You have probably already noticed this fairly widespread behavior in sales management when interviewing your potential buyers. You may have noticed this when unsuccessfully trying to get an interview with a potential customer or when you approach a visitor in your store and say "I'm just looking."
No, not for an instant believe that the profession is extinguished. It is simply that we have not understood that "nobody wants to be sold because consumers and customers today always prefer to make their best purchase decisions."
Despite this, those who sell or try to do so should not fear this marked evolution in the behavior of current consumers in their niche. It is simply a matter of carefully analyzing the reasons that generate it and making the necessary adjustments to adapt to this new current and future scenario.
The three main reasons that have been modifying the behavior of every individual when he wants to satisfy a need or solve a problem, are the following:
1. The growth of abundant information available on the Internet in the last decade and that will continue to grow in an even more vertiginous way;
2. The evolution and intelligence of the consumer, since those who know what they want and investigate on their own go out to buy with total clarity and security "the product or service" and only require that it be provided at the best price and conditions;
3. The widespread malpractice in sales management, which with time and the sum of bad experiences has been modifying their demands in the way they consider that they should be adequately served (see seminar: "Why do we sell like this?" in
Faced with this new scenario, you may surely ask yourself, what can I do to continue successfully selling my products or services?
The most correct answer will undoubtedly emerge after deepening these situations and then making the corresponding decisions according to each case and the sales methodology that is applied.
Regarding the first two reasons indicated, we must accept that it is the inevitable product of technological advances in the world in which we live and that we also enjoy as consumers.
Furthermore, once progress is made in this aspect it is because we are in the presence of a new paradigm and, from there there is no possibility of return, but on the contrary, it will lead us to continue evolving inexorably towards better and greater means of information available with the consequent adaptation of consumers.
Therefore, Trying to minimize, eliminate or roll back these variables of the new paradigm in which we are already part is impossible since, when generalized, they become uncontrollable variables.
However, not being able to modify this new reality leads us to face a wonderful challenge and that consists of acting on the third variable which is precisely our own sales management and how much we can evolve and improve in this.
Let us accept first and with humility that traditional sales management, which is characterized by thinking only about the result to be achieved with each closing as the main objective, leaving in the background the satisfaction of the current or potential client no longer has a place in this new stage.
Under this modality, that of talking and talking, not attending to or understanding in depth what the interviewee really wants or being interested in his person, in his opinions and feelings, but insisting only until we reach our closure and thinking only of the fruits that he will provide in terms of commissions, I don't like being sold either. And you?
If we accept that the closing of each sale is the product of a process that must take place in the mind of each potential buyer and that, due to their own intelligence and the wonderful information they access on the Internet, we will be taking the first and important step of our adaptation for this new scenario. (See definition of Professional Sale in Chapter I of Professional Sale © in
The next and important step refers to adapting our own promotion and sales strategy according to the tastes, preferences and requirements of our potential buyers in the market niche in which we operate and developing the best sales management methodology to successfully navigate the path. more direct and secure to generate the sales results that we want to obtain each period of the year. (See
See for yourself by researching and analyzing how other similar and successful companies on the market are currently doing, and you will surely come to the conclusion that they have already been making the necessary changes in their sales strategy and methodology in a timely and successful manner such as we have described here.
If you are currently on a plateau characterized by non-growing sales, it may be the most opportune time to begin to reformulate your current sales strategy and methodology, since "selling is the measure of success in any business or independent activity".
© Copyright 2010, by Martín E. Heller.
