This blog was originally written as a white paper for distribution sales success and published in Sales and Service Excellence magazine. I have modified it slightly for this blog. Most of the concepts work just as well in retailing...if you are selling high-ticket items to sophisticated consumers. Check it out and see if you can use some of these tools.All successful salespeople know that the secret to success, particularly at the long-term sales game (read as swimming pool sales wholesale and retail), revolves around trust and relationships that you have built over time. You get that trust and build those relationships by following a set of “sales golden rules”. Here are the ten commandments for building trust and relationships in selling.Five Commandments for Building Trust:1. Never intentionally exaggerate or lie to a customer. Err to the conservative and don’t guess. If you don’t know whether a product can meet the customer’s needs…say so, then dig into all the details until you know the correct answer. Particularly in the early stages of building strong relationships, one bad decision can jeopardize a relationship forever.2. There is no such thing as a “good deal” for you unless it is also a “good deal” for your customer. Everything has to work well in both directions, its why we call it “partnering”. Remember that everything critical is about trusting each other…ten years from now!3. Sometimes the “need” is difficult to uncover because your customer doesn’t know that a solution you have even exists. That is why it is critical that you become an expert at every product and program in your company’s arsenal. Often the customer is happy with the current supplier and the current way of doing things until you demonstrate some new technology or service that uncovers that unknown “need”. Building trust is enhanced by the intelligent introduction of profitable alternatives that your customer has not been aware of in the past.4. Remember that good questioning skills help to determine what the real needs are. This is the best way to make sure you are not proposing a solution that doesn’t really work long-term and help to build the all-important trust factor. Develop your questioning skills that have a legitimate sequence and end up with all parties knowing what the correct choice is.5. Success is all about creating long-term value. You have to know what is important and of value to your customer. Some of that comes from knowing how to ask questions but a lot of that comes from having built a friendship with your customer that allows them to be completely honest and open with you about their needs and wants. There are five more commandments that help to create those friendships…Five Commandments for Building Relationships:6. There is an old saying that goes, “When all things are equal you buy from your friend…when all things are not quite equal…you still buy from your friend”. This old saying is the reason that any programs that give you an opportunity to spend time with your customers in a non-work environment (where friendships are built) are so successful. If you and/or your company has this type of reward program available to your customers, you are blessed! Utilize it to the max and build friendships that are enduring!7. If your company doesn’t employ that kind of sales strategy then you have to find non-work things that you have in common and can build into a strong friendship bond with your customer. In effect, you are creating your own “loyalty” programs for your customers, with the intent of spending time together. How about sports, hunting, fishing, cars or boating? Look for photos in her office and ask questions that help to find common interests. Remember that your goal is to spend time with each other in a non-work environment.8. Building relationships means respecting your customer’s time. Never ask questions about things that you should have learned in advance of every meeting. In today’s internet and Google-world, there is no excuse for you not being prepared with common knowledge easily available to the public. Time-wasters hurt relationships and destroy friendships.9. Be considerate when scheduling meetings. All business leaders (and your potential customers) have hectic schedules but…can you make it a breakfast meeting or a luncheon meeting? Everyone has to eat and it is another opportunity to learn things about your customer that help to build a strong relationship. The old axiom of “breaking bread together” is still a powerful relationship-builder. Make the most of it.10. The final commandment is that you really have to care about your customer’s success if you are her friend and want to have a strong friendship-relationship. Caring about her success begins when you know what her real goals are and then act to help them happen. Real goals may have nothing to do with the day-to-day business but instead revolve around family, health, retirement plans, or a host of other goals. When you discover those real goals, you can begin the process of creating a true friend and building a true relationship.Believing and understanding the ten commandments of trust and relationship building is a great way of insuring long-term success in the sales game. When economic times are challenging…stick to the ten commandments!
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