#11 - Building Customer Relationships

Sorry it's been a while since I posted the last Bob Oros entry from his book "Dominate your Market".  It's been really a busy time for me.  So here we go . . . Day #11 . . .


Day #11 - Building Customer Relationships
By Bob Oros

What has caused you, in the past, to think about the possibility of doing something besides selling? Here is the answer. The indifferent, reluctant, defensive attitude that greets you every time you make a sales call is what defeats nearly everyone who fails in a selling career.

Wouldn't it be nice if you were welcomed everywhere you went? If potential customers said "yes, come in, tell me more?"


What can you do or say that will make a prospect treat you favorably? How can you get them to change from indifference and reluctance to being receptive and looking at your products and services?

Here is the answer. Changing their attitude starts by controlling your attitude. You have to continue to feel good about them even if they don't feel good about you, or themselves.

Not as easy as it sounds. Keep in mind that you are not selling products and services, you are selling yourself.

If your company comes out with a new product you can be sure every competitor is finding out how it can be duplicated. The same goes for services. Come out with a new way of providing extra services and you will have an edge for a while. However, it won’t be long before a competitor will be offering the same service.

Adding extra services without increasing your price is actually lowering your gross profit. As one president of a large distribution company said, "All I really have is a warehouse full of commodities."

If the difference is the personal relationship you can establish with your customers, what can you do to enhance that relationship? To answer this question all you have to do is ask what makes you like or dislike someone you are doing business with?

You like people who like you. Someone who is interested in all aspects of your business. Someone who talks about the things you want and the goals you are trying to accomplish.

Here is the secret of getting past their indifference. Here is what would make YOU buy from someone. When someone has the tools to help you succeed and their main purpose is to provide those tools for your use and help you achieve your goals, it is impossible not to feel the desire to work with them.

Let's say that again... it is important.

When someone has the tools to help YOU succeed and their main purpose is to provide those tools for YOUR use and help YOU achieve YOUR goals, it is IMPOSSIBLE not to feel the desire to work with them.

Most of the time customers and prospects don't know what they want. You, as a sales consultant, have to help your customers identify their goals and show them you are interested in helping them succeed.

Sounds altruistic, I know. But consider this - as one very successful sales person put it when asked why he did so much for his customers, why he always went the extra mile and always put his customers first; "because I am a very selfish person. I like to make money."

Another benefit of this "altruistic" approach - it gets your mind off of yourself and you lose your fear.

www.BobOros.com