Jill Perez

The number one core concept within CustomerCentric Selling® that we ask salespeople to subscribe to is: “No goal, no prospect.”  The admission of a goal by a prospect is the catalyst, the launching pad, the beginning of the sales cycle. However, I’m finding very few salespeople are: 1) identifying the goal and 2) consciously preparing in advance of the call or meeting to identify the goal.

The key to winning more deals always comes down to understanding your prospects’ business needs. Putting these five habits into play in your daily work as a sales professional will not only help you align with your prospects’ needs, but be in position to solve those needs. When you have an understanding of your buyer’s processes, you can present your solution as an enhancement to their process. This is time to show your expertise and shine the light on your solution.

We recently worked with a company trying to fix their high customer attrition rate with annual customer satisfaction surveys. Their survey project was successful. Fixing the attrition rate was not. The company measured satisfaction, and the numbers said customers were not satisfied. To raise the numbers, the company formulated and implemented action plans. Sounds like a solid plan, right? The problem: The company was measuring how their customers felt, but not why they felt that way.