Hello everyone, Ellie here from Sinclair and Rush and I am back with another blog post! This week we are discussing the results from last week's poll question. What’s most important when selling? With the multiple-choice answers as follows: talking about your service, listening to the customer or both. This is an interesting question because in every business we need to sell to grow the company, so lots of people will have their own thoughts on this one depending on what works for them!
We shared this poll question across different social media platforms: Linked-in, Twitter and Instagram and interestingly each platform displayed similar results! 65% said listening to the customer, 0% said talking about your service and 35% said both. I think it’s fascinating that a big proportion of us said listening is most important and that no one has selected talking about your service solely, and I agree with this. Too often, I have experienced being talked at by a salesperson to the point where they don’t really know if their service is what you need or want. They just do the hard sell in the hope it gets the business. And to me, this is a put off! So even if you did want their service in the first place, you end up going elsewhere because that salesperson was too pushy and intense. I also think at this stage it’s good to mention the fact that selling successfully is based upon building a solid relationship, and this takes time so can’t happen in one meeting usually. Likewise, the conversations need to be equal and not just one sided to develop this. By listening to your customer’s needs, asking questions, and building a rapport with them, you learn what it is that they need from you! You can then tailor your service to suit them, and you are more likely to get the outcome you want. I often found, in my best business meetings that led to a sale down the line, I barely sold my service at all, just listened to the customers pain points, and found out about their business!
Having said this, I don’t want to disregard talking about your service altogether. It is important to make sure the prospect knows what you do and why your service would be of use to them! Likewise, if you have special offers or unique selling points that will help you win that business over another firm, you need to be able to understand what it is the customer needs then show them you are the solution! So, the 35% of you that said both, have probably got it sussed! Listen as much as possible and then you know what parts of your service you need to be selling to them! As there is no point talking about something that doesn’t help their problems, they're bound to switch off during a meeting or phone call. By listening to them and asking the right open questions, this gives you the tools to know what they need and tailor your sales pitch to suit!
I hope this blog has been interesting and informative. I really am enjoying gathering your opinions on important industry topics and sharing them with the world! As always, feel free to get involved with discussions and ask any questions you may have via our social media channels or blogsite! Just click on the hyperlinks / image below to do so!
