This ability area outlines the most important aspects of the buying, selling, personal and organizational relationships required for the development of a successful win-win relationship with high integrity. A salesperson must understand how to treat each buyer as unique and special, and relate their solution to the individual buyer in a relevant manner.
In order to be effective, sales professionals must understand how to relate to various demographic, personality, and geographic variables. Demographic variables such as age, income, education, gender, occupation and family size have an impact. Geographic variables such as urban, suburban, rural, regional population distribution and city size have an impact on building relationships. Personality variables such as social class, values and life-styles have an impact. Competition also has an effect on the relationship, for the perspective of providing value, or perceived value through the competition's ability to relate key variables to the individual and the key benefits desired from the product/service (such as usage rate and the level of brand loyalty expressed toward similar products/services.
This is the manifestation of business knowledge. It relates to having the "business savvy" to intelligently converse with buyers. It can be summed up as "being relevant." This is the manifestation of business knowledge. It relates to having the "business savvy" to intelligently converse with buyers. It can be summed up as "being relevant." In other words, it doesn't mean boasting of rising customer satisfaction, long-term customer value, and the fact that your solution builds trust with customers and strengthens relationships. Personalization and one-time successes aren't enough. They help, but they don't increase customer satisfaction or make that final sale. What matters is relevance. Often , it is the salesperson who must re-package corporate messages into the context of where and when a customer decided to entertain your company's solution. Salespeople must consider what other options the buyer entertained, or the criteria for success. The salesperson must understand what customer segment the buyer is in and where they are in their buying cycle. It also means treating others will respect.
This can only happen when the sales professional is successful at building relationships, communicating, distributing information, and influencing others ethically through collaborative dialogue. Building relationships within your own organization is just as critical. Make sure that you take the time to forge relationships with your support teams, delivery teams, management or any other party that is involved in your sales process. Top sales professionals continue their relationship after the sale. Providing top-notch service to buyers ensures repeat business and a solid sales reputation. The relationship management ability area is often the most important aspect of the buying, selling, personal and organizational relationships required for the development of a successful win-win relationship with high integrity.
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Focus Area: Relationship Management