People Strategies: Problem-solving approach leads to sales success

Linda Bower is a speaker, executive coach and human performance improvement consultant in Rogersville.

Sales is a noble profession. It requires common sense, interpersonal skills, quick thinking, cultural versatility and tenacity beyond the emotional limits of most people.

Too many people shy away from this exciting profession because of negative stereotypes. Too many customers disregard what salespeople can do for the same reason.

Some people feel they must don a plaid suit and push products down people's throats, and so they do. Other people find ways to establish professional credibility.

Try this exercise with your sales team or alone.

Get two flipcharts or pieces of paper. On one write, "I'm here to sell a product," and on the other, "I'm here to solve a problem." List the behaviors resulting from each attitude.

Responses from past groups agree that the first attitude, selling a product, causes salespeople to be poor listeners, fast talkers and insensitive to customer needs. The more they try to sell a product, the fewer customers want to buy it.

The second attitude, solving problems, puts customer needs first and, in doing that, personal and company needs get met. These salespeople emphasize product or service benefits to their customers. They build a collaborative bridge that is lasting, and as a result, they gain repeat business, references and referrals.

When most salespeople realize the behaviors resulting from each attitude, they quickly want to be seen as the problem-solver, and they want to know where to start.

Wilson Learning Worldwide, a global human performance improvement company, recommends using a simple model to describe the elements of establishing credibility with customers.

Competence-commonality-intent

No matter how experienced a salesperson may be, competence statements are vital.

The most effective method is to work previous experiences into conversation. Try something like, "When I was working with a customer a few months ago", or "I was reading about a situation like yours", and so on. This works better than reciting one's resume.

Establishing commonality does not mean making the common mistake of talking about the "fish on the wall." It's great to make a personal connection, but that doesn't guarantee professional credibility. The most accessible sources for commonality are colleagues, associations, similar work experiences and educational background. In other words, find a professional connection that helps your customer feel he or she is in safe hands.

A salesperson must be clear about his or her intent before the customer can be comfortable.

Prior to every meeting, write a PPP Purpose, Process, Payoff statement to sort out personal meeting goals and to share with the customer at the beginning of the meeting.

The purpose statement answers the question, "Why are we here?" In one or two sentences, describe the meeting purpose in broad terms. Something like, "The purpose of our meeting today is to discuss our work to date and to consider how our relationship may expand going forward."

The process statement answers the question, "How shall we proceed?" This lets the customer know what to expect and what is expected of him or her. Answering this question quickly reduces relationship tension about the meeting. Process statements are often written in bullet format. An example following on the above purpose might be:

"Review past project results and relationship goals; discuss what has been going well and what you would like to see us do differently; and consider options for building on our work together."

The payoff statement is the meeting purpose restated as a benefit. It should answer the question, "What will my customer and I gain from having met?" In one or two sentences, assume how your customer will benefit and be clear about your own interest.

Using the same example, a payoff statement might be, "As a result of our meeting today, I hope to ensure that we are aligned in our perceptions of our work together, and as appropriate, discover ways in which (company name) can be of greater service to your company.

Keep the PPP simple. Tell the customer that you have prepared it, ask permission to start the meeting with it, and always confirm if it is acceptable before moving on.

A salesperson can learn a lot simply by taking five minutes up front to tell the customer exactly what to expect.

Customers love to be the recipient of a PPP because they don't have to fear surprises. They will come to expect every meeting to begin this way and often adopt this tool themselves.

For a salesperson, backing a problem-solving attitude with problem-solving behaviors exponentially increases credibility in the customer's eyes.