Here is the definition of client centered selling given by AI:
Client centered selling is a sales approach that prioritizes understanding and addressing the unique needs and goals of each customer, rather than simply promoting a product or service. It focuses on building long-term relationships and providing solutions that empower customers to achieve their desired outcomes. This approach involves 1) active listening, 2) asking insightful questions, and 3) tailoring the sales process to meet the specific circumstances of each customer.
Active Listening in Client Centered Selling
There are usually two problems:
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Salespeople don’t spend enough time listening during their sales conversations.
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When they do decide to listen, many salespeople don’t do a good job of listening.
Many salespeople think that listening means not talking, but that is not the whole truth. Being an active listener means you are listening to understand and not waiting for the opportunity to bring up your next point. Stephen Covey once said, “Seek first to understand before being understood.”
Active listening means you pick your spots to ask the other person to clarify what they just said. Be willing to tell your prospect if you see an issue differently. Ask them if it would be OK to talk about that different perspective. After an upcoming sales call, reflect on how much time you spent listening vs. talking.
Client Centered Selling Requires Asking Insightful Questions
The worst thing you can do on a sales call is try to convince or persuade. The best thing you can do on a sales call is to walk your prospect through a process we call the art of gradual self-discovery. This process is centered on asking great questions that allow the prospect to self-reflect and contemplate the problems they are having either as a consumer or as a business owner.
The best salespeople in the world don’t really sell anything. They create an environment where prospects make the decision to solve problems. They create an environment where prospects simply buy.
Think about using these insightful questions in your next sales conversation:
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Tell me more about that.
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How long has this been going on?
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What have you done to address the problem?
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When you spoke to your current provider, what did they recommend?
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What happens if you don’t fix it?
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How much will it cost you?
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Is that a problem?
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Do you have to fix it?
Tailoring Your Sales Process in Client Centered Selling
All elite salespeople follow a stage-based sales process, but what makes them great is their ability to tailor it to their clients. That’s what adding value in the sales process is all about.
Borrowing from the wonderful book Go-Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann, they identify The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success:
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The Law of Value
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The Law of Compensation
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The Law of Influence
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The Law of Authenticity
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The Law of Receptivity
Let’s look at the Law of Value first. Here’s what they say:
Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
In addition, we know from our sales data source, Objective Management Group, that there are specific traits that skilled salespeople demonstrate when they build value for a prospect or client:
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Focused on value over price
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Know & believe in their value
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Comfortable discussing money
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Learn why prospects will buy
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Ask enough & great questions
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Avoid making assumptions
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Not compelled to provide a proposal
As a salesperson, how skilled are you at tailoring your approach by doing your research in advance, asking enough of the right great questions, and adding value to every conversation? Do you make sure not to assume anything? Selling your value is something you need to focus on and develop in your sales toolkit.
Let’s look at one more of Bob and John David’s Five Laws – The Law of Influence, which they describe as:
Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
All salespeople recognize that the days of showing up with your box of products are over, in large part because the buying process is now in the hands of the prospect. So, if everything can be found online, how do you differentiate yourself?
Consultative sellers put other people’s interests first. In other words, they tailor their approach with their core selling skills and behaviors.
Think about how your skills at listening, asking insightful questions, and tailoring your sales process contribute to your client centered selling. Remember, according to Bob and John David,
“Selling is not at its core a business transaction; it is first and foremost the forging of a human connection.”
