Friday, 28 June 2013
Features, Benefits and Feelings
We all know what we sell or buy has features (Made out of 100% Wool) and, in turn, they have benefits (Keeps you warm in winter) but have you ever stopped to think that they have feelings attached to them as well (I feel great wearing this jacket!).
Some products - like fashion - lend themselves to both the benefits (I need to be warm) and feelings (I want to look good) very easily - for others, you may need to think a bit more. The feelings are often a very important feature in the process of buying something aren't they?
So why don't they feature so readily in the selling process?
Sometimes the feeling can be accentuated by the person they are dealing with - but ultimately, the product or service must stand on it's own two feet. This is how buyers dissent kicks in - they were feeling good in the shop as the sales person was there telling them how to feel - 'You look great in that Jacket'. Then, away from this reinforcement the rational mind kicks in and starts the mental balancing equation to determine if what they paid matches what they got (features + benefits + feelings).
A clients emotion features heavily in buying habits - look at brands globally which are often more expensive than their competitors and do the same things (and sometimes less). How does this work? The price > features + benefits comparatively - yet people still buy them...the outweighing factor is how they make the client feel!
Take buying a house and, in my industry, getting a home loan. Does the client want the home loan? No - if you could waive a magic wand that meant they could buy a house without one - would they still elect to have one? No way.
Do they want the house? Do they?
No - they want the things the house provides them. The home, the security, the comfort, the stability, to hear their kids playing in the backyard, the relaxation they get from not having to commute so far to work. How they feel!
We are emotional beings. To sell well, you need to understand how what you do makes your clients feel and what feelings it helps them satisfy or accentuate. You buy with your emotions, so do your clients.
See, Hear & Act
Many people, unfortunately, view sales people as talkers - running off well practiced and slick spiels to manipulate you gently (or not so gently) towards concluding a sale.
Sales is the industry of language. There is an age old adage 'We have two ears and one mouth so that we can hear twice as much as we speak'. This is true - notwithstanding content and balance are more important than this exact ratio.
However, this neglects some other parts of our anatomy which are equally important in sales and working with people: You have two eyes! You should be seeing twice as much as you are talking and the same amount as you're hearing. Often language isn't aural - it's visual. Worse, sometimes langauge contradicts itself - what you see a client do and what they say don't match. You need to reconcile this as to which is the true sentiment. Many people get this - there are many courses and discussions around body language interpretation.
But hold on, we often forget we have two hands and two feet. What do they have to do with sales - everything! We should be acting twice as much as we're hearing and seeing and four times as much as we're talking. The truism of 'actions speak louder than words' is never more salient than in sales. What you say, hear and see in sales means very little to a client until you act on it.
The purpose of meeting with clients is to provide the path to helping them through what you say, hear and see - acting on this knowledge is key to successful client relationships. Don't be remembered for what you said to a client, be remembered for what you did for them.
Sales is the industry of language. There is an age old adage 'We have two ears and one mouth so that we can hear twice as much as we speak'. This is true - notwithstanding content and balance are more important than this exact ratio.
However, this neglects some other parts of our anatomy which are equally important in sales and working with people: You have two eyes! You should be seeing twice as much as you are talking and the same amount as you're hearing. Often language isn't aural - it's visual. Worse, sometimes langauge contradicts itself - what you see a client do and what they say don't match. You need to reconcile this as to which is the true sentiment. Many people get this - there are many courses and discussions around body language interpretation.
But hold on, we often forget we have two hands and two feet. What do they have to do with sales - everything! We should be acting twice as much as we're hearing and seeing and four times as much as we're talking. The truism of 'actions speak louder than words' is never more salient than in sales. What you say, hear and see in sales means very little to a client until you act on it.
The purpose of meeting with clients is to provide the path to helping them through what you say, hear and see - acting on this knowledge is key to successful client relationships. Don't be remembered for what you said to a client, be remembered for what you did for them.
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Buying isn't Selling
Buying isn't Selling. A clients walks in to your business, asks for X and you give it them. Have you sold anything?
Selling can be defined as 'exchange for money: to exchange a product or service for money, or be exchanged for money' - so technically, yes you did 'sell' something. But they bought something which they convinced themselves they need or want - you just happened to have what they wanted.
Continuing this story - this customer then complains - they come back to you and say 'you sold me this product/service, and it doesn't....'. True! You created this problem by focusing on the 'sale' - not what the client really needed by determining what problem they were looking to solve or opportunity to capture.
Selling is defined above - but it is what happens before this exchange which creates a relationship - and from a relationship regular 'sales' can happen, sometimes no 'sale' as it's not in their best interest, maybe a different 'sale' and, even better, sometimes your client will 'sell' for you if you do it properly.
Don't focus on the sale - focus on the journey to this point.
Selling can be defined as 'exchange for money: to exchange a product or service for money, or be exchanged for money' - so technically, yes you did 'sell' something. But they bought something which they convinced themselves they need or want - you just happened to have what they wanted.
Continuing this story - this customer then complains - they come back to you and say 'you sold me this product/service, and it doesn't....'. True! You created this problem by focusing on the 'sale' - not what the client really needed by determining what problem they were looking to solve or opportunity to capture.
Selling is defined above - but it is what happens before this exchange which creates a relationship - and from a relationship regular 'sales' can happen, sometimes no 'sale' as it's not in their best interest, maybe a different 'sale' and, even better, sometimes your client will 'sell' for you if you do it properly.
Don't focus on the sale - focus on the journey to this point.
You
The difference between a satisfied and elated client is what you do - not your pricing, products or service.
It is the value and feeling you impart on the client over and above these things; the unexpected, the bits that aren't your job...the leaving a little bit of you in your work that makes it personal & meaningful...the extraordinary.
It isn't your tools, price products, services or brochures - You are the differentiator
What About Tomorrow?
Customers are seldom disappointed by today's service in to itself
They tend to get upset when today's promises don't materialise tomorrow. Worse still - when their situation changes today and you don't adjust your service tomorrow - they will also be disappointed.
Disappointment comes because a promise made today sets an expectation that exceeds what is delivered/received tomorrow.
In a long term relationship we often see this manifest itself as businesses continually focus on 'new business' over that which they already have - foregoing promises made to existing clients in days/weeks/months or years past in lieu of wooing new clients to them.
Remember, tomorrow is where you deliver what you promised today - you are in control of your clients disappointment today!
They tend to get upset when today's promises don't materialise tomorrow. Worse still - when their situation changes today and you don't adjust your service tomorrow - they will also be disappointed.
Disappointment comes because a promise made today sets an expectation that exceeds what is delivered/received tomorrow.
In a long term relationship we often see this manifest itself as businesses continually focus on 'new business' over that which they already have - foregoing promises made to existing clients in days/weeks/months or years past in lieu of wooing new clients to them.
Remember, tomorrow is where you deliver what you promised today - you are in control of your clients disappointment today!
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Win, Win, What???
You have customers? They have challenges? Sometimes they have challenges that aren't related to your product set/knowledge? You have other customers who have solutions (products/services)? Maybe not customers then, just people you know who have solutions?
Maybe they have solutions for your customers who have challenges? Imagine if you connected them together?
You haven't sold one of your products - but what have you sold? Think about it...how powerful is that!
Maybe they have solutions for your customers who have challenges? Imagine if you connected them together?
You haven't sold one of your products - but what have you sold? Think about it...how powerful is that!
Monday, 24 June 2013
Wrong Frame Of Reference
Excuses and Being Memorable touched on another topic briefly - building relationships and selling with the wrong frame of reference.
We've all attended sales meetings or been in conversations where we or our team have made assumptions about what customers will or won't do. All of these are based on our own internal frame of reference - what we would or wouldn't do, what we've seen others do or not do or similar experiences dealing with other clients to name but a few.
Now, how many times have you done something where someone you know has said something to the effect of 'I didn't expect that from you' or 'I didn't know you were in to that'.
Most of us surprise ourselves from time to time and we certainly surprise our significant others or family. Do you not assume our clients are the same?
Too often we do and don't do things in a client relationship because of our frame of reference - not the clients.
Do you truly know your client? Do you know them well enough to make a decision for them without ever asking them? Do you know them so implicitly you know what they will and won't do or how they'll react?
Next time you find yourself making assumptions about a clients reaction or decisions - how about asking them to find out the truth before making the decision for them. Maybe you'll be surprised.
We've all attended sales meetings or been in conversations where we or our team have made assumptions about what customers will or won't do. All of these are based on our own internal frame of reference - what we would or wouldn't do, what we've seen others do or not do or similar experiences dealing with other clients to name but a few.
Now, how many times have you done something where someone you know has said something to the effect of 'I didn't expect that from you' or 'I didn't know you were in to that'.
Most of us surprise ourselves from time to time and we certainly surprise our significant others or family. Do you not assume our clients are the same?
Too often we do and don't do things in a client relationship because of our frame of reference - not the clients.
Do you truly know your client? Do you know them well enough to make a decision for them without ever asking them? Do you know them so implicitly you know what they will and won't do or how they'll react?
Next time you find yourself making assumptions about a clients reaction or decisions - how about asking them to find out the truth before making the decision for them. Maybe you'll be surprised.
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