The world of business is continuously evolving and the earlier, conventional models of business have sure worn out only to be replaced by the new ones. In these changing times it is very imperative that the new business models do not only and exclusively revolve around business and sales; in fact they primarily revolve around the customer needs and requirements. Going a step ahead, they in fact need to take a close look at human psyche and if one needs to break into a new account, one needs to be an expert communicator coupled with a humane touch.
However in order to achieve the above, one needs to understand certain ways and implement them so as to develop the expected rapport with the prospects.
Qualification:
One of the most important factors to begin with is identifying the prospect. Now this may be, by and large the trickiest and the most crucial part. The skill also lies in understanding what exactly caused the lead or the particular company to become the prospect. This introspection and analysis helps to clear the path ahead and all the probable steps that one needs to take in the future. The process then calls for presenting the prospect with the thoughts and work that has been accomplished in the past by the professional. It is quite essential that the conversation also revolves around all the business challenges that were resolved efficiently in the past projects. This makes room for building trust and a gesture that reiterates the fact that we care and are genuinely interested in building a strong, long term relationship to help the organization in many ways. After having built this bridge of trust one can then move on to mapping the current business logic and helping identify the root cause.
Ground Work:
In the whole process, most of the skill lies in being more personal friendly rather than business friendly. Commencing talks on business right at the beginning is not always appropriate, as this may lower the chances of the prospect staying engaged. Therefore, developing a personal rapport or camaraderie is what counts and interaction through several communication modes such as a causal talk beyond business hours that may include leisure chats of a weekend party or movies, personal get together and so on. Varying topics helps to break the ice on several fronts. This facilitates a gradual process of reducing many future challenges.
Strategy Building:
Once the ground work has been accomplished, you can then try and help create a strategy to address business challenges. This should primarily include identifying pain points at a very micro level, sketching current solutions in place, identifying bottle neck for such challenges, redefining the roadmap / solutions etc.
Presenting the Needs:
It is very important that at every stage you don’t feel the urge to dive in straight, talking business. It is a long and patient mind-game and one need to stay grounded even at the most overwhelming moments that hint at a positive outcome. It is important to spend as much time and effort in identifying and presenting the need in a rather informal manner than getting into the typical formal, presentation mode. In most cases at the initial stages, making use of pen and paper to etch out personal notes plans, rough sketches adds that rawness and one-step-at-at-a-time feel.
Discussing Needs:
Using the most appropriate ways in discussions is the key in arriving at a more conducive and successful deal. Not losing patience at particularly this stage, avoiding rushing in to offer solutions, invariably opens up a more trustful environment to continue the efforts. Analyzing all the challenges in a proper manner and then slowly putting forth what are the possible areas and reasons that may have caused the current setbacks if any in the prospects business, proves to be a wise way to go ahead.
Proactive Exercise:
Sales, when looked at as a more Proactive gesture than more of a reactive one, certainly helps meet the needs of the prospect in the most effective manner. Establishing certain important credentials from the past projects, especially related to a similar line of business, helps to further strengthen the trust factor.
Winning Over:
After much patient deliberation and efforts one can finally arrive at the winning stage wherein you crack the deal successfully. It is still expected of you to not get overwhelmed and even after winning patiently continue the rapport for a long term business relationship. You may have won a business deal, but you cannot afford to forget that the prospect has won a friend, a counselor who will be looking forward to your guidance through all the stages in the future.
Hence the trick is in implementing the current business matrix that involves the skill of how you talk, how you present your ideas and how much trust you are able to build with the prospect, rather than resorting to the conventional methods of sales that may not simply yield the desired results.