Training Tips

Ideal Sales People: Make customers love you

There are a few ways sales professionals can strive to be the type of people their customers enjoy buying from. In her salesopedia.com article “Build a Sales Team Your Customers Love to Buy From,” Colleen Francis offers the following tips:

• Showing compassionate. “You have to care about your customer — no matter how good an actor you are, faking it won’t work. Ask questions, take notes and lean in to show that you’re engaged,” Francis writes.

• Making eye contact. By looking customers in the eye, sales professionals build and strengthen personal relationships.

• Practicing generosity. Reps must give before they expect to receive a customer’s business. By offering referrals, solutions and ideas, sales professionals can gain rapport with customers.

• Being honest. Sales reps who openly share their intentions with customers usually get good responses.

• Waiting patiently. “All too often, salespeople jump way ahead of their prospect’s buying curve. When the sales person is trying to close while the prospect is still evaluating options or determining risk, trust is broken, the prospect feels pushed and the sale can disappear,” Francis says.

• Staying down-to-earth. Francis suggests using colloquial, simple language when speaking to customers.

• Using names. Reps should be aware of what the customer prefers to be called — first name or title. Also, overusing their name can sound “corny and false.”

“When customers enjoy working with you, you improve your chances of making a sale,” Francis explains.