How to Build & Keep a Good (Sales) Relationship
There are very few people in the world who want to be sold, but everyone wants to buy (hello cute shoes!). In the professional sales world, we all know that people buy from those they know and trust, but building that trust relationship doesn’t exactly come with a road map. Fortunately, there are some tested and proven psychological tools that we can use, not to manipulate, but to help put a new potential client at ease and foster a great long term relationship.
1. Mirroring. Listen, in general, people like themselves. Which means that they like other humans that are somewhat like them. As a sales person it is your job to be a chameleon, so if you notice that they speak quickly, pick up your pace. If they are leaning on the table, lean in. If they talk with their hands, guess what…so do you! You may also notice (and this is a big one) that they may have a hard time making eye contact, meaning that they are introverted. If this person is sitting across from you PLEASE do not try to stare them down until they look you in the eye! Give them a break and pull back a bit, they will feel so much more relaxed.
2. TAKE NOTES! Do you remember the time when you used to keep more than 7 phone numbers in your head? Yeah, we don’t do that anymore. So if you are expecting to remember that your client told you that their child is in softball or that they got married on the top of a tuna boat you are asking way too much of your poor brain. Use your client relationship management tool to keep those notes and refresh your memory before you call or go on that appointment.
3. Touch them in many ways. Ok, mind out of the gutter, seriously you need to connect with people in a multitude of ways. Phone calls, lunches, handwritten notes, newsletters, social media, and gifting are all ways to let your clients know that you value them as more than just a number. Creating ‘WOW Campaigns’ and setting reminders for yourself in your CRM tool (activity sets will help speed this up and allow you to delegate some basic items) will make sure that your follow-up steps appear on your calendar and that you don’t miss these critical connections.
Want to know more about how we can empower you to increase your revenue, see true ROI from your marketing and breeze past your goals? Call Marie at 312-720-1399
Marie Hale is the co-founder and CEO of @revenue, a sales and marketing collaborative in Chicago. With more than 15 years of sales training and marketing implementation experience, Marie and her firm are dedicated to changing the lives of small business owners by empowering them to sell more effectively and employ powerful marketing strategies.