Black Sales Journal

This topic is ultra-important.  If you can define and reach a “deep relationship”, you have secured trust, credibility, and the ability to communicate openly.  There may be a myriad of books on how to create a deep business relationship, yet this creation is a personal thing.  It is based on your connection, or ability to connect with your client.

Above all, a deep and enduring relationship is based on your clients receptiveness and their ability to value a durable personal relationship as well.  When the customer is receptive, this is an area that you can master, and an area that you can profit from.

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Deep, enduring customer relationships are the prize in some sectors of the sales world.  You will not have these with all customers, as an effort is required which goes far beyond the norm.  The objective is to have it with the most important clients.  Remember, if you don’t have a deep relationship with your buyer another sales professional will attempt to gain the buyer’s preference.

What is a “Deep Relationship”?

Before we discuss how to get there, we need to discuss the characteristics of this type of relationship:

• Preference – You receive preference in the buying relationship and buying process.
• A “Business” Friend – You are a trusted confidant with unlimited access to the buyer.
• A Business Consultant – You have knowledge of the customers business that few are privy to, including access to key individuals and information.
• A Social Acquaintance - Activities (sometimes) overlap into the social setting.  You have knowledge of your customer’s social and family situation, and conversely the buyer has a knowledge of your family situation.

This results in a buyer who, given all other issues, prefers to work with you and uses his power, authority, and influence to keep you the vendor to his organization. This status is an asset, and it is not awarded without some effort and history.

Getting There and Staying There

Getting there is a journey and staying there is a matter of being conscious and consistent.  Attaining this position is done over time and with a lot of work and honesty.  Thispreference supersedes other preferences, including racial preference. Only someone with similar status and professional expertise can remove the incumbent.  It can happen if your promises are not fulfilled, or if your organization falls short in delivering.

I have “business friends”, former customers, from my days as a sales professional who have been friends for over 20 years. I still serve in the roll of business consultant in situations when they reach out for help.  These enduring relationships were based on the following activities:

• Give unparalleled customer service
• Be Honest – always tell the truth
• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate – Tell all as early and completely as you can
• Share Information – give the customer updates including industry news, product news, legislative news early and often
• Be the professional
  • Make each contact meaningful and time worthy
  • Be timely in your meetings, contacts, and correspondence.
  • Be the professional

The depth of relationship comes when someone really likes you and understands you.  Some of these components can be included in the business database (such as Salesforce.com, Goldmine, or any Customer Relationship Management database) and some of these things should not be resident in a business database.  It is a compendium of information that is between you and the buyer, and should be treated that way.

Components of Your Customer Profile

Know your customer!  Use a Customer Profile to build familiarity, increase intimacy, and gain preference.

Your Customer Profile should include references to the following items:

Customer’s background/history - The customer’s previous employers, and industries.  Know items such as high school, college (if applicable), and geographic background.  Know the customer’s preferred pro teams and hobbies.

Customer facts (away from the office) - This may start with the pictures on his/her desk.  Know the customer’s marital status, number of children including ages and sex.  Know the children’s high schools and colleges.  Sharing your own information is a start.  Sharing knowledge of this information personalizes the relationship. It is a great start!

Customer Requirements – Use the profile as a repository for any must do’s, or requirements for this customer.  Example – When to call, assistant’s name and particulars, and other valuable information.

Use the information wisely, and consistently.  Within your organization become the expert on the customer and his/her business.

The Relationship Building Process

• Build Trust – Always tell the truth! It is easier to remember.  Avoid stretching it, and avoid white lies. This is extremely important to keep your preference.
• Communicate, communicate, and communicate! – Give difficult information immediately.  Communicate as frequently as is possible and use different mediums, but in person or phone for difficult news.
• Be personal and personable - No one will expect to tell you about them if you won’t discuss yourself. Feel free to show your personality.  Discuss the strengths of your story, as a Black sales professional, he has probably not heard one like it.

As a Black sales professional, relationship building is ultra important, yet doable.  As you start with your current customers, hone your skills with those who you have the best relationship with.  This will pay dividends for the rest of your sales career.

You are a sales professional who labors to give the best in service to your customers.  The best in service means being responsive, innovative, and creative when it comes to your customers business needs.

Your retention of customers is good, and your acquisition of new customers is solid as well.  So what is missing?

Most sales professionals do not ask their customers “how am I doing?” and “what can I do better?”

Why it is important?

This one might be simpler to explain than you might believe.  Sometimes we forget that asking questions does more than just generate a response.

Asking those questions does the following in the customers eyes:

• Shows a sincere desire to give the best service possible.
• Opens the feedback channel to allow someone who appreciates you to get what they may be missing in a relationship.  It promotes communication.
• Shows confidence in the relationship by allowing constructive criticism in the quest for continuous improvement.
• Opens a window to what aspects of service, responsiveness, and fulfillment are most important, and allows you to focus on these.
• Sets up that next conversation in 6 months or a year where you ask again and get the positive feedback that you are doing all that has been asked.

You may ask for feedback in your relationships and marriage, and you may ask for feedback from your employer (in the form of a performance review), yet most often we make the assumption that our relationships with customers, especially those with longevity, are solid and rewarding.  Sometimes you need to make certain.

Your customer will feel privileged that you are asking, and will sense your sincerity.  It will create a bond that will help you when your other sales advantages, such as price or product superiority, disappear.

How to do it?

This is very easy, yet will come with some degree of surprise to many customers.  Why?  Because so few sales professionals ever ask the question.

I would suggest that this be done during an in-person meeting, one-on-one with the buyer for the first meeting.

Here is a simple suggested format:

• Ask the customer what attributes of a sales professional are most important to his/her operation. This could be responsiveness, communications, credibility, or many other strengths.
• After getting them on paper, ask him to help you rank them in descending order (the most important attributes get a 1, and least important gets the highest number).  You really should be looking for the top 5 or less, as those are the most important.
• Now, have him help you rank your performance against those attributes. Use a simple A-Excellent, B-Good, C-Average, D-Below Average, F- Failing.  Rank each one, and if there are areas that you have not done, they can be incomplete.

The last bullet above will be the “moment of truth” as it will tell you what the customer perceives.  No matter how well you believe you are doing, this is important!  It is actually the point of origin of your continuous improvement program, or confirmation that you are a solid sales professional who should look to maintain your efforts along with some incremental improvement.

This does not need to be any more difficult than this.  You are opening a window or door to communication that will make more concrete your relationship with your customer.

The Manager’s Role in Customer Feedback

Managers should always feel comfort having this type of discussion with the customers of their sales professionals.  It won’t have the depth of the comments above, yet is should be designed to get meaningful input regarding the customers sentiments about the performance of their sales professional.

When I say it will not have the depth, I mean that it is difficult for the manager to get the level of feedback that the sales professional could get.  The manager’s role is to get some feedback regarding whether the professional is doing a good job and “taking care of the customer,”

With major customers, it should be expected, and it should be done with a sampling of smaller customers.  The result of asking is the same as above…you get ‘points’ for asking.  The objective is to make sure that the customer is being given good service.

Here is an example of how this can be done:

“Mr. Johnson, I am Rick’s sales manager here at ABC Corp.  I wanted to introduce (or reintroduce) myself and ask how everything is going in your relationship with our company?”  “How is Rick doing in taking care of your companies needs?”  Note here that this question must be an open probe.  It should result in conversation and not a yes or a no.

The responses start the conversation, and this should be a fairly short conversation.

Where Do You Go From Here?

I would make the following suggestions as to how you go about this activity:

• I would start with customers who you already have open communications with.  It will allow you to hone your process.
• I would do it with every customer that you feel is important.
• Always follow-up and practice continuous improvement.  Correct the issues and you will have a customer for life.
• Do it once a year on average.
• No matter how uncomfortable, or how much you modify, do it!  Initially, it will get you a better rapport with your important customers.

Give it a try and see the difference it makes in your business relationship.

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