Top sales professionals know that the difference between good and great performance requires thinking about how to close a deal versus how to serve the customer. If you aspire to sales greatness, apply these four best practices that will drive you to new levels of success.

1. Stop asking yourself “What can I SELL the customer?” and start asking yourself, “How can I HELP the customer?”

This shift in attitude creates an immediate shift in focus. A relationship based on selling focuses first on products, price and terms. It can also lead to a battle of wits between the customer and the sales professional, in which the customer is subtly put on the defensive as he tries to avoid being taken advantage by someone who is “just here to sell me something.”

A relationship based on helping the customer will focus first on the customer’s needs, challenges, concerns, problems, goals and dreams. Therefore, before you can truly help the customer — by providing solutions and support — you must find out what they really care about. This process requires a level of patience, sensitivity and skill that doesn’t always come naturally to sales professionals who have been trained to think first about things like value propositions and closing.  

Customer-centered interaction

At CloudCoaching International (CCI), we discovered long ago that what separates highly successful sales professionals from the rest is developing the ability to practice Customer-Centered Interaction. This is the art of talking to the customer first about the things that are important to them. This focus is the heart of our sales mastery vision, and the sales process skills and tools we have created for our clients all serve to inspire and support this customer-centered focus.

One of the reasons we put so much effort into promoting and enabling the art of customer-centered interactions is because there are significant and often unrecognized obstacles standing between sales professionals and their ability to authentically connect with the customer. It is critical to not only learn how to identify these obstacles but also develop the right skills to help the customer. 

2. Check your “expert” attitude at the door

Too many sales reps start from the assumption that they already know what the customer needs, based on the fact that they have worked with hundreds of customers just like this one. For that reason, they enter the sales relationship with their minds already made up about what the customer’s situation is and what solution they need to buy. They justify this approach by telling themselves, “After all, I am the expert here.”

Let’s get one thing straight. You are, of course, an expert regarding the products you sell, the market you cover and everything else about your industry. If you aren’t, you should be. Your customer expects this level of expertise. When the time is right, you will be able to draw on your expertise to help the customer create the best solution to meet their needs. However, during the discovery and relationship-building process, it is very easy to undermine the trust process and fail to fully meet the customer’s needs if you inject your “expert” opinions too soon. 

This “No Expert” rule applies even if the customer begins the conversation by begging for your advice. Whether you realize it or not, you don’t have enough information yet to really understand the problem. Resist the temptation to recommend solutions too quickly. Take the time to understand all the facts, especially the ones not yet in evidence.

3. Be sensitive to the customer’s point of view

Most sales professionals are only interested in closing a sale, but the customer usually has a lot more on their mind. They are probably dealing with many interconnected issues which impact their situation and determine the full set of needs that must be met. However, not all of these needs will be immediately obvious. In fact, most customers don’t even fully know and understand all their needs or issues. However, all of these other interconnected issues have a part to play, and they can impact the scope of the solution that will resolve whatever issues the customer is dealing with. Don’t be anxious to push your solutions; instead, be patient and let the customer tell their story.

4. Ask the right questions to position the right solution

High-performing sales professionals are in the habit of asking plenty of questions and then listening carefully to the answers. This is the sales professional’s only defense against killer assumptions. It is also the only way to encourage the customer to tell their story. Asking questions and listening effectively are such important skills. Just remember this: asking questions signals to the customer that you want to help, and pushing your products communicates in no uncertain terms that you are only there to sell them something. Which image are you projecting to your customers?

The art of Customer-Centered Interaction is just one component of the Sales Mastery skills and tools developed by CCI. In future articles, I will share additional strategies to help you differentiate your organization from your competitors by creating a strong brand based on collaborating with the customer to help them achieve their most important objectives.