Buyers’ need for be understood It may be a no-brainer but it is important to keep it in mind. It is a concept that has gained in importance after the outbreak of the pandemic.
According to Efficy, a company specialized in CRMs, 84% of buyers prefer to buy from commercials who understand your goals in a profound way, while 57% of these buyers consider that sales executives lack adequate knowledge of their business. Customers now want salespeople to be aware of their specific interests and circumstances, and developing that kind of understanding is not so easy.
«In the past, the salesperson was more expert than the client and the client was in a situation of imbalance in front of the knowledge of the first. However, now, with the internet and social networks, the buyer is more informed and knows more about the product or service, and knows more options, so the seller has to build trust with the client beyond knowledge. Something that we call ‘selling helping’ or ‘Consultative sale‘», explains Alfredo Nicolás, country manager of Efficy Spain.
Needs-based selling often helps salespeople establish long-term, productive relationships with customers. By taking time to understand the individual needs of customers, salespeople can also prepare to engage with potential leads more fully as time goes on. “The more inexperienced the customer is in the matter he wants to buy, the greater the challenge of the salesperson in trying to really know what the customer needs”, says Alfredo Nicolás, who has already helped more than 1,000 companies with this technique and who plans to delve deeper into a presentation during the Madrid e-Show.
Diagnosis of what the client needs
But how to understand what the customer really needs? You can ‘diagnose’ what a customer needs when you know the problems, but to really know what they are you have to tune in with the customer, understanding what he really thinks and not just what he says. «Only by listening is how you will understand what the client wants to tell you, if you don’t listen it is impossible for you to ask good questions that will help you identify their needs and build trust«, They point from Efficy.
After listening, the next phase of this consultative sale goes through the demonstration of how the product or service solves the needs that the client has previously reported. “The key is to be direct with the customer and focus on his two main needs, so that the customer understands that the seller has understood what he needs”, says the country manager of Efficy Spain, who also maintains that if the listening has been carried out correctly, the closure comes alone.
Finally, from the CRM they maintain that the process of build trust with a client extends beyond establishing a relationship based on knowledge. “The seller must be accessible and involved, showing that he really cares as much about what he is selling as who he is selling it to. This means speaking with real enthusiasm and without losing the objective of selling by helping », Alfredo Nicolás qualifies.
