I could not agree more with your hypothesis. For the first half of the article I kept thinking, but not too fast, but not too fast, then you covered it.
I would only add this advice; when entering the relationship know your niche and deliver only on that niche. When people ask what you do is this your response?
"I am a consultant."
"Really, what kind of consultant?"
"I am a sales consultant, and I have worked with every type of company in every way. Actually, I can do marketing and operations too. Really, I am a one stop shop for business advice.
If it is, you are digging a ditch and you may not know it.
Jim Klein
· 1 year ago
Being your clients go to guy or gal should be the goal of every sales person. It makes selling so much easier and more enjoyable as well.
I certainly wouldn't argue with what you are saying Ian. The caveat I would add, is that there are clients who are better at respecting the 'trusted advisor' role that others. In a rush to achieve that status, a person may give over more than is required of a normal business relationship, and those who are quick to take advantage can then assume that is the precedent for the forthcoming relationship.
sales training
· 1 year ago
So True, Ian. Until that trust is developed (or "earned your spurs" as you say), most everything falls on deaf ears. When a trusting relationship has developed between customer and salesperson, the customer has confidence that the salesperson is watching his back, and that's a valuable position to be in. I made the mistake once of trying to coach one of my clients too early in the process. It was the wrong thing to do and I learned from it.
Ian Brodie
· 1 year ago
I guess that's the art - knowing when to broaden to become a business advisor rather than just a specialist (especialy important if you "own" the relationship on behalf of a full-service firm) and when to stay focused on your niche to earn your credibility.
Ian
Tony Cole
· 1 year ago
Trusted Advisor seems to be the buzz word in all kinds of sales today. Not only that but it also appears to be in most of the marketing and sales material that companies put in front of prospects. So with so much emphasis and with much discussion around 'how to' then how come there is so much 'why aren't we'? My guess is that the following are the root causes: Becoming a trusted advisor is as much a culture issue as it is a marketing strategy. If you have sales people or account executives on staff that have been in the business for more than 10 years then you have a culture issue as well as a training issue. Trusted advisors are typically confinded to the areas of 'professional services' i.e. legal, accounting, engineering and sometimes banking. If you interviewed most consumers you wouldn't find them describing sales people as 'trusted advisors' Sales people don't get paid for providing information. Actually when a sales person provides information to a prospect chances are the incumbent provider gets paid. Lastly those companies that have attempted the trusted advisor approach have failed to drive revenue. The sales people became accountable to sales calls instead of sales results. I agree that for long term mutually beneficial results then the 'trusted advisor' is the ultimate relationship. But companies need to do more than just talk about it and put it in their marketing material.
Ian
· 1 year ago
I'd agree with a lot of what you say Tony. As I say in the intro to the article, becoming a Trusted Advisor is the holy grail for professional services (that's my specialist area after all). But as you say, it shouldn't necessarily be the goal for all sales people.
I would say though that it's my experience that other sales areas are moving towards this model. Not transactional sales, or low value sales. But in the area of large, complex sales the establishment of a trusting relationship is vital. When a buyer makes a huge investment in a product or service that they must live with for many years and where there's going to be an important element of ongoing service and support - then they will want to buy from someone they trust.
I don't want to push the issue too far - becoming a trusted advisor is most important for professionals, not all salespeople. But I think it's worth considering that in some situations, "normal" salespeople may have to adopt elements of this role. Salespeople don't get paid for providing information - but in the right place at the right time, it can work to help move towards a sale.
Ian
Sales Management 2.0
· 1 year ago
I have to say trusted adviser status is something that can be achieved even in transactional retail sales, but it has to be ingrained in the corporate culture. I'll use Joe's Sporting Goods as a example. I go there for almost everything because I trust the professional opinion of the staff. frequently go there just to ask questions before fishing a new lake or buying new equipment because the customer service is excellent, and the information the give is accurate. I pay a bit more that I would at a Big 5 or other chain, but I'm willing to pay it for the additional service I get. I think the same can be said of chains like the Apple Store and Starbucks. A sale could not get much more transactional than Starbucks, but the staff there is knowledgeable, and offers great advice. if you want proof go in to a store and pretend you have no idea what you are doing. The trick is all three of these companies have that ethic ingrained into the soul of their corporate philosophy.
Thoughts?
-Brad
CraigElias
· 1 year ago
Since everyone is focused on being a 'Trusted Advisor' these day's I have decided to elevate my game and become the 'Emotional Favorite'.
The 'Emotional Favorite' is the person the buyer knows, likes, trusts, and want to see succeed!
People buy based upon emotion. They justify their decision to others with logic AFTER THE FACT.
To become the 'Emotional Favorite' you need to understand the psychographics of your target customer.
Psychographics are the aspirations, values, and AIO (Attitudes, Interests, and Options) variables of the buyer.
The more your psychographics align with the buyers psychographics the more likely you are to win the business.
Being the 'Emotional Favorite' has many benefits but the primary one is the fact that when decision makers experience a 'Trigger Event' and become dissatisfied with their current supplier they call you before they call anyone else.
Research shows that when you get to these motivated buyers before your competition your odds of making the sale are, on average, 75%.
According to CSO Insights data being the trusted advisor only gets you a 55% close rate.
Your will close 37% more sales (75%-55%/55%) simply by going beyond the Trusted Advisor status and becoming the buyers 'Emotional Favorite'.
Action Selling
· 1 year ago
Research shows that even a customer who is perfectly satisfied with your company, your products, and your salespeople will nevertheless leave you for a competitor who offers a more attractive deal. That thought should disturb your sleep, because most salespeople, even good ones, do no more than satisfy their clients.
Satisfaction isn’t enough. A genuinely loyal customer is one who values something about your company so highly that he or she stops shopping for better deals. If you have any customers like that, the overwhelming likelihood is that the thing they treasure so highly is the relationship that has been developed.
‘Loyalty’ implies a relationship. Who must build it? The salesperson.
How can salespeople become so valuable that their clients turn a deaf ear to competitors? Action Selling identifies three roles that every successful salesperson must play.
Orchestrator: This role has to do with leveraging resources and coordinating selling activities in ways that demonstrate how the salesperson’s relationships and his or her company’s resources can provide valuable solutions to the customer. For instance, the salesperson might bring in a technical expert to help a client think through a problem.
Consultant: Like a doctor diagnosing an illness, the salesperson asks questions that effectively uncover the client’s most important problems. Then the salesperson recommends solutions specifically targeted to those concerns.
Relationship Builder: The consultant role is essentially reactive. As a relationship builder, the salesperson moves beyond “asking where it hurts.” The salesperson takes an active interest in helping the client’s company improve its competitiveness, becoming a trusted “advisor” and valued partner in the client’s business. In the relationship-builder role, the salesperson serves a universal need that does not go away - the client’s need to keep getting better at what they do.
Another term for relationship builder is loyalty builder. Relatively few are able to shine in this most advanced role without additional guidance and practice. Those who do, become black-belts - masters of loyalty. To their clients and to their own employers - such masters are worth their weight-in-gold.
Look us up if you want help with this.
To Your Success.
Sales Training Advice
· 12 months ago
A trusted advisor never stops looking for ways to become more valuable to their clients. Mainly through questioning skills, but also by orchestrating their own companies’ resources on the client’s behalf, they act like business partners rather than just salespeople.
A "salesperson" represents a supplier that can be useful for addressing particular needs in particular ways—as can other suppliers. A business partner is committed to the client’s success every day, in every phase of the client’s operation where the partner can possibly be helpful.
A salesperson who becomes that kind of partner forges a bond that is very difficult to break. The client begins to turn a deaf ear to the salesperson’s competitors, not because their products and services and prices aren’t attractive, but because the relationship is too valuable to give up.
All Comments
I could not agree more with your hypothesis. For the first half of the article I kept thinking, but not too fast, but not too fast, then you covered it.
I would only add this advice; when entering the relationship know your niche and deliver only on that niche. When people ask what you do is this your response?
"I am a consultant."
"Really, what kind of consultant?"
"I am a sales consultant, and I have worked with every type of company in every way. Actually, I can do marketing and operations too. Really, I am a one stop shop for business advice.
If it is, you are digging a ditch and you may not know it.
Jim Klein
www.fromtheheartsalestraining.com
Ian
My guess is that the following are the root causes:
Becoming a trusted advisor is as much a culture issue as it is a marketing strategy. If you have sales people or account executives on staff that have been in the business for more than 10 years then you have a culture issue as well as a training issue.
Trusted advisors are typically confinded to the areas of 'professional services' i.e. legal, accounting, engineering and sometimes banking. If you interviewed most consumers you wouldn't find them describing sales people as 'trusted advisors'
Sales people don't get paid for providing information. Actually when a sales person provides information to a prospect chances are the incumbent provider gets paid.
Lastly those companies that have attempted the trusted advisor approach have failed to drive revenue. The sales people became accountable to sales calls instead of sales results.
I agree that for long term mutually beneficial results then the 'trusted advisor' is the ultimate relationship. But companies need to do more than just talk about it and put it in their marketing material.
I would say though that it's my experience that other sales areas are moving towards this model. Not transactional sales, or low value sales. But in the area of large, complex sales the establishment of a trusting relationship is vital. When a buyer makes a huge investment in a product or service that they must live with for many years and where there's going to be an important element of ongoing service and support - then they will want to buy from someone they trust.
I don't want to push the issue too far - becoming a trusted advisor is most important for professionals, not all salespeople. But I think it's worth considering that in some situations, "normal" salespeople may have to adopt elements of this role. Salespeople don't get paid for providing information - but in the right place at the right time, it can work to help move towards a sale.
Ian
I'll use Joe's Sporting Goods as a example. I go there for almost everything because I trust the professional opinion of the staff. frequently go there just to ask questions before fishing a new lake or buying new equipment because the customer service is excellent, and the information the give is accurate. I pay a bit more that I would at a Big 5 or other chain, but I'm willing to pay it for the additional service I get. I think the same can be said of chains like the Apple Store and Starbucks. A sale could not get much more transactional than Starbucks, but the staff there is knowledgeable, and offers great advice. if you want proof go in to a store and pretend you have no idea what you are doing.
The trick is all three of these companies have that ethic ingrained into the soul of their corporate philosophy.
Thoughts?
-Brad
The 'Emotional Favorite' is the person the buyer knows, likes, trusts, and want to see succeed!
People buy based upon emotion. They justify their decision to others with logic AFTER THE FACT.
To become the 'Emotional Favorite' you need to understand the psychographics of your target customer.
Psychographics are the aspirations, values, and AIO (Attitudes, Interests, and Options) variables of the buyer.
The more your psychographics align with the buyers psychographics the more likely you are to win the business.
Being the 'Emotional Favorite' has many benefits but the primary one is the fact that when decision makers experience a 'Trigger Event' and become dissatisfied with their current supplier they call you before they call anyone else.
Research shows that when you get to these motivated buyers before your competition your odds of making the sale are, on average, 75%.
According to CSO Insights data being the trusted advisor only gets you a 55% close rate.
Your will close 37% more sales (75%-55%/55%) simply by going beyond the Trusted Advisor status and becoming the buyers 'Emotional Favorite'.
Satisfaction isn’t enough. A genuinely loyal customer is one who values something about your company so highly that he or she stops shopping for better deals. If you have any customers like that, the overwhelming likelihood is that the thing they treasure so highly is the relationship that has been developed.
‘Loyalty’ implies a relationship. Who must build it? The salesperson.
How can salespeople become so valuable that their clients turn a deaf ear to competitors? Action Selling identifies three roles that every successful salesperson must play.
Orchestrator: This role has to do with leveraging resources and coordinating selling activities in ways that demonstrate how the salesperson’s relationships and his or her company’s resources can provide valuable solutions to the customer. For instance, the salesperson might bring in a technical expert to help a client think through a problem.
Consultant: Like a doctor diagnosing an illness, the salesperson asks questions that effectively uncover the client’s most important problems. Then the salesperson recommends solutions specifically targeted to those concerns.
Relationship Builder: The consultant role is essentially reactive. As a relationship builder, the salesperson moves beyond “asking where it hurts.” The salesperson takes an active interest in helping the client’s company improve its competitiveness, becoming a trusted “advisor” and valued partner in the client’s business. In the relationship-builder role, the salesperson serves a universal need that does not go away - the client’s need to keep getting better at what they do.
Another term for relationship builder is loyalty builder. Relatively few are able to shine in this most advanced role without additional guidance and practice. Those who do, become black-belts - masters of loyalty. To their clients and to their own employers - such masters are worth their weight-in-gold.
Look us up if you want help with this.
To Your Success.
A "salesperson" represents a supplier that can be useful for addressing particular needs in particular ways—as can other suppliers. A business partner is committed to the client’s success every day, in every phase of the client’s operation where the partner can possibly be helpful.
A salesperson who becomes that kind of partner forges a bond that is very difficult to break. The client begins to turn a deaf ear to the salesperson’s competitors, not because their products and services and prices aren’t attractive, but because the relationship is too valuable to give up.