The Basic Principles of Sales Collaboration
Adapted from Basic Principles by AchieveGlobal
The world of sales is changing — rapidly. Technology, e-commerce, expanding markets, and growing customer demands for quality and service are challenging sales people and their organizations. To stay competitive, sales team share exploring ways to improve what they do and how they do it. They’re shifting their focus from serving local or national markets to serving global ones,from product push to involving the customer in collaborative discussions and problem solving.
To flourish, sales people must explore wider perspectives. Knowing how to collaborate and develop effective customer partnerships is one of these skills. Customer collaboration lets you share responsibility for success by combining the knowledge, creativity, and experience of yourself and your customer.
Establishing collaborative customer relationships is not always easy, particularly when customers have backgrounds and viewpoints different from your own. However, when you practice respectful communication, collaboration becomes easier.
The Basic Principles of Sales Collaboration make it to connect to your customer to reach mutually beneficial decisions for your customer’s and your success. Here are the six Basic Principles:
1. Focus on the situation, issue, not on the person.
Focusing on the customer situation, problem or issue will help you remain objective when faced with customer challenges. Not all customers think and act like you. Some customer personalities can be a challenge. You solve problems more effectively, make better decisions, and maintain constructive relationships with your customer when you look at the big picture and consider their points of view with an open mind.
2. Maintain the self-confidence and self-esteem of customers.
Collaborating fully is easier in an atmosphere of trust grounded on acceptance and approval. When customers feel free to express their ideas without fear of manipulation or personal criticism, they are more willing to be open and take risks with you and your solutions. By showing respect you build the self confidence in your customer to safely share their ideas and to ask for feedback and help from you their problem solver.
3. Maintain constructive customer relationships.
The best customer collaboration comes about when your client sees you support their efforts to succeed.Your sales interactions will go more smoothly if you approach every sales call with a positive attitude of helpfulness. By acknowledging problems, and sorting through differences of perception, presenting constructive your solutions and information,you create strong customer relationships based on mutual trust and respect that can lead to a sale.
4. Take initiative to make things better for your customer.
By surveying your customer circumstances and identifying needs for improvement, you increase chances for sales success.You also increase your customer’s motivation to collaborate with you. Customer initiative follows naturally when you work to find solutions to their problems, and focus on ways to build customer success.
5. Lead by positive example.
As a salesperson, you are expected to be a leader. Being a good leader means setting a good example. Practicing collaboration and respect for your customer is the surest way to influence them. By actively honoring your sales commitments, admitting your mistakes, and staying receptive to customer ideas, you will motivate customers to collaborate with you. Birds of a feather buy from each other! Lead by positive example.
6. Think Beyond the Moment.
The customer is the pilot, and you, the sales person, are the navigator. Help your customer by having a win-win vision for every sales interaction. You may have a positive vision of collaboration before the customer does. Help him/her see a mutually successful outcome of your relationship by thinking beyond the moment.
The Basic Principles of Sales Collaboration are concise, clear and powerful. Make them habits in all your sales conversations and enjoy sales success that is satisfying and builds long term customer relationships.
Michael J Griffin
Founder ELAvate Sales
MHG AchieveGlobal Master Sales Trainer