Article by Bill Brooks, CEO, The Brooks Group

The most common error in selling occurs when salespeople are so focused on what they or their company wants from a sales relationship that they lose sight of what their prospects want from it. Today this fatal orientation can lose more sales more quickly than ever before. Buyer’s markets are crowded markets; crowded markets are filled with buyers who are confused and far too many sellers who use outdated, “me-too” marketing techniques.

Because of the crowding in today’s markets, buyers are now prone to view similar products or services as similar when they merely give the appearance of similarity. The key to success in a crowded market is to determine what buyers value most, and then to point out those unique advantages of your product or service that address those things they value. Period. When you focus on what the customer values most, you create perceived value that makes your product or service clearly stand out from the crowd and that quite often leads to a positive buying decision.

Today, the successful sales professional is a master at needs analysis and application-based selling. Simply defined, needs analysis is understanding and selling to the buyer’s needs rather than selling a product or service to meet a quota, win a contest, or “make a quick buck.” Application selling is showing, in easy-to-understand terms, how a particular product or service can fulfill the buyer’s most pressing needs.

Focusing on the buyer’s needs results in better alignment of your product or service in the marketplace. Conversely, continued reliance on outdated traditional selling techniques will result in poorly positioned products. For example, strong, aggressive, and insensitive closing tactics will lead to more closed doors than closed sales!

Focus is defined as a sharp, clearly defined center of interest or expenditure of time, energy, or dollars in order to maximize a return on any or all of the above elements.

Old school sales techniques have never focused on the customer’s needs. Instead, they have focused on the product or the company behind the product, or, worse yet, taught salespeople to focus on themselves. If the sharp, clearly defined center of interest or activity in your sales career has been on self, company, or product, then your career has been languishing.

Far too many organizations focus on everything except the customer, a situation that leads to what I call, “institutionalized insulation.” If you never strip away that insulation and shift your focus to place the customer’s needs at the top of your list, you will always remain in the doomed, “me-too” marketing crowd that will become the selling dinosaurs of the new millennium.

Here is a story that clearly illustrates a salesperson with a misplaced focus.

I had already decided it was time for a new car, and I knew exactly what I wanted. My dream car was a top-of-the-line model available at a local dealership. When I walked into the dealer’s showroom, a young, enthusiastic salesperson greeted me. I figured that I would make his day, giving him the easiest sales he had ever had.

“Look,” I began, “I’m going to make this easy for you. I want that model over there. I want it in silver with the blue, crushed velour upholstery. I want the turbo-charged engine and four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. I want the best stereo system, an electric sunroof, and upgraded wheel covers.”

What do you think his response was? Excitement? Disbelief at how well-informed I was? No. He paused for a moment, feigned deep thought, then said, “Did you know that this model was ranked #1 in its class in all the automotive magazines? Did you know it’s got an all-steel body with steel beams in the doors? Did you know that the front end is designed to deflect around the passenger compartment in a collision, so that the occupants will not get hurt?”

Where was his focus? On product! He probably got an “A” in his sales-training class because he knew his product as well as anyone I have met, but he was intellectually and emotionally distanced from me as a customer. His response showed me a clear case of institutionalized insulation and, as a result, I did not buy the car from him.

If he had trained under a customer-focused, value-based sales system, he might have said, “We have one of those in stock right now. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions so I’ll know better how to serve your needs?” Then he would have waited for my answer. I always answer “yes” to someone who wants to learn how to serve my needs. He might then have asked when I wanted to take delivery, or if I had a trade-in, and how I planned to pay. Instead, his training clearly forced his focus onto the product.

Getting to the top of any crowded market niche – and staying there – is not easy. The secret to reaching and remaining at the top level is being attuned to change. Successful sales professionals will be in a constant state of adjustment. Because your market, your customers, and the world are constantly changing, you need to analyze, anticipate, and adapt to the changes that you face.

If your focus is on product, you most likely emphasize product demonstration. Your demonstrations may highlight how terrific your organization’s latest model is but will show a customer how to meet his needs only if you are lucky. In a crowded marketplace, salespeople need to stop thinking “demo” and start thinking application.

By definition, demonstration selling forces the focus onto the product. All that accomplishes is to make you look just like everybody else, so you fade into the crowd in your market. The difference between demonstration and application selling, although subtle, is critical to success in crowded markets. The shift toward application selling is an early step toward casting aside institutional insulation and adapting the new philosophy of pure, 100% customer focus.

©2000 Bill Brooks, The Brooks Group, Greensboro, NC. All Rights Reserved.

For almost two decades Bill Brooks has been one of America’s most in-demand sales speakers.   Bill has successfully accomplished what other sales speakers merely talk about.   He enjoys real-world, legitimate sales success, executive experience, in-depth topic expertise, academic preparation, as well as the highest speaking and consulting accreditations.   Bill has been a sales executive and marketing manager, an international sales award winner, CEO of a 300 million dollar corporation and successful college football coach with a 70% winning record.   Bill is author of over 100 video and 200 audio programs, and 9 books.   For more information about Bill Brooks’ speaking, training and consulting services; or learning tools, call 800-633-7762 or e-mail sales@thebrooksgroup.com or visit his website at www.brooksgroup.com.