Is there such a thing as THE super sales person?

Of course we’ve all heard jokes about the typical car salesman. He always tries very hard and is a little too slick, and somehow we don’t really trust him. Why is that the case? Because the seller has only a specific product and is trying to sell it to the customer? Some of you might remember the Loriot sketch about the suit seller who tried to make the suit fit with all tricks of the trade, although it was plain for all to see that the suit really didn’t fit.

The art of successful selling requires the right form of address. How does the customer want to buy? When I wanted to buy my first car in Switzerland, I asked questions, and the seller gave the answers to my male escort. This may make you smile, but how often does that happen with your products? How often is the product advertised to the buyer even though he’s not the one who makes the decision? Is your sales team able to discover the actual decision makers? And to identify the customer’s employees who are in a position to sabotage the purchase? Are they able to adjust the arguments depending on the conversation partner? A technician has different needs from a buyer, just like a marketing expert has different needs from a logistician. Has your company prepared the relevant information so that the sales department can get it out at just the right time? Do you know how your offer moves from your company to the customer and are you aware of all the things that can happen during that time? Can you see all the activities that might cause problems or represent a competitive advantage? Is your company set up in such a way that you are easily provided with this information? Is the seller able to address these different needs of the client team, or should he himself have a team available that helps him on location?

I often see that the valuable information that is collected by logistics or customer service cannot be passed on as there is no system or platform for that purpose. What a waste! If you have organised your departments in such a way that they reflect the customer structure, all employees involved should meet regularly. The exchange that takes place there is particularly valuable. Small businesses still have this advantage, as employees meet in them all the time anyway. Once a company grows to a size of more than 150 employees that you might still be able to know personally, new structures have to be created in order to ensure an exchange. This exchange is particularly important for sales. Only those who have all the information can stand out from the standard car salesman-type. How can you empower your team to do that? I’ll show you.