Are You Putting Prospects and Customers First?
We’ve all met a vendor or salesperson who seems to miss the point in a sales meeting. Certainly, they have something to offer and they are excited to share, but after a few minutes in a meeting, it’s easy to tell if this person knows nothing about you and cares nothing about what you do. Ironically, they are actually doing their job worse by being so laser-focused; they’d be more likely to get your business if they could connect meaningfully with your goals!
When training your sales team or making a new marketing push, there has to be an overriding question in everyone’s mind: is this putting the customer first? If the strategies don’t directly address what your customer wants and what matters most to them, there’s a good chance that you will lose customers. The marketing and sales world is more competitive than ever, with cutting-edge marketing tools and analytics, but often, the thing that makes or breaks a B2B sales pitch is actually the H2H (Human to Human!) element. Never underestimate how much feeling truly heard can win over a new business-to-business customer.
Throughout your sales and marketing funnel, consider how you can incorporate methods for putting the prospects and customers first. Making this philosophy the cornerstone of your work is more likely to have a positive impact than almost any other work you do.
5 Times in the Process to Check: Are You Thinking “Customer-First?”
Lead Generation
Some might think that lead generation is too early to be able to have a human element, but you’d be amazed how much you can learn from the sources of your new leads. When you discover that one content offer but not another, for instance, is drawing a lot of people to join your mailing list, you’ve learned something personal about your potential customers. When they visit your product or service page in droves but abandon their carts at a certain stage in the payment process, you learn something. If your company is truly focused on the customer, you’ll start as early as the lead generation step and start reaching out, human to human, to ask what motivated your leads to either show interest in your business or abandon a potential conversation.
This is a step where many people aggressively go for the phone call or in-person sales pitch; there isn’t necessarily a problem with this, but don’t expect it to solve the same problems as a quick email that asks for feedback. Try not to offer something that isn’t the truth: if you really want feedback on how your website could be more effective, ask for that; if you want a chance at a 10-minute conversation, ask for that. However, respect for your customers’ time means you should do the things you say you will do, rather than fitting in sales at moments when you claim you want feedback.
Lead Nurturing
As you create newsletters, special deals, and information that goes out to your customers and prospects, consider what it looks like on their end. Does it feel “spammy,” an attempt to force your way into their inbox? Certainly, there is a place for thoughtful, useful content in monthly or quarterly e-newsletters; this is a way to put your customers first. However, using your CRM and your understanding of lead behavior to offer to hear them out might actually be even more effective. Yes, you will sometimes spend precious phone call time with someone who is definitely not going to make a purchase. However, you never know how much of an impression your pleasant conversation made on that person. When they are in a position to choose a vendor, they may be at your doorstep, asking you for your services. Nurture your leads the way you yourself would want to be treated as a customer, even as you pay clear attention to the marketing and sales trends.
When Conversion Rates Are Low
All too often, we are prone to blame something outside of ourselves when conversions are low: “the competition is upping their marketing budget,” or “people are doing our service in-house,” or any of a million other excuses. However, the most effective method of moving forward during a low-conversion season is to assume that it is our own choices that can move the needle. Maybe, if you start saying, “I need to start making more calls to ask about the needs of my key customers,” or “I need to send fewer, more in-depth email campaigns,” or “I need to really dig into the analytics numbers to figure out which market segments are not purchasing any more,” you’ll see the results you are looking for. It’s pretty much always a bad look when a salesperson has to blame everyone else for the problems. Accepting that not everything is your fault doesn’t change that a problem-solving attitude will get you far in life.
With the right leads, you may even find that being clear and honest is the best strategy: “We noticed that you’ve stopped purchasing from us; can you give us any feedback on how to regain your business or why you’ve moved on?” may be the right move. We have to accept that not every business can claim to be constantly “killing it” — successful companies are the ones who know how to notice a trend and pivot based on the available information.
When Prospects Are Reaching Out
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One of the most important times to be customer-centric is when your prospects reach out to you! This is a gift on a silver platter; it should not be treated as just another humdrum cold call, ever. Assume that a prospect who is reaching out to you is extremely interested already; instead of quickly pitching them, ask about their needs and hear their concerns. Human beings love to be listened to; if you can get to know anything about the person who will be your primary contact, use that information to demonstrate that you care! Remember a birthday or a fact about their family, and you’d be surprised how quickly a warm relationship grows. Yes, it’s another 90 or 120 seconds that you’ll spend on the phone, but ultimately, believing you are a good, reliable person may be more important to them than hearing another list of the features of your product or service.
Regularly With Loyal Customers
Reaching out when it isn’t crunch time for a sale can be one of the best ways to cement loyalty. If you sell your product on, say, features and price alone, and never show any interest in your contacts as people, they will stay with you right up until… someone else has a better price or better features. However, if you build a personal relationship with your loyal customers, checking in with them at times when they may need something but you don’t need anything from them, they will be more resilient customers. Resiliency, in this case, means that they may stick with you for the value of a personal customer support relationship rather than just for a lowest-price or best-features reason. Certainly, you want to be able to give them the best features and the best price every time, but rather than putting them in a position where they are ready to jump ship at any moment, a personal relationship puts them in a place where they’d have to be really, really convinced to leave. In nearly every company, the personal, supportive salesperson is much more rare than another, cheaper competitor.
Get Creative In Your Industry
While you don’t have to be gimmicky, you certainly can find your own special way to show customer appreciation. Everything from handwritten notes to freebies “just because” can stick with your customers and remind them that you put personal relationships first. When training your salespeople, make sure that there is time for them to ideate about how to make the presentation engaging and full of customer-centric questions. Yes, you are still there to market and sell; however, with so many competing voices in most industries these days, your personal touch on a sales/marketing conversation can actually be the thing that makes sales!
This doesn’t undercut the need for data. The numbers matter, but in a different way than you think. Rather than being a source of easy, quick solutions, the value of your marketing analytics and website metrics is that it allows you to narrow down exactly who could use a personal message from you, and when that message would be most effective. You can still take advantage of the greater understandings that marketing software can give us. You just have to use those pieces of information to foster better, more personal relationships with the people who could become your greatest cheerleaders over time.
Want more information on how to marry modern marketing and sales with a return to a personal approach to B2B sales leadership? Get weekly updates on the world of marketing through my e-newsletter. As the world of marketing changes, a great marketing consultant can help you ride out the waves and make great choices along the way.
This article was first seen on Jefflizik.com
