It
is probably now over two decades since I read the following statement from a
Swiss sales trainer: “I do not sell anything to people. I just talk to them
until they want to buy”
At that time he had already understood that
selling is not about closing techniques and objection handling but about
holding “value-adding conversations” with potential clients. What has changed
since is that today sellers have to hold these conversations with crazy-busy
people who have no time.
When is a
conversation value adding?
For
a seller to add value to a sales conversation he/she should talk:
a)
about the right subject,
b)
at the right moment,
c)
to the right person.
This
powerful combination will lead to an informed decision being made.
The
conundrum though is how to figure out who the right person to talk to is, what
the right subject to talk about is and when it is the right moment to talk. The
short answer is that relationship intelligence among other things is an
important method helping you solve this conundrum. Yet relationship
intelligence is not just desk research, it is to a great extent gained through
interactions (conversations) with people. So we use the same vehicle (the
conversation) for a dual purpose: to gather relationship intelligence and also to
get a person to make an informed decision. While the value of conversation is
usually more obvious for sellers it is less so the crazy-busy prospect. For
conversations geared towards relationship intelligence gathering, the problem
is even more acute.
Solving the
conundrum: create value-adding conversations
A
clear understanding of the intended purpose of a conversation is paramount. Is
it primarily focused to get decisions directly advancing the sales campaign? Or
is it more about relationship intelligence gathering? While we might go into a
conversation with a particular purpose in mind, we also have to be prepared
that this purpose might shift during the conversation.
Let’s
assume a seller has found out about an event which is triggering an urgent need
within a prospective customer organization. This increases the likelihood that
the moment is right to talk about the subject of the trigger event. From the
seller’s knowledge of the customer’s organization, he/she also can infer which
person is most likely to be concerned about this event. The seller might be confident enough to
expect, that the conversation held with this person will directly advance the
sales campaign. However, early in a campaign, with a customer organization we
do not know very well, there is also a high chance that our assumption will not
be correct. Then the purpose of the conversation has to shift from advancing
the sales campaign to gathering relationship intelligence. During the
conversation, the seller might conclude that although it is the right moment
and the right subject for the organization, he/she is not talking to the right
person. The objective is now to get the prospect to make a decision to come
forward with the name of the person in the customer organization who might be
more concerned by the subject. By being agile, the seller can still get value
out of the conversation. Yet there is an equally important question:
Where is the added value
for anyone helping us gather relationship intelligence?
If
we stay with our scenario, here are at least two thoughts why the conversation
might also be valuable for the person the seller is talking to.
–
Getting the right for first refusal to tackle
the subject
–
Fostering ones own image in the organization
by referring a potential solution provider to someone more concerned about the
subject
A
prerequisite for these possible outcomes is obviously that the seller was able
to build trust with the conversation partner. These are the social skills that oil
the wheels of a good sales conversation.
How to profit from
this discussion?
You
can have more productive conversations with your customers if you
–
Enter conversations with the right mindset,
–
Have always a primary and a secondary
objective for the conversation
–
Are agile to switch objectives according how
the conversation develops
Christian
Maurer
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