Making the first sale to a customer is just the beginning of your business relationship with them. This three-step series shows you how to use this ‘platform’ to grow sales (after that first sale) with medium and large sized companies. Here is step 3 of 3.

Step 3 - Approach internal prospects through relationships and referrals

Once you have assessed the Incremental Revenue Opportunity (IRO), map this against the existing tiers of customer spend. Focus a good part of your time on those accounts which have the highest potential for increase (H1 to H3 in the table below), regardless of the size of current spend. This approach also helps you avoid ‘over-servicing’ large customers from who you already enjoy maximum ‘share-of-wallet’.

In 2008, James began a new role (as an Account Executive) on the team which reported, through his Manager, to me. In his portfolio of medium and large corporates, one of the inactive clients was Australian Consolidated Press in Sydney CBD. Within the first six weeks, he secured an opportunity to meet with the Brand Manager of one of the publications. At that meeting, he built good rapport as well as developed a clear value proposition for his target buyers. He was invited back in a fortnight to present to a team of 14 Brand Managers. That led to the developing of new relationships with individual decision makers in business units and getting a clear understanding of their needs. Within six months, this account went from being inactive to being a highly active relationship.

In a world that is increasingly aware of the power of social media and networking, it is imperative to maximise leverage from our existing relationships. They enable us to establish trust quickly and build new relationships to develop new opportunities.

Here’s to your continued success!

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Last week, while in the City, I stepped into a large menswear store, with a ‘SUIT SALE’ sign on it. As I walked in, there was not a soul in sight! I noticed someone hiding behind the cash register. He looked up at me, almost frowning! Without even acknowledging my presence, he called out to another man, the shop assistant, (who emerged from a dressing room) and said to him sternly and loudly, “You need the practice. Attend to this customer”!

The man asked me what my suit size was and proceeded to help me try on a few. After a couple that were either too small or just didn’t fit right, I was starting to get annoyed. To make matters worse, he insisted that one of the suits that was obviously tight, looked great! It was evident that the shop assistant was not yet competent for the job. Feeling unwelcome and poorly served, I left.

That store is paying top dollar for their prime CBD location, discounting their goods and yet when a prospect walks in, they blow the opportunity. It’s no wonder their store is empty.

This example does not apply to retail sales alone. In 2002, one of the accounts I managed chose a $1,500,000 Enterprise Resource Planning (E.R.P) solution largely because they liked one supplier a lot more than the other!

Do you develop rapport with the people you meet?

Developing good rapport sets the tone for the discussion that follows. You can capitalise on it to lead into an open needs-focused discussion, which will then help you provide compelling and winning solutions.

In short, good rapport increases sales.

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In May 2002, my client, a company known for manufacturing breast pumps and related maternity products in the U.S, made the long awaited decision on their  Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. I was following this development  very  closely  as  we  were  keen to do the post-purchase implementation work that followed.

The two largest E.R.P vendors in the U.S - Oracle and SAP - were competing over this deal. I went to meet the Company's I.T manager and find out who had won the deal. She smiled and said, “We went with Oracle.” I asked, “Why?” and she said “We just liked them better!” This was a $1,500,000.00 deal!

While I am not reducing the importance of substance, I am highlighting the value of good rapport and relationship building. People buy from people they like.

Are you placing enough importance on being more like-able to your customers? It will make your job a whole lot easier.

To continuously improve your own and your team's like-ability, here are a few suggestions:

1. Do the basics well - Smile, be warm and welcoming, be prompt to respond, remember birthdays and special dates.
2. Find your customers interests and develop an interest in them. In high value deals, some sales people will spend hours preparing around the customer’s personal and business interests.
3. Make an intentional effort to build incremental rapport with every customer interaction.
4. When required, go the extra distance for your customer.
5. Periodically ask for feedback on your performance and work hard to improve on the feedback your receive.

Do this and you will enjoy stronger, growing relationships and more success with high value opportunities.

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A few days ago, while driving from a meeting in the city to another one in blissful suburbia, I suddenly realised I was hungry! I had allowed for just enough time in between meetings so stopping for a bite was not an option. I knew of a Hungry Jack’s near my client’s office, so decided on the quick, ‘drive-through’ option. As I rolled up to the microphone and asked for a grilled chicken burger, the person on the other end asked:

“Would you like the meal?”

Though it was not my original intention, I said ‘Yes!’. I was thirsty and quite hungry, so why not? I paid almost 50% more than what my original request would have cost and was quite happy to do it.

It is estimated that McDonald’s services 1.2 Million customers a day! The answer to that simple question above is creating billions of incremental dollars for fast food companies.

In case you’re wondering, I’m not about to launch into a speech about ‘Up-selling’, rather I want to point out two incredibly simple facts that are contributing to the generation of so much revenue:

1. A simple closing question can generate a billion dollars. What are the closing questions you need to ask to get a ‘Yes’ from your customer?
2. It didn’t take a high experienced or highly paid sales person to generate this revenue.

Anyone can do it! Simple closed-ended questions like:

• Are you ready to place the order?
• Could you sign this agreement for me?
• Would you like us to manage this for you?
• Can we produce this for you?
• Could you send us the files?

In summary, you can increase revenues if you and your team ask more closing questions of your customers. Try it.

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