Business-Building Action from Terry Brock
The best salespeople are continually focusing on how to build quality relationships. They make it their habit to get rid of activities that take away from relationship building and focus on building key skills which help them succeed.
This is all about Relationship Marketing. You are constantly in the process of searching for opportunities, finding ways to develop and hone those skills which help you grow, and producing value for those wonderful people we call prospects and customers.
We also know that the quality of your questions determines the quality of the results you get. If you ask the wrong questions, you’ll never achieve the results that are most valuable to you and to those you want to influence. For instance, many times when sales are low, sales people who aren’t achieving the best results, will ask “How come sales are so low?”
Wrong question to ask.
A better question might be, “What are our prospects looking for now?” An even better question might be, ”What pain are our customers going through now?” An even better one might be, “What is the single biggest pain that our beloved customers are going through now?” Simply by asking a series of questions which probe deeper and deeper into the real issues, you get better answers. Don’t stop with the first question you develop. Be willing to pay the price and ask more pointed and appropriate questions.
So what is the best question for sales people overall? What will help you build better relationships for your marketing?
That reminds me of an experience I had this past week. I was doing a program for a well known technology company that you would recognize if I told you their name. This multi-billion dollar company asked me to put together a special program for some of their top partners on how sales and marketing have changed. They wanted to know what is working for the contemporary buying process. Social media is a critical factor and we addressed that specifically to their needs.
I have some rather good ideas based on my experience working with many clients, particularly from my experience as Chief Enterprise Blogger with Skype and the Editor-in-Chief for AT&T’s most successful and largest blog.
The environment today has change for sales and marketing. What worked before is not necessarily working today. However, there is one strategy that is stronger than ever today and it has worked for the best salespeople for centuries. The best sales people throughout history have been those who demonstrate the ability to help others. Today that is more important than ever.
The best question for salespeople today? “How can I help you?” Is arguably the best. That question works best when you follow up with the research necessary and the due diligence to sincerely help in a meaningful way. This helps you to connect with people more. This is what real relationship marketing is about.
It is simple, but it is not easy. Remember it is only a start to simply ask the question. The most successful people are willing to pay the price and find out the answers when someone tells you where they need help. You either help directly the way they asked, or do even further research to share with them where they need help in areas they might not have considered.
Keep asking those important questions. Most importantly keep helping.
Please share this with your community as we work to spread the message of helping others. I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions or comments about this, please let me know.
All the best,
Terry
Terry Brock, MBA, CSP, CPAE
Member, Professional Speaker Hall of Fame
Certified Speaking Professional
www.TerryBrock.com
Terry@TerryBrock.com
+1-407-363-0505
@TerryBrock
Facebook.com/MarketerTerryBrock
