Are you chasing the money? If so, you’re running after the wrong thing

Winning new clients has always been tricky, and the more tools and gadgets we have at our disposal, the more complex the process seems to be. Let’s face it, selling is actually feared and loathed by many.

But here I am, having ‘fallen’ into an industry that I am immensely proud of, trying to help others demystify the art of selling and winning new business.

If you’re older than *cough* 40, you’ll probably remember a business world before the luxuries of social media and lead generation software.

At our disposal, we had an incredible sales tool. It was called the phone. Novel, I know!

‘Phone-bashing’ scared people, and the telesales role was typically reserved for first jobbers, in a quest to line their pockets with enticing commission cheques.

Having landed myself in a sales role armed with only a directory and a landline, I soon realised that this is not just a smash-and-grab role. There is huge opportunity and responsibility in doing this job.

I was extremely fortunate to start out working with some of the most experienced and capable managers in the industry, and they taught me well.

My training was always geared towards understanding the prospective customer’s business needs and desires.

We were taught to use big open questions, and to encourage organic conversations.

Essentially, we learned to remain curious and satisfy that curiosity through information gathering and understanding our customer’s situation. Just build trust. Quite a simple concept when you think about it.

When you watch films like Boiler Room or Glengarry Glenn Ross, you will see a huge emphasis placed on the sales teams to play the numbers game, and always run at the money.

Do whatever it takes to hit the target. Eventually someone will buy. Right!?

The targets are typically very large revenue numbers that increases month-on-month to squeeze every last penny out of the prospects and drive sales teams crazy with greed.

Sadly, this tactic works… for a time.

But this will typically lead to poor client-supplier relationships, low renewal rates, and short-term gain.

Anyone who runs a business knows, these are not the ingredients for long-term success.

While some of those practices still exist in some companies, they actually provide you with an opportunity to stand head and shoulders above them in the quality stakes.

A research paper by Salesforce found that 79% of customers think it is critical that the salesperson doesn’t try to sell them products they don’t need. Coupled with the fact that 76% believe it is essential that their salesperson is focused on helping achieve their needs, not just on making a quick sale

The smash and grab model of selling no longer applies, assuming you want strong long-term relationships with your clients.

If you set your financial targets as the main measure of success, then you will be running at the wrong thing.

Focus on how you can educate and support your prospective customers. Add value at every stage of the buying cycle. Demonstrate empathy while building credibility.

If you go above and beyond for your customer, they will reciprocate with renewals, referrals and a long-term working relationship.

Revenue is your biproduct of success, not your objective.

Ben Bennett is Managing Partner of Second Voice (secondvoice.co.uk) a Brighton-based company focused on enabling founders of B2B companies to accelerate growth through sales and operations. Ben is also a business growth mentor for the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator in London and Brighton.

If you’re looking to grow your own company and want impartial advice or support, please reach out to Ben at sbt@secondvoice.co.uk