Tactics for Tapping into the Customer’s Perspectivestring(57) "Tactics for Tapping into the Customer’s Perspective"

July 8, 2013
, , , , , , , Business, Connections, Conversation, Customer Service, Marketing/Sales, Sales, Strategy, Success 1

Last week I posted a blog explaining why I believe that understanding the buyer’s perspective is one of the most important keys to selling.  Today’s post is a follow up to that post because I want to take this opportunity to offer some tactics for tapping into the buyer’s (i.e., the customer’s) perspective.

Learning and adapting to the issues and whims of the buyer while moving the sale forward to a conclusion is a complex and intricate task.  Attentive listening can help you, the seller, determine if the buyer is putting you off or merely attending to pressing internal demands.  Personality profiling (come back on Monday, July 22nd for details about Personality Profiling) also helps by giving you knowledge about how to craft your sales and reporting program to the style of communication most comfortable to the client.  All customers like to be communicated with in a manner that is most familiar to them, and knowing their personality profiles helps the seller customize a sales approach for each unique individual.  One form of customer communication is the product presentation, which has a strong influence in a successful sale.

Andy Bounds, from Liverpool, England, is a sales communication expert who reminds us that the ” . . . prospect is really interested in the total opposite of most commonly delivered product presentations.  The prospect really only cares about his or her own present and future, whereas most presentations focus on the seller’s past and product features.”  Andy reminds us to talk about what the product will do for the customer rather than its features.  His favorite phrase is, “Customers don’t care what you do; they care about what they’re left with AFTER you’ve done it.”  He uses the word “after” to keep the product presentation focused on the customer’s needs, and recommends the following customer-oriented questions:

  • “What are you looking to achieve after our work together?”
  • “What would success look like to you as a result of this project?”
  • “Looking back a year from now, what will need to happen for you to think things have gone brilliantly?”

Nothing works perfectly every time, and being able to read the customer’s buying signals is crucial to making necessary course corrections that meet the customer’s top-of-mind concerns.  The state of the selling art allows masterful salespeople to combine a little science with human relation strategies to create a wonderful buying experience for the consumer, while still maximizing the seller’s commission.  Most of the time, timing is everything, which is why we wanted to take the time to share several concepts, strategies, and techniques to help you land the hesitant customer in front of you (whose hesitation may have nothing to do with your product).

Are there some additional tactics for tapping into the customer’s perspective which you’ve personally had success using?  If so, I’m eager to hear them–please share your thoughts in the comment forum below.  Thanks!