Building blocks of successful sales from the customer experience perspective

Trustmary teamTrustmary team
Last edited: October 6th, 2023

Building blocks of successful sales from the customer experience perspective

Which aspects of the sales meetings remain positive to your customers? What are some of the things customers consider to be failures that negatively impact the customer experience?

We at Trustmary have conducted a customer experience survey for over 100 organizations. Organizations range from educational institutions to marketing agencies and industrial companies. Based on our research, we have put together recurring themes that have been positively or negatively captured by customers from the work of different businesses.

1. Timeliness
2. Integrity
3. Motivation of sales rep
4. Talking and listening
5. Speaking the customer’s language
7. Building trust
8. Chemistry between people

(Pro tip: NPS is a great way to measure customer current customer experience and satisfaction. Try Trustmary for free! Don’t forget to benchmark yourself against others in your industry!)

Timeliness

This may be a obvious to some, but not to everyone. Few of us buy anything for which we see no need or enjoyment. In principle, sales are much more likely to succeed if the seller is able to provide a solution at a time convenient to the customer. The organization that just launched the website reform may not necessarily need phone calls from website companies. Instead, a house of a certain age may require roof repairs in the near future.

Integrity

Make it clear to the potential customer that you are a salesman as soon as possible. This does not mean that you cannot seek to help the customer in good faith. However, do not pretend to be an impartial expert, but honestly tell who you are. Also, don’t overdo it. The buying customer will remember the promises made at the point of sale. If the promises are not fulfilled during the customer relationship, the customer experience will suffer. By lying, you can get customers, but not satisfied customers. Dissatisfied customers will surely tell you about your lies further. So, rather, promise too little than too much. Be honest and clear about pricing, for example. Surprisingly additional costs will surely remain in the customer’s mind.

Motivation of sales rep

The willingness of the salesman to make a deal can also convince the customer. Demonstrate your interest in and engagement with your customer. Urgency and ranking customers can negatively affect customer perceptions. However, do not be overwhelming: Forced sales are often negated by customers.

Talking and listening

Show that you are interested in the customer’s challenges. Try to step into the customer’s boots and solve his or her problem, do not sell inflexible solution. Customers will appreciate it if you have time to present different options and solutions and if your sales are almost like consulting. Solution centricity is a word that is often cited in our research as a sign of successful sales. Wherever possible, be flexible to the customer’s requirements. For example, the possibility of installment payment may be a factor that makes a potential customer choose you as the supplier. Flexibility shows you have listened and understood.

However, do not stumble upon solutions. Once the customer has identified his service needs, he usually hopes to move quickly. The rapid progress of our sales processes are repeatedly mentioned in our research as something that has been positively remembered by our customers.

Speaking the customer’s language

By using words that your customers use, you show that you understand the customer. Similarly, if the customer does not understand what you are talking about, they will probably not see the need for your service either. For example, in our office, salespeople talk about SaaS, but that word is less likely to be heard on calls to potential customers unless the potential customer company is in the industry where that acronym generally is understood. It is easy for the customer to say no to something they do not understand. What’s inside a company, for example, SaaS, can be, for example, a digital referral tool for a customer.

Building trust

Trust building is also about honesty and open communication. However, trust can also be built through expertise and by presenting existing customer references. Sellers’ expertise in the products and services they sell helps to build trust. So be prepared to answer a variety of questions about services and products. You can also build trust by carefully organizing sales meetings. You can create a more secure feeling for your client by telling them in advance how to prepare for the sales meeting and what to expect from the meeting. Confidence can also be aroused by providing a reasonably long reflection period before trying to close a deal

Chemistry between people

It is not always easy to predict sales success. Perhaps your client is at your corner and the dialect you speak will appeal to him. Perhaps it turns out that you both enjoy climbing or painting. Maybe you bring a customer to mind his or her friend, and that’s why you’re easy to like. Sometimes the salesperson feels almost like a friend to customer, which positively influences the overall customer image. Many of the people we interviewed in various surveys reported becoming aware of service providers when their former contact from another company moved to a new company. It can also be positively impacted by the fact that the same vendors work with the customer throughout the customer relationship.



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