Why Your Business Needs Customer Oriented Salespersons

In present day market, where customers have far more choices to choose from due to extreme homogeneity, consider the facts that over one million businesses starts in the united states alone each year (114 each hour) that excludes online start-ups ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾. 

And out of those one million around 134,139 patents are issued roughly to the same number of businesses while the rest of the businesses are essentially “Me-Too’s (product/service)” numbering around 866,000 businesses ⁽³⁾.

Similarly there were around 125 million SME's world wide in 132 economies back in 2010 ⁽⁴⁾. And in my opinion majority of these businesses are “Me-Too’s (product/service)” too, considering the fact that nearly 50 percent of new products introduced in the market are complete failures and more than 70 percent do not reach their sales goals ⁽⁵⁾.

This has resulted in extreme homogeneity in products/services, extreme competition in the present day market and excessive number of options to choose from (for customers).

Thus in present day scenario SME’s have fewer options to compete like either they need to brand effectively to differentiate themselves from the rest, to standout in minds of their target customers or to innovate effectively to lead, to be miles ahead from the rest.

But the fact is none of that is easy and most of the SME’s can’t afford those options, so the next best alternative to all that is to forge relationships with your target market, to have a long term relationship with your customers. As long term relationships have been proven to deliver benefits (according to studies & researches published in well known Journals) like loyalty ⁽⁶⁾ and customer satisfaction ⁽⁷⁾⁽⁸⁾.

And that’s what everyone, every SME is looking for, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction these days, isn’t it ?!

We all know, the better the relationship (with your target customers), the more easy it will be for your business to compete in present day market environment and due to that reason (along with several other), customer relationship management (CRM) has been developed into an area of major significance over the last decade or so ⁽⁹⁾.

And to complete the picture, according to a study, salesperson’s who utilize customer oriented approach/strategy in their dealing with potential customers are far more likely to develop long term healthy relationship with their customers ⁽¹⁰⁾.

And we all know salespeople are essential and significant part of any business, without effective sale teams, salespersons your business won’t be able to compete, won’t grow and would eventually fade out of the market (considering the increasing competition, considering product/service increasing homogeneity etc...) even if it doesn’t fade, it will be a mediocre and if you want mediocre then why bother to read the article… ;p

Okay now let’s talk about the next step, how to train/develop salespersons to make them customer oriented.

How to Train/Develop Salespersons to make them Customer Oriented?

Well its easy, I mean it’s not that hard if one wants to, one can surely do it. You need to train and develop your sale teams, salespersons in terms of the following three things.

1.      Prospects Identification Training

2.      Product Orientation & Training

3.      Customer Orientation & Training

Prospects Identification Training

When your sale teams, salespersons knows exactly how to identify the right or potential prospects, where to look, when to look and how to look for them.

You are required to excessively train your sale teams, salespersons in order to achieve that. And after training keep assessing and take necessary measures accordingly.

Product Orientation & Training

When your sale teams, salespersons possess sufficient knowledge, technical know-how to describe, demonstrate, present your product/service adequately to your prospects.

Again you are required to excessively train your sale teams, salespersons in order to achieve that. And after training keep assessing and take necessary measures accordingly.

Such training will help your sale teams, salespersons to connect your products/services in a more meaningful, reasonable and satisfactory way with your prospects.

Customer Orientation & Training

When your sale teams, salespersons desire to assess, understand and satisfy customer needs in way that helps in developing and sustaining mutually beneficial long term relationships.

Again you are required to excessively train your sale teams, salespersons in order to achieve that. And after training keep assessing and take necessary measures accordingly.

Such training will help your sale teams, salespersons to connect prospects in a more meaningful, reasonable and satisfactory way with your products/services.

You May Also Like To Read

Why Your Business Needs Market Oriented Approach

Understand Customers Public Face To Convince Them Effectively

Quality Product/Service: What's The Key ?!!!

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References:

1.      Heidi M. Neck, Andrew L. Zacharakis, William D. Bygrave, and Paul D. Reynolds, Global Entreprenurship Monitor: National Entrepreneurship Assessment-United States of America, 2002 Executive Report.
2.      Small Business by the Numbers (Washington DC: Small Business Administration, 2004)
3.      http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cst_all.htm
4.      http://www.ifc.org/msmecountryindicators
5.      Delre, S.A., Jager, W., Bijmolt, T.H.A. and Janssen, M.A. (2007), “Targeting and timing promotional activities: an agent-based model for the takeoff of new products”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 60 No. 8, pp. 826-835.
6.      DelVecchio, S. K. (1998). The quality of salesperson–manager relationship: The effect of latitude, loyalty and competence. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 18(1), 31.
7.      Boles, J., Brashear, T., Bellenger, D., & Barksdale, H., Jr. (2000). Relationship selling behaviors: Antecedents and relationship with performance. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 15(2/3), 141.
8.      Goff, B. G., Boles, J. S., Bellenger, D. N., & Stojack, C. (1997). The influence of salesperson selling behaviors on customer satisfaction with products. Journal of Retailing, 73(2), 171.
9.      Payne, A. and Frow, P. (2006), “Customer relationship management: from strategy to implementation”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 22 Nos 1/2, pp. 135-68.
10.  Schultz, R. J., & Good, D. J. (2000). Impact of the consideration of future sales consequences and customer-oriented selling on long-term buyer–seller relationships. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 15(4), 200.