It’s no secret that the majority of people’s buying research is no longer conducted through a sales person, and is primarily done online.
There are lots of statistics showing that the sales cycle has changed, however, what’s more important is that once you have potential buyers engaged, your sales team plays a pivotal role in your customer’s buying potential and future buying behavior.
A recent LinkedIn Pulse article takes a look at 15 stats that “should change the business world – but haven’t”.
From this list we have pulled our favorites and added our insights from these statistics.
- “70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated” – McKinsey.
- “55% of customers would pay extra to guarantee a better service.” – Defaqto research.
- “A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%” – Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy.
Your sales reps make up the first impression and are the face of your company. They are setting a standard of the type of treatment and service your customer’s can expect to receive from your company down the road. If they leave a bad impression or aren’t giving your potential buyers the quality of time they deserve, this will resonate with them. They will assume this is how your company operates. And they will leave.
TRACOM’s SOCIAL STYLE Model equips the sales person with the skills needed to understand how people prefer to be treated. Sales professionals with an understanding of SOCIAL STYLE can adapt their selling strategy to the buying needs and preferences of their customers and thus, have stronger, more influential relationships with their customers.
As a result of TRACOM’s SOCIAL STYLE Training:
- 92% of Salespeople developed more positive customer relationships
- 87% of Salespeople increased their ability to influence or persuade customers
- 79% of Salespeople improved their ability to gain ongoing sales
“It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.” – “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner.
Right out of the gate, your sales rep has one opportunity to make a positive and outstanding experience for your potential buyer. If their initial interaction doesn’t separate them from the competition or doesn’t wow the audience, you will likely not be given 12 other opportunities to make up for this one bad one. Because of the level of competition, we no longer live in an era where we can afford such mistakes. This is why equipping your sales team with the full gamut of skills they will need to be successful is imperative. In a world where competitive advantages aren’t just the product or service you offer, but the manner in which your workforce offers it, having an array of Social Intelligence skills is the difference between maintaining and expanding.
