Salespeople say bad things behind the backs of their prospects. I know you’ve witnessed it…this is our dirty little industry secret.
Reps brag about “winning deals” as if it was at the customer’s loss.
That’s just insane to me.
This kind of attitude is for salespeople focused on themselves and their own process.
Fortunately, customer service and success teams have it right. We’re smack dab in the middle of a worldwide business trend to be delightful to our customers…to love our customers and put them at the center of our universe.
But loving the customers is not enough. We need to love prospects and delight them as early in the funnel, as possible. Salespeople hold the keys to making this happen.
The deal is this:
Customers have choices. In almost every market worth being in, there will be competition. Buyers are increasingly choosing the option that makes them emotionally the happiest. How can you make the best emotional experience when you’re focused on “crushing it” or “winning” against your customers?
Aaron Levie, CEO of Box says it well here:
People don't experience ideas, they experience details. Which is why every detail matters.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) September 2, 2013
He’s captured something vital for sales professionals to adopt. Every decision you make as a seller impacts the buyer and the deal. Every action you take creates a positive or negative emotion for the buyer. I urge you to delight your customers on first impact.
Do it early in the sale process and they’ll never forget it.
Have your prospects walk away from the first encounter with a smile on their face and the feeling that no other vendor or salesperson has given them.
There are thousands of ways you can do this. Here are a few:
- Respond to your prospects faster than anyone else. Ping them right after they’ve opened an email or taken an action like visited your pricing page.
- Give them a simple free taste of your offer on the website. Don’t make them have to work hard to figure out what you do and how you can help.
- Make their life simple with super short and helpful emails.
- Find out where they went to college and do a little research on the school. Tell them a fun fact they might not know.
- Follow them on Twitter. “Star” a tweet of theirs you really like. Retweet a message you want to share. (Bonus – look at Twitter pics. You can learn a lot about someone here).
- Admit you are wrong…be shockingly upfront and transparent.
- Read something they wrote and leave a valuable comment.
DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT & SPECIAL FOR YOUR BUYER
The goal is to be your prospect’s biggest promoter…not their opponent. And the goal is to be it in the first moments when they encounter you.