Fortune 500 Dives – Customer Focus Selling Thrives
Fortune Magazine released the 2009 Fortune 500 list yesterday and while there were winners in 2008 like Exxon Mobil Corp which retook the #1 position from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the year was not as positive for most of the other companies on the list. According to the Associated Press, overall earnings sank 85%, the biggest one-year decline in the history of the Fortune 500 list.
Despite the state of our economy, disciplined distribution sales
organizations are finding ways through their customer focus and consultative selling to add value to positively impact theirs and their customer’s bottom line. In our just
published book Driving Distributor Sales Beyond: Best Practices for Outselling Your Competitors, chapter five outlines integrated strategies for developing proactive customer focus sales efforts.
Taking an account from $2,000 to $120,000Last year, while the Fortune 500 was sinking, one sales representative within the sinking boating industry was able to take his dealer account from about $2,000 in sales to over $120,000.
Here are six ways this sales rep added value to generate his success.- Initiated conversation that had meaning to the customer
This rep used one simple question to set the stage for productive talk with the dealer, “What can we do for you, that somebody else isn’t doing?” He didn’t dwell on the dealer’s work with current suppliers or even suggest that he wanted to displace them. He simply, yet skillfully, focused on the dealer's situation and asked where that dealer could use some help now . . . and they told him. “We sell boats,” they said, “but we don’t know how to sell accessories.”
- Understood the customer’s perspective
The dealer’s general manager invited the rep to meet with the whole staff. During that consultative selling discussion, he especially noted their “take” on unmet opportunities. He exited with a clear challenge -- to create an easy, user-friendly way for their sales staff to sell more boating accessories.
- Focused on identified need
Distractions can be killers in sales. The rep didn’t try to be all things to the dealer, or sell everything in his catalog. He stayed fixed on the named need.
- Tapped appropriate resources
The rep tapped his marketing department to develop a simple, captivating brochure that showed recommended “bundles” of accessories. It saved the dealer’s salespeople from having to pause and mentally create a fitting combination of items on the spot. Its one-page format suggested that it was both simple and easy to use.
- Added value in a meaningful way
Thouth this rep's company demonstrates many capabilities, he carefully chose which of its values he’d present to the dealer. You might say that through his consultative selling process he handpicked values that would mean something to the folks at this account, given the specific challenge they named.
- Stayed alert for new ways to add value
Inspired to personally add value in a variety of ways, the rep continues to seize opportunities that make his customers’ businesses better. For instance, he shows dealer salespeople how to step away from the “car dealer” approach, to sell a dream concept the customer might have (like fishing at a favorite spot, or enjoying a summer day at the lake, listening to music, and watching the kids have a blast).
Your Turn To Share Customer Focus ExamplesHave you seen customer focus deliver surprising results even in tough times? Please share your inspiration so that we all can benefit from it.