On washing machines and Guided Selling
14 October 2011
Recently, I purchased a new washing machine, which is not something I do do more than once every 10 to 15 years. So, it’s safe to say that I don’t know much about washing machines. But what struck me most was that not every salesperson knew everything about washing machines either.
The purchasing process
In the process of making a purchase, I took the following steps:
1. Search for relevant information on the internet
2. Visit a number of shops in the area to obtain additional information
3. Select the machine that best suits my wishes
4. Select the salesperson who had given me the best advice
5. Search the internet for the best price for the specific model washing machine
6. Based on this information, reach a good deal with the selected salesperson
Lack of knowledge
The salesperson with the best advice sold me the washing machine. Is this new? No, that’s how we all would prefer to make our purchases. People do business with people. But why is it that there are still shops with personnel who know less about washing machines than you yourself can read on the information lists placed on the appliances. And is it really that much better in B2B?
Best advice
Guided Selling is about continuously offering your prospects and customers the best advice by completing a number of logical steps:
1. Making a detailed review of requirements and wishes (analysing needs)
2. Choosing and preparing the right products and services (selecting and configuring)
3. Offer this combination in such a way that the customer need only say “yes” (calculating and generating the quotation)
That works for appliance chains, but possibly for your company, as well. Do you sell products or services that require your sales rep or sales channel to possess certain knowledge? If so, then it’s a good idea to examine what tools you make available to your sales reps to enable them to offer your customers the best possible advice so that your reps land the deal and not your competitor.
Marijn Schouten is Director Business Development at Sofon - supplier of sales support software. As Marijn has a lot of contact with clients, he has a clear insight into how companies that deliver customer-specific products and services can realize improvements within their sales and quotation process.
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