The Value Of Building A Relationship
The Value Of Building A Relationship
by Brad Huisken
“When a customer comes into a furniture store today, they are not necessarily looking for furniture! I believe that the customer of today is looking for a place and a person from whom to buy the furniture.”
The profession of furniture sales and interior design encompasses more than selling as many products to as many customers as possible. Of course every salesperson wants to sell as much as possible, but how do we accomplish that goal? The answer is taking the time to build relationships with the customers. While it sounds simple the application of the process is difficult to achieve. A salesperson who is able to build a strong selling relationship with their customers will, ultimately, have a more successful and rewarding career in sales. Compare this to the person who just wants to sell as many products as possible without getting to know any of their customers. We will talk about developing a strong selling relationship with customers and how relationships will help us throughout the selling process.
As with anyone else that we have never met, there has to be initial contact with our customers. We have all been told through the years the importance of first impressions. That is especially true in sales. Many still believe in the stereotype of salespeople being pushy, aggressive and at times overbearing. Initial contact, if done right, can go a long way to dispel that old and tired belief and instill a sense of comfort in the customer’s mind. There are three objectives when making initial contact with a potential customer. The first one is to eliminate the fear. In other words, during initial contact we want to eliminate any resistance that the customer may have toward salespeople and to put the customer at ease. The second objective is to create a person-to-person relationship. Customers are going to feel much more comfortable if they can talk to us as another person; rather than, a salesperson looking for a commission. The third goal of making initial contact is to start building trust. No relationship will last for any length of time without trust and the seller/buyer relationship is no different.
The first and, perhaps, best way to begin establishing a relationship with a customer is accomplished through meaningful non-business conversations. Keep in mind that the customer dictates the selling process and that every sales presentation will be unique and different. In some cases you will start in the demonstration in others you may start with closing. For the purpose of this article I will give it to you in a logical order. Yet, many presentations won’t follow the logical order. Every salesperson in every store focuses the majority of their attention on how to handle objections and close a sale, but not all of them can get to the point where objections will come up. If a customer is able to talk with a salesperson about subjects other than what they may be buying, then the more comfortable they become. As they become more comfortable, the salesperson has already started to eliminate the fear, create a person-to-person relationship and build trust. There are three rules when entering a non-business conversation that you need to be aware of before you start.
The rules are:
1. You must ask a question.
2. Your questions must be non-business related.
3. Your questions have to be interesting enough to cause people to want to talk with you.
If you are able to successfully implement these rules and get into a non-business conversation, then there are a number of topics that may be used. For example, the subject of sports is a great way to establish rapport with a customer. Let’s use the rules above and lay out an example of how a non-business conversation may go. If a furniture salesperson notices that a potential customer is wearing a professional team logo T-shirt, then he/she may say something like “Did you see that game on Sunday?” Chances are decent that they will either say yes or something along the lines of no, I missed that one. Either answer will get you into a non-business conversation. As you begin to talk about the sport and/or the team, you will probably learn other things about the customer that may be useful later in the sale. The customer may say something like, “I took my two sons to the game two weeks ago and we had a blast.” That is information that can be used later when you begin talking about what type of furniture the customer might be interested in buying. If they are young adults, for example, you might show the customer features and benefits that would be durable. Not only have you gone a long way in establishing a positive relationship with the customer, you have also obtained a piece of information that will help you when it comes time to make your presentation. Not bad for a simple question about sports.
You should have more than a few initial contact questions that you are able to ask to get into non-business conversations. It is also a good idea to rehearse and memorize your questions so they are second nature. It is a good idea to have twenty to thirty questions prepared to use at anytime. The questions should cover a wide variety of subjects allowing you to make initial contact with people of varying interests. The key lies in time and preparation. A little time spent on preparing your questions will result in more sales and long-standing relationships with your customers. At the very least you will assure yourself of getting to the initial contact stage with each customer and while that will not guarantee a sale, it will increase the likelihood.
Some other topics that may be used to start a non-business conversation are current events, holidays, vacations, cars, pets, and children. There are subjects that are to be avoided, such as: politics, religion or any other subject that could be considered sensitive or controversial. The last thing you want to do is offend a customer, so staying with more neutral topics is the best way to go.
Now that we have begun to eliminate the fear, create a person-to-person relationship and have started to build trust, we are ready to embark on the process of satisfying our customers’ needs. As we go, though, it is vital that we remember we are constantly building, nurturing and maintaining the relationship that we worked so hard to develop. Just because we have entered into the seller/buyer part of our relationship does not mean that we quit getting to know our customer. One of the first things that must be accomplished is getting from a non-business conversation to a business conversation. There is an old saying that timing is everything and that certainly applies here.
So how do we make the smooth transition from a non-business conversation to a business conversation? There is no hard and fast rule but the time is right when both you and your customer feel comfortable and you feel that you have accomplished your goals with your previous conversation. It is vital, though, that you remain aware that you are still in the process of getting to know your customer. Just because you have entered into the business part of your relationship does not mean you stop that process. Your customer has entered into a business conversation with you because they felt comfortable with you during the non-business conversation. They can just as easily back out of the business relationship if they sense, even for a minute, that you were insincere during the non-business conversation.
The easiest way to get into a business conversation is by using a simple question; such as, “So, what brings you into our store today?” If and whenever possible use the company name when asking this question because it never hurts to get the company name out there as often as possible. If the customer chooses not to buy from you on that day and is going to shop around then you have planted your company name in his/her mind, making it more likely that they will remember their conversations with you. Appointment situations provide an easier avenue to get from a non-business conversation into a business conversation. The customer has made an appointment or was invited in to look at a particular product; therefore, a “just looking” response is highly unlikely. Just remember that having business conversation does not preclude you from continuing to get to know your customer.
Let’s say a young couple has just come into your store looking to purchase a living room group. The two of you have had a nice conversation about the local minor league baseball team and have started to develop a level of trust with one another. It turns out that you both have friends who play on that team and that you both attend almost all of the home games. A fair amount of time goes by and you ask, “So what brings you into Smith’s Furniture today.” The customers tell you that they just purchased their first home and would like to furnish the living room. You have successfully figured out why the customer is in and can now proceed into selling and showing your line of furniture. Now is the perfect time to talk about the couple’s new home as they just revealed some very valuable personal information. Keep in mind you may not be able to have a meaningful non-business conversation up front about a sports team.
However, now that personal information has been disclosed we can certainly have a meaningful non-business conversation about something very important to the customer, that being their new home. Ask questions about the home, ask them to draw out a floor plan, discuss where they intend to place the pieces of furniture, ask them about other furniture that they now own etc. All the while we are gathering information about the customer, other furniture needs, and more importantly, letting the customers talk about something of extreme importance to them. Too often sales people are way too quick to start showing merchandise without gathering enough valuable information.
The part of developing and maintaining good customer relations is often overlooked and may be the most important. Too many times after a sale is made, people assume the transaction is complete. However, the professional salesperson will set themself apart by continuing the relationship with the customer after the sale. A sales career is not built on one-time sales to a million different people; it is built on building a loyal customer base and repeat business. There are a number of avenues to follow up with customers and set you apart from everyone else. Many of the ideas that we are talking about are very simple and take just five to ten minutes. Isn’t a small part of your day worth the repeat business that those minutes may bring in?
One of the most common and easiest ways to continue a relationship with a customer is to send a thank you note for their purchase. Most people think of thank you notes following weddings, birthday parties, graduations or other such occasions. Thank you notes can be a powerful tool in maintaining your customer base after the sale is complete. If someone buys a dining set from a certain salesperson and one month later they receive a thank you note for their business, then odds are they will come back when it is time to buy the bedroom set. Simple gestures go a long way.
Follow up calls are also a great tool to maintain your customer base and to ensure repeat business. The young couple who bought a living room group in the above example is the perfect candidates for a follow up call. The relationship has been well established at this point and a follow up call can only strengthen that relationship. A follow up call can also take on the quality of a non-business conversation, which can also enhance the relationship. If you were to ask how everything with the delivery was and set-up of your new living room set, then you will have satisfied two goals. One, you find out if the customer is satisfied with the purchase which is your number one objective. Two, you have shown an interest in how everything went with the furniture which hopefully will lead to another meaningful non-business conversation. Thank you notes and follow up calls require nothing but effort, so set yourself apart by setting some time aside to make sure you are taking advantage of the work you have all ready done.
Two more methods to maintain good customer relationships after the sale are business cards and sending holiday cards. Most people under use business cards and do not take advantage of what their business card can do for them. A number of people hang onto business cards and refer to them when they need a specific service. If your card is in their Rolodex when they have a need for your merchandise, then you may make a sale just by handing out a business card. Holiday cards are also a great way to continue to foster a customer relationship. Pick a couple of different holidays throughout the year and send a formal greeting card to at least the top 20 percent of your customer base. Send an Anniversary Card, maybe a Birthday Card and without a doubt a card at the holiday season. People like to display all the holiday cards that they receive and they also remember who sent them. Even if it is a computer-generated card (I prefer hand-written personal cards), the idea, like business cards, is to get you name in front of people. A lot of people have a “card box” and will keep holiday cards and if they remember they got a card from “A” company and not “B” company, where do you think they will shop first? I will give you one guess.
A company newsletter is also an excellent way to stay in contact with your customers, assuming it grabs the interest of your customer base. It is vital that you have information that a lot of people will be interested in such as, local news, store or industry information and room design tips. Once you have them interested, they will probably read the rest of the newsletter, which should feature your company and your products. A good newsletter can also contain games, such as, word searches and crossword puzzles. With the access that computers and photocopiers have provided to us, newsletters can be done inexpensively. All it takes is a little time and effort and you are a step ahead of your nearest competitor, who probably is not putting out a newsletter of their own. Maintaining customer relations after the sale may be more important than your relationship before and during the sale because it can lead to repeat sales. Make sure you are the salesperson who takes advantage of all the tools provided.
Any salesperson in any field can have a good day of sales on any given day but the professional salespeople will foster and maintain customer relationships that will allow them to sell to the same customer over and over. Personal Trade, repeat, and referral sales separate the average salesperson from the professional, make sure you are taking all the steps necessary that will set you apart.
Author, trainer, consultant and speaker Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training. Mr. Huisken authored the books I’M a salesman! Not a PhD. and Munchies For Salespeople, Selling Tips That You Can Sink Your Teeth Into, he also developed the PMSA Relationship Selling Program, the PSMC Professional Sales Management Course, The Mystery Shoppers Kit, The Employee Handbook and Policy & Procedures Manual, The Weekly Sales Training Meeting video series along with Aptitude Tests and Proficiency Exams for new hires, current sales staff and sales managers. In addition he publishes a free weekly newsletter called “Sales Insight.” For a free subscription or more information contact IAS Training at (800) 248-7703, www.iastraining.com or fax (303) 936-9581.
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