrowing their message, they will capture more business. There are coaches who try to do this by coaching everybody for everything.  They offer life coaching, career coaching, parent coaching, weight loss coaching and business coaching.

HOW TO DEVELOP CUSTOMER FOCUS ?

Imagine you are your customer, and ask yourself "why should I buy this product or service, what does it do for me ?"  Put yourself in their shoes.

To be successful and build that relationship, you need to be there to serve the emotional needs of your customers, byunderstanding them, what they need and want and providing it.

As a business and marketing coach I have a lot of success helping people gain that focus in their business and practice.  My clients and I work together on building referrals and business by: Developing a core marketing message; creating an "elevator speech"; identifying and establishing strategic referral partners; and developing the product service to appeal to the targeted customers needs.

If it you think you can use help in those areas, I am offering through the month of March a special package rate of $499 for the first month of market planning coaching.
You can call me at 866 410-1414

M Mann