I remember when I started working in sales and marketing that sales trainers would talk about the sales dance. This was the back and forth between the seller and buyer, where the seller puts forward a reason to buy and the buyer would put forward an objection and on it would go. This was literally the definition of ‘selling at someone’. You were, as a seller, essentially metaphorically beating them into submission. The reason this happened? The power was with the seller.
Pre-internet it was nearly impossible to find the information you needed in order to buy unless you spoke to the seller and entered the dance. However, that power has shifted.
They’re no longer dancing
Let’s be honest, no one wants to be sold to like this. Thanks to the internet, the power shift from seller to buyer means that buyers can find out all the information they want before they buy. So where does that leave the seller?
As a seller you need to position yourself as a trusted advisor, a peer, equally in every way to the buyer. You need to treat them as the educated and informed people that they are, which allows you to take the conversation and relationship to the next level.
That’s your opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and skills at a much deeper level. For example, I now have far more sophisticated and technical conversations with clients about their sales and marketing, as they are very knowledgeable on the subject. What convinces them that they would benefit from our support is when you spend the time understanding their business, sharing new ideas and opportunities they haven’t thought of themselves.
As a seller you are really now a high-end management consultant.
Does your sales process and marketing reflect this?
