same as what other companies were offering. Of those reps, 85 to 90 percent said they were hawking the same thing; the remainder said they were offering a unique solution. Interestingly, those who said they were offering a unique solution to their customers all measured in the top 25 percent of performers in their company. “It has a lot to do with how you see what you’re doing for your custom- er,” says the consultant. Once you’re ready to pursue a deeper relationship, ask yourself two questions, suggests DeVries: • Do I have the patience and willingness to cultivate the relationship?
• Is it the kind of customer who’s receptive to that? No matter how much you want to become your cus-
tomer’s buddy, if they’re not interested, you’re swimming upstream.
“It definitely has to be a willingness on both sides,” says Anderson. “Some buyers already think they have all the answers and are simply looking for the lowest-price option and don’t want you to try to tell them their busi- ness. It’s these types that you may want to steer clear of. I’m not a used-car guy,” he says. “I consider myself every bit as important in the lives of my customers as their doctor, their dentist, their lawyer. I consider myself a professional,” he adds.
THE RIGHT MOVES Good relationships – sales or otherwise – don’t hap- pen overnight; they’re cultivated and grown over time. Anderson says that, if there’s strategic value in creating a relationship, it can take years to break through to the next level. Anderson agrees. “It may take 18 to 24 months of blood, sweat, and tears,” he says. The good news is, persistence eventually pays off. It’s a prime way to demon- strate to your customers that you’re in it for the long haul, and you see them as worth waiting for. Exactly what should you be doing during this court- ing period? Demonstrating your trustworthiness and your intentions bit by bit, say experts, so customers will learn you’re someone they can count on. When you’re hoping to land a big fish, no job is too small – or too dirty. Anderson, who sells farm equipment, says he makes it a practice to tell potential customers to give him a call the next time they have a down-in-the-trenches project no one else wants to help with – and that includes cleaning the septic tanks. “You have to start small,” Anderson says. “I tell them, ‘Let me be a labor resource the next time you need help.’” What Anderson knows is that, to distinguish yourself, you have to look beyond the immediate order, focus on the long term, and know your relationship with the cus- tomer goes beyond the transaction. When you’re thinking about a future relationship, it can mean making sugges- tions that don’t include a PO for you. “We’re not the answer for everybody,” says Anderson.
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Sometimes a competitor may be the best supplier for a particular problem, and, if that’s the case, don’t hesitate to suggest an alternative – but qualify your recommendation, suggests Anderson. He’d say, “If this were my decision, I would look to Company Y, and the reason is, they’re 25 miles closer to you,” he says. By couching your referral in specific terms, you let your customer know that, while another supplier may be appropriate for this particular project, you’re the one to come to first. “If you are look- ing out for the customer’s best interest, they’re going to reciprocate,” says Anderson.
VALUE WHAT IT DOES
When you concentrate on adding value to every interac- tion with your customer, you’ll automatically move onto their short list. “It takes so little for a salesperson to be of value that it’s absolutely tragic when they don’t take the steps to do it,” says the consultant. Early on, this may mean doing your homework so you can speak to your prospects in their language – showing you understand the drivers in their industry and the business they’re in. As your relationship progresses, value comes from your ability to understand and offer solutions to their business issues. Josh Merriman, vice president and general manager for a manufacturer of hardware to the paper fiber mill indus- try, says it’s important to take the time to listen to all of a customer’s business problems. In his experience, it’s com- mon to be talking to a customer about one element in the manufacturing process, only to learn there’s a larger issue farther upstream – an opportunity that would have been missed had Merriman failed to ask the larger questions. “At this point, I’m not just a vendor to him; I’m a business associate,” he explains. “If you really want to be an advisor, you need to ask them the questions they haven’t thought of themselves,” the consultant says. Often, those questions have to do with the process, not just the products. “It’s really thinking about the ripple effect: if you toss your product into the pond, what happens?” says the consultant. “Conversely, if they don’t have your product, what are the symptoms?” Once you start talking about process and pain, you can move the conversation away from cost to value. “If our customers buy a $20,000 transmitter, I want them to think not that they spent $20,000, but that they got $30,000 of profit out of it,” says Merriman. “You want to move people from thinking [in terms of] cost of the solution to cost of the problem,” he explains.
PRACTICE SAFE SELLING While it’s nice to imagine an ideal world in which everyone practices the golden rule, the truth is that some custom- ers are going to push you to your limit. It’s common – after months of free consultations, discussions and preliminary plans – to find yourself no closer to a contract than you
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