How To Get Customers And Sales Reps On The Same Page
If you mention sales to a person, they either love or hate it. Some people have great impressions of salespeople, and others, not so much. Their impressions often depend on the interactions they’ve had with past purchases and other sales teams. But as it turns out, even sales reps themselves can have a distorted view of sales culture and what it really means to sell people. There are dozens of myths floating around about what a sales rep really does or what they’re supposed to do. Sometimes, sales reps come off too pushy or overbearing, which makes a customer nervous.
To really succeed as a business, you need to ensure that your company’s sales reps and your customers are on the same page. This isn’t as easy as it may sound. However, it is possible. Here’s how to break down sales barriers and ensure your company’s reps and customers align to provide greater value to your business.
A Sales Rep’s Job Isn’t To Sell
So many people think that the sole job of a sales rep is to sell the service or product that they represent. This myth is one that definitely needs to be busted. Technically, yes, a sales rep’s job is to sell their service or product. But that shouldn’t be the sole purpose of what they’re doing. When people think of a salesperson, many envision a used car salesman trying to get the oldest car off of their lot. It’s the classic “sales joke” that every TV show and movie will show. No one wants to be that salesperson.
A Sales Rep’s Job Is To Educate
A lot has changed from the times of used car lots. Nowadays, customers don’t want to be sold. If you’re teaching your sales team that their sole job is to sell, sell, sell, then you’re teaching them wrong. Nowadays, a sales rep’s job is to educate a potential customer on the product or service that they represent. Customers are looking for experts in the field to show them what they know.
A sales rep should be looking for problems or issues to fix for the customer. So, if they are having a leaky roof, showcasing how to fix that roof with the best company (the sales rep’s company) should be the top priority. It’s not about selling the roof, but rather helping the customer fix their problem.
At Ingage, our software is most often used in field sales, specifically within the home improvement space where reps are going to a client’s home to pitch. When our users go out to a customer’s house, our presentation software allows them to best educate in a visual manner, allowing them to look like the experts that they are.
It Starts In Your Company’s Culture
Sales reps who don’t feel supported are often pushy and over the top because they want to hit their sales goals. They may feel like management is breathing down their neck trying to get them to hit their numbers. This leads to sales reps who lack confidence, are overly aggressive and end up performing worse. In order to get your reps aligned with the customer, you have to ensure your company culture is inviting and understanding. Using analytics from Ingage, sales managers can promote this type of culture by celebrating those who are performing best with the sales presentation and consciously coaching those who are struggling with their sales.
Support Your Sales Team
One of the most important things you can do as a sales manager or leader is support your sales team. There are many ways you can do this but it all starts with providing exceptional onboarding. Onboarding employees can be costly and time-consuming, and for many companies, they don’t even know if it’s working. Ingage can make onboarding faster and more efficient by using analytics that provide you with the knowledge you need to tweak training and onboarding styles for greater success. Once your employees are onboarded, the support doesn’t stop there. Having a repertoire of training videos, access to sales managers and a team-inspired culture will help your reps feel like they’re not alone.
Showing Excitement For The Product or Service
When sales reps are supported, they are bound to be more excited about the product or service that they are representing. When they’re taught that their job is to fix a customer’s problem rather than sell something to the customer, they become more excited about what they are representing. This is easily shown when they are presenting to a customer who can quickly see that the rep is excited and believes in the product, which helps the customer feel good about trusting the rep and buying from them. The customer also has to be excited and one way to encourage excitement is to ensure that your reps are using storytelling. Selling is all about emotion, and by showing greater emotion through storytelling, customers are more likely to buy.
This is one of the greatest benefits for companies using Ingage. Our software allows each presentation to be customized and tailored for what the customer desires. Through visuals, like videos and images, your reps can tell a better story which leads to an easier close.
Presenting In The Best Way Possible
Too many people have inaccurate views of salespeople because they immediately think of the old-school style of selling. They think of aggressive sales reps, mediocre flip books that take hours to go through and a presentation they’d rather not sit through. If you’re not presenting your company in the right way, customers are disinterested. All day long, they’re bombarded with ads and digital interfaces. If they’re presented with a binder of information and pictures, you immediately lose their interest. You have to present in a way that’s familiar to them.
Ingage allows you to create beautiful digital presentations that will allow your reps and customers to get on the same page. With an interface that’s customizable and interactive, the sales presentations of the past are forgotten. Instead, your sales reps become storytellers who are there to fix a customer’s problems, and that’s the best way to close the deal. If you’re in the home services space and want to revolutionize the way you sell, contact Ingage today for a free demo!