To build trust with a customer or prospect, demonstrating a sense of vulnerability – seeking first to thoroughly understand rather than to recommend – is a productive method. But most business vulnerability can be destructive. If you are growing your business solely because you make a unique product, offer an exclusive service or do one thing very well, your business is vulnerable. Don’t bet your business on just the one component or skill that is …
Joe complained that his customers care only about getting the lowest price. “We struggle to be competitive and still offer more than our competition. But when push comes to shove, we do what we’ve always done and wind up negotiating only our pricing. We can’t grow by operating like this.” I asked why he was convinced that price was his customers’ primary decision driver. It turns out that Joe never asked his customers why low …
Customers Evaluate Your Behavior In the book, “Built to Last,” authors Collins and Porras explore how successful visionary growth companies have built businesses by consistently operating in accordance with their core values and beliefs. They conclude that everything else about a business can change over time – its technology, financial resources, structure or timing – but sustained growth is achieved when the people in the company robustly believe in its basic principles and consistently demonstrate …
Win When Your Customer Does Selling is personal. The most successful sellers believe that they can make a difference. They take their business personally. They’re convinced that their solutions will produce value for their customers. They know their company’s competencies well, have invested time to learn their customers’ needs, and have aligned their competencies to achieve customer goals. Buyers have stated and unstated needs; the unstated ones are personal. Buyers want to believe that sellers …
