Have you asked your customer what they’re buying? It’s not what you think it is, it’s not the product or service you sell. Your customer only views what you sell as a tool to help them achieve what they need help with. The outcome they are trying to achieve may be a pain, a gain, a solution, a protection, or any number of other possibilities. Regardless what the customer is really looking for, the bottom line is that they are searching for an answer.
Video: What Are Your Customers Buying From You?
How well do you know the exact outcome that your customer is seeking? This is one of the reasons why I think it’s an issue if you respond to the customer who asks for a quick price. You can’t afford to get sidetracked by the shiny object of a quick price quote or any of the many other traps that customers throw at you. Your main objective is to uncover the customer’s real need and fully understand its magnitude.
Uncovering the customers real need will lead you to the outcome the customer has but don’t think for a moment the customer will be forthcoming with what the outcome is. It is easy for the customer’s need to remain a mystery, for a variety of reasons, and until the customer builds trust and confidence in you and how you can help him/her, it will continue to be a mystery. Yes, your customers are buying a solution; however, to get there they must have enough trust in the expected solution to warrant making a purchase with you. When the level of trust between you and the customer increases, the level of confidence in the solution increases.
The connection between trust and outcome is pretty simple: the more trust, the more open the conversation. Furthermore, the more open the conversation, the more the customer is able to comprehend the solution and what it means to them.
Sales is not a one-way transaction, sales is a conversation to uncover solutions. Think about this sentence – your role is not to complete a one-time transaction, your role is to move people closer to the solutions they’re looking for. Completing the sale allows the customer to begin the journey of achieving their goal.
Starting today and every day from here on out, aim to challenge yourself to create a conversation that goes deeper, one that does not get sidetracked by shiny objects. Your goal is to not just listen to your customer but to ask questions that push their thinking, push their mindset. This is what sales is all about, it’s about providing solutions at a level your customers may never have thought possible. Your customers are buying you to allow them to buy their outcome.
I talk about how to push your thinking and your customer’s thinking by developing a whole new mindset in my new book, A Mind For Sales. Have you read it? I urge you to pick up a copy. Many have reached out to tell me how it’s helped shape their thoughts, personally and professionally, for the better. Read it, learn from it, apply it, and pass it on – share with others by posting a review on Amazon. Buy a copy today by clicking here.
Copyright 2020, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
