Are you really a “relationship salesperson?” Most people who think they are…aren’t.
In the world of sales, we’re great at creating divisions between types of selling. Service sales vs. product sales; hunters vs. farmers; senior salespeople vs. rookies; etc. Few people, however, are talking about the real divide in sales. That’s the divide between “transactional selling” and “relationship selling.”
Of course, if you ask, nearly every salesperson is going to describe themselves as a “relationship salesperson.” Very few of them actually are; probably 90% of our profession works in a transactional mode. That was OK when a salesperson was necessary to foster and facilitate the transactions. However, that’s all changed – now every salesperson has to be a real relationship salesperson. Few salespeople really are, because few salespeople really know what a ‘relationship’ means in sales. If you keep reading, you will.
We’ll dispense with “prospects” for a moment – those are people who don’t buy from you currently, and haven’t bought from you (normally) for at least a year. Instead, let’s talk about the people who do buy from you – your customers. You probably think that you have a ‘relationship’ with all of your customers. You probably don’t. There are essentially three levels of customers:
The first level is the occasional buyer. Occasional buyers view every purchase as a new selling process, and the sales effort that goes into the purchases (from your perspective) is nearly the same as a brand new sale. OB’s shop you every time; they compare offerings and prices, and at the end, they make their purchasing decision with no regard for past experience. You win or lose each sale based on its merits alone. However – and this is important – with an OB, one mistake in fulfillment typically costs you the opportunity for future sales.
The second level is the habitual buyer. Habitual buyers buy consistently from you because you’re who they buy from. There’s no loyalty or emotional bond; you’re simply the card in their Rolodex. That’s not all bad, of course – consistent revenue is a good thing – but again, you’re always vulnerable to your competition. You’re vulnerable if you make a mistake (again, one mistake can cost you the business), and you’re vulnerable to good salespeople who understand how to turn HB’s into a temporary OB, and then prove their value over you (which, by the way, is a great tactic to take HB’s away from your competitors).
The final – and by far the best – level is the loyal customer. Loyal customers buy from you because they have an attachment to you. They appreciate what you do for them, and they are willing to evangelize for you by providing referrals, testimonials, etc. LC relationships can withstand the occasional bumps in the road, including a mistake on your part or a competitor’s approach. If you hadn’t figured it out yet, LC’s are what we should be shooting for with every customer. How do we get there?
It all has to do with the value that you provide your customer on each sales call. This is the divide between transactional selling and relationship selling. Transactional selling actually facilitates and encourages OB’s and HB’s to continue in their pattern; the goal of the sales ‘touches’ (whether in-person calls or otherwise) is to get another order. When the order happens, the salesperson is gratified and moves on, thinking that he or she has ‘advanced a relationship.’
Relationship selling views the account strategically, and works to convert an OB first into an HB (it’s rare to skip that level from OB straight to LC). A real relationship salesperson works to improve the customer’s condition on every sales call, through providing value in the call itself. Relationship salespeople provide information, referrals, advice, counsel, and expertise – whether it’s tied to an order or not. Does your customer have a need? If you can fulfill it, great. If not – can you help your customer find someone who can? What best practices do you see that you can bring to your customer – even if it doesn’t involve another purchase?
Relationship selling also works to deepen the relationship and expand the pool of contacts within the customer. Here’s a quick litmus test for your ‘relationships:’ if you want to speak to your contact’s boss, do you get resistance? Relationship salespeople don’t, because the contact understands the salesperson’s need to meet more people and be a better vendor. The contact also trusts that the salesperson will use that contact for mutual benefit. Transactional salespeople encounter resistance because they haven’t broken the natural territorialism and haven’t established trust.
The real danger is in mistaking the first two types of customer (OB and HB) for the third type (LC). You only really have built a relationship with your customer when they have reached the Loyal Customer level. That’s because there are factors that are external to your performance on each order and transaction that keep you in place with the customer. Most salespeople are smart enough to know that the Occasional Buyer isn’t a strong relationship; however, they kid themselves into thinking that the Habitual Buyer is.
If you’re wondering how to distinguish the HB’s from the LC’s, put the relationship to a test. Ask for referrals. Ask for testimonials. Ask one of the all-time scariest questions ever: “How vulnerable are we to our competition?” And if you’re scared to do these things, then you already know they’re not a Loyal Customer; you just haven’t admitted it to yourself yet.
Transactional selling is becoming obsolete, because customers can research, compare, and complete transactions without the intervention of a salesperson (the Internet again). However, relationship selling – done right – will never become obsolete.
