BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Sales Is Not A Dirty Word For Consultants

This article is more than 4 years old.

Do you want to succeed in attracting high-paying clients? Focus on building relationships, and the sales will follow.

To learn more about the importance of relationship-building to attract high-paying clients, I spoke with Deb Brown Maher, whose professional background spans over 30 years of expertise in all levels of sales execution, training and consulting. 

She has worked with companies that include Hershey Chocolate, Lucent Technologies, Comcast Cable, Dell, CA (Computer Associates) and AMP (now Tyco).

“Most business owners start their business because of a passion for their product or service, not because they want to sell,” says Maher. “The role of selling has a negative connotation because we’ve all endured interacting with unskilled salespeople.”

Success at sales, says Maher, begins with a mindset, or attitude, toward what you sell and how you sell it, because attitudes drive behavior.

“There are two fundamental sales attitudes, polar opposites, that drive sales behaviors; one values short-term relationships, and the other values long-term relationships,” says Maher. 

So what differentiates these two attitudes from each other?

“The driving attitude behind short-term sales relationships is that the sale must be made during the first contact, or it won’t happen. This sales strategy teaches various high-pressure tactics, doing whatever it takes to make the sale immediately. There is no system for following up; salespeople simply walk away from any lead that says no, moving on to the next. This short-term relationship approach often results in viable leads not buying because they feel they’ve been treated disrespectfully. The ‘churn’ approach is also contingent upon having enough marketing dollars to generate new leads continually, while ignoring the segment who might have bought in the future but are lost because there’s no follow-up.”

And the more long-term approach?

“Contrast prioritizing the short term with valuing long-term relationship building. This approach seeks to truly understand what’s important to the buyer through meaningful dialogue guided by questions asked and actively listening to the buyer’s responses. Here the buyer is respected as the decision maker, who is in complete control of whether and when they buy, or not.”

Maher provides valuable tips for building long-term relationships with potential clients.

“There is a structured follow-up process to keep in touch until the buyer has made a final decision; and while a well-qualified ‘yes’ is great, the salesperson should be equally happy to hear a well-qualified ‘no’ based on what is best for the buyer,” says Maher. “This approach helps establish, build, and maintain mutual respect and trust, so that even when someone doesn’t buy, the stage is set for them to be comfortable reopening the conversation should circumstances change. The buyer is also more likely to give referrals because they have confidence that the seller will treat their friends with the same respect they received.”

According to Maher, regardless of what you sell, applying more diligent, long-term relationship building strategies will increase your bottom line in two ways: “Building trust results in more sales, and reducing lead generation costs by maximizing the leads you already have.”

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website