Sales requires you to build relationships with prospects and clients. One of the pre-requisites of any good relationship is sound customer communication. Before your prospect becomes a customer, you are talking to them, meeting them, exchanging emails, speaking on the phone and learning more about their needs and educating them about what you have to offer. Effective communication will help you turn more prospects into customers and establish a valuable customer base.

LISTEN

customer communicationThe first key to better communication is to listen. You should be doing less of the talking - it's the prospect who should be telling you what their problems are and why they need your help. You may have a rough idea about what the prospect wants, but when you spend time listening to them, you get to understand their problem in-depth. You also show the prospect that you are not there to merely sell a solution - you are genuinely interested in helping them improve their productivity. By spending more time listening to the prospect, you can set the tone for what's to follow and direct your efforts positively.

RESPOND

Once you have understood what their problem is, you can outline your solution and how it will help them. It is natural that your prospect will have some concerns or doubts. Never leave things one-sided - get back to them as soon as you can with extra information. You should also follow up and ask them if they require any further clarifications.  If you are not accessible and responsive, your prospect may think you are not interested or fully committed to fixing their problem.

PUT THEIR PREFERENCES FIRST

All customers have wants and needs, as well as certain concerns which keep them up at night. What are their hot buttons? What are their main causes for worry? When you understand their pain points, likes and dislikes, you can work these to your advantage. Talk about the benefits of your product or solution in relation to their hot buttons. Make a connection with their pain and establish how you can improve their situation. In a similar way, prospects also have specific preferences when it comes to how they are contacted. Each prospect responds to communication in a different way. Some prefer email, while others can be cryptic via email but much more responsive on the phone. When you understand how your prospect reacts and how they prefer to be contacted, you will know when to communicate, how and how soon.  Recreate success by seeing the exact steps taken to generate a conversation, secure an appointment, and close business. Salesvue allows you to keep track of what your sales reps are doing, and how they are communicating with prospects. This way, you know exactly what you need to do to secure a deal.