Every entrepreneur knows that the only way to build a business
is to build relationships. In fact, many entrepreneurs are
relationship masters. They know how to dive into a prospect's
world and not only understand where the person is coming from, but
also what he or she is trying to accomplish. Because they can see
the other person's perspective, they're better able to
recommend the right product or service.
Over the past few years, this idea about
"relationships" has spawned a variety of sales
buzzwords-such as consultative selling, customer-based selling,
customer-oriented selling and partnership selling. Whatever you
call it, it's all about building rapport, connecting,
networking and serving-all worthy, important goals.
The problem is, some entrepreneurs get so caught up in building
relationships that they forget to close the sale. It's at the
point where some people focus so much on strengthening bonds that
they stop asking for the business. They have dinner or play golf
with their customers, or they have meeting after meeting-yet they
never move forward on the sale.
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To determine whether you're in that category, ask yourself
some questions: Are you currently working on a large number of
accounts? Do you have appointments, meetings, presentations and
proposals, but no closings? Is the average sales cycle for your
product or service three to six weeks-but you close every three to
six months? If so, it may be time to make adjustments in your ratio
of relationship-building to closing.
It's a Balancing Act
The solution is, of course, to find a balance. Learn to tell the
difference between the sales that won't go forward unless a
relationship is nurtured and maintained, and the sales that are
better served by getting prospects excited about buying your
product or service, then spurring them to reap the benefits
immediately.
Often, you have to balance between different types of
relationships and sales cycles. You have to attend meetings where
your purpose is to find out what the prospect's goals and
challenges are and whether you can help. Ask questions like
"Where do you see your company five years from now?" and
"What do you need to accomplish to reach your goals?"
Especially in a large sale, it's important to build the
relationship and earn that business.
Have you had meetings where you've already done the
needs-analysis and you've already asked those questions? Now
your most important task is to close the sale. That's the time
to simply ask "Why don't we go ahead with this?"
Granted, there are some accounts that have very long sales
cycles, and maintaining a strong relationship over time is crucial.
But when everyone's gathered all the pertinent information and
the criteria have been evaluated, there's nowhere else to go
but toward the closing. That's when you go for it.
Of course, there really isn't a perfect time to ask for the
order. Sometimes, you just have to take that leap. Even if the
prospect brings up an objection, that just gives you the
opportunity to handle it immediately, relieve his or her concerns,
and then go for the close again.
Obviously, the better the relationship you have with a customer,
the easier it will be to seal the deal. Just don't get so
involved in making friends that you forget to make the sale.