It is so hard for me to talk to sales people about process. While they would never know it, I cringe inside every time I hear someone talk about closing. I understand that the concept is about closing a deal, a completion of a process, but in this day and age, is any sale the end of your relationship with the buyer?
In our times, the snake oil salesman, or door to door vacuum dealer is almost non-existent. These are the only people that have no commitment to a customer after a sale. What we should be teaching our sales people in our selling world is OPENING, not closing. With a mindset of opening, getting someone to sign on the dotted line is the beginning of something, not the end result. Yes, it is a milestone, yes it has ended a cycle, but it your team is not looking beyond that moment in time, you are leaving opportunity after opportunity on the table.
The doors you can open after completing a sale:
- The obvious, referrals to other departments in a company.
- Referrals to colleagues in other companies.
- More business through up sell opportunities.
- Reference materials, from case studies to reference calls and quotes.
- And finally, you may change companies and have something new to sell. Once a buyer is comfortable with you as a business partner, this relationship provides a lifetime of value.
Now, before you start adjusting your pipeline because you have a customer base, I have to admit this takes some work from the onset. First, you have to maintain a relationship with your customers after they have made a purchase. This means service oriented calls where you provide some value. If you ask for more business it provides no value. Instead, give them some information about their industry, or share with them some results of using your product. These are the things that get people excited to hear from you. If you do this properly, they will provide referrals, references, and always take a hard look at your offerings. If you give them value at the beginning, during, and after you sell them something, you will always find more opportunities…and you will not have to look too hard.
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Thank you for this really nice outlook on the sales process! It is really helpful!
thanks, going through this has really openend my mind, it has given me some clues to successful selling.
I have really been enjoying this blog its have great content and really interesting information. This is sop true once a sale is completed its amazing how other doors do open.
Doors will always open after one has closed a deal provided that one has given that service, like that saying what goes around comes around.
