Sack the Salespeople… Hire a Buyer’s Assistant

Prepare for the revolution! Read this and decide which side you want to be on…

The traditional method of teaching sales skills is one where the role of the sales person is to create an environment in which their product or service is viewed favourably, promoted and ultimately purchased.

The process followed by the traditional and consultative schools of methodology use for the most part a similar approach… there is a strong opening, a product focussed needs analysis, a comprehensive pitch and then an attempt to handle objections, negotiate and close.

In my view this is outdated and increasingly inappropriate behaviour.

The outmoded approach

Picture this .. You need some new tyres for your car so you go to a tyre retailer and what do you find? Lots of tyres, that apart from the tread pattern, look pretty much the same to you (unless you are an expert on tyres). After the usual greeting the standard question to qualify you is likely to be “how much do you want to spend?”

That is the attempt by the seller to decide their course of action and what to sell you. This is usually followed by an attempt to convince you of the merits of the product or service deemed to be best for you. The one that fits your price range or the range they want you in. Is this scenario at all familiar?

Have you got lost in this process? Have you noticed that there are times when you don’t need to be sold anything,? What you really need is someone to help you decide which product option or service is the one you would rather own?

The major challenge

More than ever we want to be included in the decision process.
My research shows that a majority of people have the genesis of an idea about the solution to their problem and their major challenge is—confusion.
As with most products today the range of choices is not the problem. The real challenge is to differentiate between the large number of choices available.

Why the revolution? Customers today want, and are demanding, more control over the interaction with suppliers. The discovery is that selling (if done without this knowledge) and buying can actually be opposites rather than complimentary.

The revolution is built around understanding how people make a decision to buy and the factors that are present—not what needs to be done to sell them something. The role of the person in a sales capacity, is to help the buyer through the discovery process and actually make a strategic shift to become a buyer’s assistant.

The buyer’s assistant

This new way of thinking brings some inherent changes in philosophy:

• People buy using their own buying patterns, not a seller’s selling patterns
• Relationships come first, tasks come second
• The buyer has the genesis of the solution and may need help to clarify it, the seller has the questions to facilitate the discovery process.

A totally new outcome

When the focus of the interaction, is to become the buyer’s assistant, what are some of the outcomes?

The first and immediate response of graduates of my Selling Skills workshops is that there is now an almost complete lack of objections.

Working with a bank, many customers stopped asking what the interest rate was on the home loan. Customers with a national travel agents group moved away from just wanting the cheapest package deal, to a properly planned and satisfying itinerary.

When you look at getting on the current popular bandwagon of relationship selling, ask yourself this key question; Is the ultimate prize the buyer’s money or their trust? It could help you determine which side you will be on—come the revolution!

Iven Frangi is booked and re-booked by his clients because of his ability to create results. Presentations are researched, customised and use humour to weave in relevant day to day examples. Call Iven on 02 9908 3333.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.frangi.com.au