Pitching your Products
Today’s market is flooded with an array of goods and services. As a B2B seller, this makes pitching your products more challenging. As a distribution consultant, I am often asked how best to fine-tune sales strategies to meet buyers’ expectations. My answer is to focus on building trust and proving your value to customers.
Build Trust with Personalization
One of the best ways to build trust with customers is to increase the personalization of the sale.
Listen to the nuances in your customer’s voice — not just his words. Tailor the sale to each customer’s specific need. Show empathy and kindness when problems arise. My best B2B relationships have developed from projects where I have helped a customer out of a tight spot.
Use Technology
Sales have always been based on trust. In a recent blog, Michael Buscemi, Director of SMB at G2, stated, “I don’t think trust has fundamentally changed… However, I think the way our information is available today has made it [trust] more acute in the minds of buyers and sellers.” Technology is available that helps identify customers’ specific needs. Use data to personalize your approach to each client and build trust.
Prove Product Value
Today’s buyers start their research for a product or service online. A survey last year by DemandGen Report reported that 77% of B2B buyers did not talk with a salesperson until they had performed independent research. In this research environment, you need to prove your value by being the product expert. It is imperative that the sales team has hands-on experience with the product or service it sells. For example, when our bathrooms needed updating I researched the latest designs online. Only then did I invite a couple of local sales companies to demonstrate their products to me. My order went to the company that convinced me of the value of their installations.
Recipe for Success
Establish customer relationships based on trust. Add to that the ability to prove the value of your product or service. This is the recipe for sales success in today’s competitive market. Get tips and tricks like the above in The Art of Sales books. Or subscribe to the FREE monthly articles here.