There is a big difference between finishing first and second in sales. First-place finishers make the sale and pocket the money, while second-place finishers leave empty-handed. Winners sell radically differently than second-place finishers. Winners exhibit a specific combination of behaviors to achieve better outcomes than other sellers. The way winners sell can be characterized by specific behaviors at three different levels.
Specific behaviors at three different levels and how sales professionals can incorporate them into their current strategies.
First Level – CONNECT
Winners connect in two ways: 1. They are more effective at connecting the dots between customer needs and their company’s products and services as solutions. 2. Winners connect with people. Buyers believe that winners both listened to them and connected with them personally more often than the rest. Connecting with people and connecting the dots sounds a lot like relationship and solution selling to us. Connecting with buyers on both levels is still absolutely critical to winning the sale.
Second Level – CONVINCE Winners convince buyers that they can achieve maximum return, that the risks are acceptable and that the seller is the best choice among all options. Many sellers are not good at convincing buyers, and large portions of sellers aren’t even willing to convince. When they can and do, they win more sales.
Third Level – COLLABORATE Winners are collaborative in how they work and what they do. They are perceived by buyers to be responsive, proactive and easy to buy from, and buyers believe winners actually collaborate with them during the buying process by working with them to achieve mutual goals. Buyers perceived collaborative sellers to be integral to their success.
Those who apply these three levels as a systematic approach to selling and apply it well not only see themselves in the winners circle more often, but also maximize client loyalty and generate the most referrals.
In addition to determining the three levels of sales, also studied those factors from the buyer’s perspective, that most separated winners from second-place finishers. They discovered that out of 42 factors, the one that most separated winners from second-place finishers was this: Educated me with new ideas and perspectives. By educating buyers with ideas, winners share concepts and insights that can have a major impact on the buyer’s goals. This is called opportunity insight. Buyers typically don’t know alternative opportunities exist until sellers take the time to share them, but once they do, it influences the buyer’s agenda for action, that doesn’t mean sellers should just throw ideas out left and right and see if something sticks, but that they essentially need to transfer their drive, passion and energy for the possibilities to their buyers’ minds. While there has been a shift in the way buyers buy, the fundamentals that have been true for decades are still necessary. However, sticking to the basics isn’t enough to win sales. To win today, you must also focus on differentiation, ROI and collaboration. Do so while leveraging ideas and you’ll win significantly more often.
