What you plant now, you will harvest later.

–Og Mandino

Are you familiar with the new way of selling?

‘Sell more and more,‘ did you say?

That is the old way of selling! The new method of selling builds on the above theme of selling more and more but encompasses much more. It recommends:

Building, nurturing and deepening the relationship between the customer and your brand at every moment of truth—when your customer comes in touch with your brand.

Not attempting to monetize this relationship at every transaction; doing it over the lifetime of the relationship.

Delivering an excellent customer experience.

Therefore, the job of the salesperson is not merely to sell, but to be an authentic sales consultant (hereafter referred to as ‘consultant‘) who establishes and deepens relationships with customers at every touchpoint and ensures that they reach their ‘objective,’ and in the process, gain financially or non-financially, if not on both counts.

The financial gain would be in the form of money, for example, by making customers aware of the discounts and offers, while non-financial gains would be in terms of convenience, peace of mind, excellent customer service, customized solutions, time-saving, etc.

In this new role of a consultant, they have acted as the customer’s, not the company’s ambassador, and many may end up recommending a competitor’s brand. So be it.

A question may pop up in your mind: ‘Is my consultant working for my company or my customers and competitors?’

The answer is simple: All of us, be it the top management or a consultant, work neither for our company nor our competitor. Instead, we all work for our customers.

Bringing Reciprocity and Likability Principles into Play

You may be wondering whether such acts of generosity towards customers and competitors ever pay off. But, of course, they will because you are pressing into service the reciprocity and likeability principles and, in the process, earning the trust of your customers.

The reciprocity principle states that it creates a favorable predisposition in the other person to reciprocate your gesture whenever you do good to somebody. By this logic, when a salesperson assumes the role of a consultant and advises a customer without any ulterior motives, the salesperson wins their trust, goodwill, and gratitude. As a result, the customers will invariably return to them with business whenever the need arises.

On the other hand, the likeability principle states that we tend to do business with the people we like. If someone is striving to protect our interests, will we not like them? If there was an opportunity to do business again, would we not choose them over others? Of course, we would!

Apple Retail

Are you wondering whether any company has prospered following this seemingly illogical strategy?

Yes, there is Apple Retail. It has become the world’s most profitable retail store following this counter-intuitive strategy.
Apple Retail was set up with the strategic intent not to sell Apple products but to establish and deepen its relationship with its customers. And, more importantly, repair any ties that might have broken when, perhaps, a MacBook crashed, or an iPad failed to boot.

We have always emphasized the importance of having a good website for your company because it can act as your best tool for marketing and sales. A poorly designed website can repulse people from your business and can cause you to lose customers before you even have them. Get in touch with HyperEffects to work on creating, enhancing and making the website of your company more user-friendly.