"We need people in our lives with whom we can be as open as possible. To have real conversations with people may seem like such a simple, obvious suggestion, but it involves courage and risk." --Thomas Moore
In this digital age, one questions whether we still need sales. Customers have all the information they need at their fingertips. What’s the role of sales and how do they add value to the sales process? It’s about being a genuine consultant and a trusted advisor to potential customers. Someone who listens and understands the problems at hand, and can be a sounding board. Someone with whom your customers can have a real conversation.
A good salesperson understands the hardships of their customers, but the best salesperson would’ve actually experienced the day-to-day tasks within their potential customers’ job. But how would we go about manufacturing this type of salespeople?
The Sales Acceleration Formula by Mark Roberge mentioned that at HubSpot, as a part of sales orientation, a salesperson is to put themselves in the shoes of a marketer (Hubspot's key decision maker). The new hire spends the first few weeks at HubSpot developing their own website, writing blogs, and creating a social media presence using HubSpot software. Since the new hire has now experienced the pains of a decision maker, they are much better equipped to help potential customers with their problems.
Starting in 2017, we, at Change Connect, will incorporate this strategy into our sales training. All sales staff will allocate 10% of their time to start their own company. This puts our sales team in a better position to better understand our decision makers and put hardships of SMB operations at the core of our sales operations.
By experiencing what a customer goes through in their job training, the salesperson can create true empathy and then build a more trusting relationship with their prospects. Can you make use of this strategy in your organization? How can you train your salespeople to truly understand the hardships of your customers?
