What are they really selling?
A new era of Sales
Is it sell – at any cost?
Perhaps the greatest dynamic in communication is the art of Selling. Verbal influence based in understanding another’s wants and needs builds rapport and natural empathy. The instruments or delivery systems of sales can be as diverse as the attitudes of the clientele.
For example, an annoying jingle that becomes an official institution? More common is the half-price, three-month contract that builds in years of collaboration between client and provider. The aim of the Professional has always been to engage quickly with what’s-in-it-for-them. Or so we thought?
The key indicators are to promote benefits and advantages which after years of research data have trained the seller to ask the right questions. The natural strength of those who are best-in-the-business is that they present
solutions as if each were a precious opportunity. The question is, are you selling an idea, a product or a relationship? What do you really want from the client contact points? Is it now all about the sale – at any cost?
Is it service provision or service by demand?
Times are changing. The purpose of market strength used to be ‘the customer comes first’. Brands were separated not by cost but service. There was an ambition to value long-term relationships. The sales professional used to be diligent. That attention to detail was a finesse of strategy moulded from understanding needs. Like an art form, it took years of practical experience to perfect.
Now it appears to be losing ground to the simplistic web of today’s ‘one-click’, checkout trends. Space-age algorithms that work on optimising the customer base to suit profitability. Insurance companies running initial enquiries like an interview to define parameters. Now service reveals itself in a far more benevolent way.
With the consumer’s attention absorbed in the on-line battle for supremacy over delivery times and the ‘black’ days of shopping, the forward-thinking corporate recognises that longevity and operational integrity go hand-in-hand. To be needed is the driving force. This practise may offer efficient insurance against the upheavals of our financial markets and avoid direct competition, but is it ethical? Is it service by demand?
Has the Consumer been transformed?
Has the quality of service that used to set corporates apart become out-dated? Is the technology trend for processing performance power and updates the new demand? Just look at the era of mobile phones and the advent of monthly contracts, designed to snare users into a lifetime agreement. Contracts which guarantee to replace handsets every two years. Combine that with the threat of unsupported updates for older models and suddenly product and service have become a united force.
The market is still eager to turn a client into a fan, yet it now comes with a threat that compliance loyalty is a resource that has re-shaped modern civilisation. The idea of customer loyalty has been manipulated through both commercial and private sectors into cornering consumers into long term commitment. The customer has been transformed.