We’re sure you’ve heard this before… 80% of business comes from 20% of customers.
80/20 is the Pareto Principle and it tends to apply to most things in life, including sales and marketing.
Customers that fall into the 20% category do so because they have a strong loyalty to a company.
But anybody in sales will tell you that loyalty doesn’t come naturally. It has to be cultivated. And how we engage the decision makers is critical in creating that long-term loyalty. Our engagement with them must be meaningful.
But what exactly does that mean?
In a previous blog post, we talked about The Challenger Selling Model. Today we want to share with you some other compelling ideas about how to cultivate long-term loyalty with your customers.
From the Sales Force Blog
3 Critical Factors for Selling to the C-Suite
Put the customer first, the relationship second, the sale third, and your ego last
It comes down to doing your homework. Understand the needs of the industry and trends, where the company is at and what’s most important to the customer. People who do this get a second meeting, a second order and more loyalty.
This strategy sets you apart, paves the way for a relationship and is worth more than any single sale. “A lost sale in the C-suite is not a failure if trust is earned in the process.”
From Andrew Sobel
Ask, Don’t Tell: Using Power Questions to Deepen Relationships with Clients
Passion questions help you understand what the other person is really excited about in life
- What in life has given you the greatest fulfillment:
- What do you like most about your job?
- What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but never had time for?
Depth questions help you learn more about the person
- If you could go back and give advice to your younger self about succeeding professionally what would you say?
- Who have been influential mentors or role models to you?
- What was the biggest turning point in your career?
From Membrain
3 Letters that Will Change the Way You Sell – WLR
- Win/Loss/Review………this program can become a treasure trove of ideas, intelligence and hard-won knowledge
- Whether you win or lose the sale you owe it to yourself to understand why.
- Knowing why enables you to correct mistakes………enables you to know what approach not to apply to new prospects……..enables you to have insight into what those buyers like and prefer
Are you using any of these strategies today? What works? What doesn’t? Which one makes the most sense for your customers? Share your thoughts with us below, or on social media.
