Cy Charney - The Instant Sales Pro: More Than 600 Tips and Techniques to Accelerate Your Sales Success

There is only one boss: the customer.

And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.

SAM WALTON, FOUNDER OF WAL-MART

Customers are our reason for being. They pay our bills and salaries, and allow us to stay in business. It is imperative, therefore, that we understand what customers need so that we can meet those needs.

These are most important needs that customers have:

1. Reliability. Customers want you to meet your obligations. They want what was promised, when it was promised. Maybe more, but not less!

2. Speed. It's not a question of months. It's not an issue of weeks, or even days. Things need to be done right away. Yesterday would be even better. Speed is a major competitive advantage.

   Salespeople can demonstrate that they understand the customer's sense of urgency by

   • returning phone calls within the hour

   • responding to e-mails at least twice daily

   • submitting their order, on-line, immediately

   • maintaining paperwork

   Electronic, wireless communication tools can enable you to respond quickly and accurately.

3. Empathy. You cannot satisfy everyone all of the time. But, you can put yourself in their shoes and understand their frustration or disappointment or anger. Let them know you understand. Then tell them what you will do to reduce their level of frustration.

4. Knowledge. Knowledge brings respect. It enables you to provide answers and solve problems quickly. It also enhances your ability to sway customers by increasing your influence.

5. Tangibility. The physical appearance of everything associated with you and your organization sends messages related to attractiveness, neatness, and worth. This applies to your product, premises, dress, and everything else that the customer can see and feel.

6. Value. People don't mind paying more if they feel they are getting more. The more reliable, quick, and courteous you are, relative to your competitors, the more you can charge.

Remind yourself daily of your customers' needs. Whenever you have an unsuccessful meeting, determine which of your customer's needs you neglected the most. Learn from the experience and do better on your next call.

A formula for failure is simple: anticipate what your prospect wants before you have found out. Never give prospects any information before you have established their needs.

Each customer will have a different priority of needs. For some, it will be value. For others, it will be speed. Although all are important, your probing will establish the current hot button and enable you to customize your approach each time, thereby increasing your ability to be successful.

Each customer has these basic human needs:

• the need to feel safe (psychologically, socially, and physically)

• the need to be treated as special

• the need to feel successful

• the need to have things done right the first time

• the need to get things done efficiently

Offering to meet these needs will increase your sales.