Confidence. It seems to be lacking these days. We don’t have confidence in our organizations, our government, or even in the truth. It’s no wonder consumer confidence is down as well.
In this kind of environment, it can be easy to simply lie down and accept defeat, to throw up our arms and excuse ourselves from lagging sales and negative growth.
It’s also easy to opt out of aggressive business plans that might turn these things around.
And because so many of your competitors will choose to do just that, this is exactly the right time to take control and build confidence. Yes, there are many factors beyond your control, but all that means is that it’s more important than ever to take control where possible. Specifically, to take control over those factors that should be a source of confidence.
There is nothing more important to your personal or organizational success than confidence. Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed by all of the potential sources, or all of the potential things that are working against you. Instead, focus on a few critical areas that will provide the greatest return.
1. A client focused sales approach
To be successful, you have to believe in the product, service, or model you’re offering. It’s also just as important to have confidence in your sales process. To build consumer confidence and trust, your sales process MUST be client focused. It must also be replicable and provide value.
Quit thinking about what you have to sell, and start focusing on what your prospects need and want to buy.
Start by identifying where your customers have needs, opportunities, and pain points you can help with. To be truly client focused, you will need to have a thoughtful sales process that listens more than it speaks. By asking the right questions and listening to the answers, you will be able to give your consumers a fresh/new/clear understanding of their own needs, as well as the perfect solution.
2. A commitment to providing value
Doing more with less: It’s the reality of the business world we live and compete in. If you thought that getting someone to give you their time, money, or loyalty was difficult in the past, you’re likely well aware that these challenges have become exponentially more difficult.
The thing is, it should be a challenge. We should all be protective of our time and resources. As a business, you should have to earn the opportunity to be the product, service, or partner of choice. This means being able to articulate and show the potential value you can bring if you do business together, as well as providing value to a potential customer during their buying journey, even if they choose not to work with you at the end.
This may be the biggest challenge yet, because you have to provide value without giving too much away.
Ask yourself: Are the prospects who never became clients better off after interacting with your company and your brand? Did they get value from what they saw, heard, or learned? If you can’t confidently answer this with a resounding yes, then I challenge you to re-evaluate your sales processes. If the process is client-focused, they will leave the interaction with positive feelings. Perhaps you provided some helpful information, a new idea, or a great collaboration. Perhaps you simply gave them a smile.
But maybe, just maybe, you also gave them a little bit more confidence. In themselves. In your organization. And in what you have to offer.
When you operate from a client-focused point of view, you’re not just helping people solve their problems. You’re building consumer confidence in your business and your brand. Which, in turn, will help increase your confidence as well.
Now that’s what you call a win-win.
Photo by xtock
