In my last post, I talked about why conventional sales strategies that were considered “tried and true” two decades ago are no longer working in today’s environment; they’re more about the seller than the buyer.  Unfortunately, many sales reps still cling to the old ways, despite the fact they are losing business to sales reps with inferior products.  What they don’t understand is that the sales reps who are beating them have an approach to selling that customers love: Customer Aligned Selling. 

 Customer Aligned Sales reps begin every sales call with the goal of creating value during every interaction with the prospect or customer.  They understand that the new sales formula is “value = trust.” They know that if their focus is on adding value, the prospect will trust them. That trust leads to true and loyal relationships, which lead to repeat business.

If the rear wheel of your customer’s bike is the driving force, or the business reasons, behind why your customer buys (as we discussed in Part 1), then the front wheel is the one that determines the direction in which he will go – whether he buys from you or from someone else.  Here, personal motives are the deciding factor.

There are two forces that drive a customer’s buying decision: business reasons and personal motives. A successful sale depends on your ability to accurately identify the reason your customer has for buying and what he’s looking for in a vendor. If you fall short in either area, you are likely to lose the sale.

Understanding Key Business Risk issues

Revenue, Expenses and Risk is What Matters Most

What does it say about the value of salespeople when even Silicon Valley relies on them to move up and to the right?

That's right. The bastion of tech business excellence is finally admitting that salespeople can play important roles in helping businesses grow – even if their businesses are already growing.