Well, I’ve been “a-wall” for a few weeks doing the things I’m supposed to do – sell, market and find new things to share with you. So here goes…
First, have you noticed a severe disconnect with most buyers and decision makers lately? It seems to have started around five or six years ago and gained speed since the recession started in 2008.
Second, have you noticed how fast customers and prospects respond to any discussion You start about your products or services. This seems to be the most challenging issue for many sales people (including myself from time to time.). There appears to be Five Factors contributing to this issue for sales people…
- Time – or the lack of time, therefore a tendency to provide data and detail dumps on your prospect or customer due to your belief you will only get one chance to give your information – so the dump begins.
- Sales Training – seems most (probably 85 to 90%) of sales training for b2b sales is still based upon the old Traditional or Presentation Model of Selling. These tactics are a certain death of a sales person with many of the buyers and decision makers of today. The hardest thing is to unlearn old habits and poor training subject matter.
- Style Issues – with so many sales people possessing aggressive, fast paced and direct selling styles, it is no wonder they cannot shut up long enough to focus entirely upon the customer. These common selling styles of people can become their biggest liability in today’s selling. Why? Because they are doing all the talking. Therefore, the buyer says very little and the sales person learns little information about what it will take to win the account.
- Focus – again, b2b sales people have a tendency to be focused upon their company, their products and even themselves – rather than the most important issue – the customer. By focusing upon the customer the b2b sales person will learn more about the customer, their vision of the future, what is missing today that they prefer and want, and the strong feeling of trust needed to form a bond with their sales person.
- Security – this is primarily a limiting factor for the Boomer Generation of B2B Sales People. Several decades ago you did not have security issues at most organizations. Therefore, the sales people could move freely throughout an organization making face to face contact with inflencers and decision makers within an organization on an ad hoc basis. Today, it is a challenge to just get into the parking lot – much less the building. Planning and coordination have become the keys for getting an audience as well as new technology such as Video Conferencing with buyers and decision makers.
There you have five factors causing issues with your prospects and customers – that you can control.
I will be sharing in future b2b sales tips, ideas on how to gain greater rapport and understanding from you prospects and customers. You hold the key to the level of your success. And, it will begin with you becoming aware of the things creating issues for your sales person – decision maker rapport.
Think about how involved and engaged do you get your customers and prospects today. If you feel it is very little – then keep coming back to this site for new b2b sales tips on how to Master the Game of B2B Selling in Today’s environment.
Voss Graham
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