Decades of growth in the $114 billion direct sales industry have led to the employment of over 60 million sales consultants. In an effort to increase profits, the sales industry has also introduced many sweeping changes with the advent of new technologies, reports Inc. While these changes no doubt have a positive effect on a company's bottom line, not all of them have been particularly beneficial to the customer -- and top salespeople recognize this.
In the age of technology, our expectations have evolved when it comes to interacting with companies online. Because we may require customer service at all hours, much of the industry is outsourced -- either to machines or to less knowledgeable reps in other countries -- to provide assistance around the clock.
However, just because assistance is available doesn't mean it's helpful. Customers don't want to do business with impersonal machines like chatbots and autoresponders. This is why top salespeople are instead turning to platforms that bring back the human touch.
Organizations such as real estate lead qualification company Agentology are returning to methods of communication such as phone calls, emails, and text messages to reach their customers and revitalize a human connection. The company prides itself on the real people behind those modes of communication, believing that genuine human interaction is the key to not only landing a sale, but also creating a positive emotional bond with the customer.
Likewise, Salesforce has built its entire sales training process around making genuine human connections with customers. They are consistently encouraged to recount personal stories -- both to customers and each other -- that can be utilized in future interactions and help forge the relationship that will lead to a sale.
Top salespeople don't leave all of the heavy lifting to the bots and autoresponders. They use technology to their benefit and make smart choices when outsourcing parts of the sales cycle. Above all, they think about the sales cycle from the perspective of the client.
Here's what you can learn from them:
1. Tailor your pitches to the client. You could (and should) be the biggest fan of the product you're selling, but you need to figure out what the prospect will love about it. Chances are, what you're most enthusiastic about won't be the same as what excites 82 percent of buyers, and if you find yourself delivering the same pitch to each and every prospect, you're doing it wrong.
Do some research ahead of time and make buyers feel like you understand their specific business. Instead of listing the different aspects of a feature-rich product or service, figure out which feature is the most important for them and highlight that specifically.
2. Look at things from the client's perspective. Maintaining a human connection when selling digitally is a delicate process. Have salespeople put themselves in the shoes of their prospects as they go through each step in the sales journey. Wherever they find gaps, figure out the best way to fill them in to make the customer experience as seamless as possible.
3. Reshuffle your priorities. Most sales staff operate at least partly off of commissions, so over time, they can become incentivized to sell too aggressively. If you notice your salespeople circling every customer like a pack of wolves, it's a good idea to go back to the basics and remind them that people don't want to be sold to -- they want to be advised by a friendly consultant.
Technology isn't going anywhere, but it often feels as though human connections are. Fortunately, making these kinds of connections is a great way for your sales and customer service teams to stand out from the crowd. With the right strategy, technology can enhance connections instead of detracting from them, leading to more sales and more satisfied customers.
