How much do you really know about your customer’s wants and needs?
The level of knowledge a salesperson has about a customer will directly impact the amount profit they will be able to maximize from the customer.
Sounds so simple, doesn’t it?
After all, knowing your customer is really the essence of your job as a salesperson.
Unfortunately, I never cease to be amazed at the number of salespeople who go into sales calls without knowing all they can about that customer. Even worse is when they come out of the sales call not knowing much more than they did going in.
How does this happen?
Plain and simple, so many salespeople spend more time on knowing about their product than they do about genuinely knowing what their customer wants and needs.
They spend their time developing knowledge instead of gaining knowledge about the customer.
Through effective questioning and listening, you will incrementally gain the information you need to really understand the customer.
Key is to not blindly receive what the customer says, but rather take the time to verify the accuracy and validity of what they say.
The more knowledge you have about the customer and their needs and wants, the easier it is for you to match the benefits of what you sell with that particular customer’s circumstances.
Not only will you maximize profits, but your customer will maximize benefits! High-profit selling is as much about increasing the satisfaction of the customer as it is about increasing your bottom line.
So start paying particular attention to your techniques in gaining information — and then to how you leverage that knowledge to boost profits.
Copyright 2012, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
