Have you ever worn a pair of shoes that didn’t fit? The experience is uncomfortable at best, and at worst, painful and unbearable. Placing a salesperson in the wrong selling circumstance is like wearing an ill-fitting pair of shoes. It’s an easy mistake to make for any business owner. The good news is that fitting a salesperson with your company is not difficult to learn. In fact, it will mean the difference between success and failure in making a sale.
So, how do you determine the ideal salesperson for the type of customers you have or want to attract? Here are the basic guidelines that I learned to follow in my businesses.
Profile Your Sales Staff
Based on their character, personality type, approach, and desire, salespeople fit into three fundamental categories.
1) The Knowledgeable
A knowledgeable salesperson uses her own experience to help make the customer comfortable with the product or service. She succeeds by making the most of the customer’s experience, not by behaving warm and cuddly. This salesperson does best when presenting to cautious customers who have concerns about their purchasing decision. To achieve success, the knowledgeable salesperson uses beneficial information, such as proof of the product’s best features. Additionally, she gives timely, truthful responses to the customer’s questions or objections.
2) The Buddy
The buddy is very good at establishing relationships. He smiles, exhibits friendliness, and is pleasant to be around. Customers buy from this person just because they like him. The chief characteristic of the buddy is his ability to establish a relationship with the buyer. Actually, the buddy succeeds most when the customer wants more than business from him and when he can use amusement as a sales tool. Give the buddy clear, detailed, but simple information that explains your product or service. If you pair the buddy with a knowledgeable salesperson, they will complement each other and have positive customer results. if it’s applicable to your business, give the buddy permission to spend money on entertainment for the customer.
3) The Tiger
Tigers are serious, rolling through a prospective customer list until they achieve a sale. It’s a numbers game to the tiger. Typically, they exhibit weakness when it comes to customer service, and often cannot capture repeat business. While a tiger’s persistence generates sales, it sometimes creates enemies. Tigers achieve success when they have the freedom to operate. They value the freedom to close sales on the spot. Tigers thrive on independence and a simple closing process.
Execute the Fit
For exceptional results in all of your selling environments, try to match the customer with the appropriate salesperson. Be instinctive and draw from your own assumptions about some of your customers’ wants and needs. Evaluate your sales staff. Then, identify the profile of each salesperson to fit the need of each customer.
When you fit the right salesperson to the right situation, it benefits you, your business, the salesperson, and the customer. Everybody wins! In an environment where the fit is right, the customer/salesperson relationship is as comfortable as a good pair of shoes.
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