Listen to your clients. They want you to help.

Over at Learfield Interaction , David Brazeal posts about press releases and a new technology to get them out. His comment at the bottom of the post was what drew my attention. He says, “Only by giving people information they care about -- information they want to receive, in a way they want to receive it -- can you ultimately connect with them.”

It struck me as relevant to the sales process as well. The content of our sales presentation needs to be about what our customers want not what we want. How can you connect with a customer if you aren’t providing relevant information?

Each client need is different. As the customer base grows more sophisticated so does their ability to identify the sales people that bring no value to the table. What has worked for me in the past is to talk to the customer and listen to what they actually want. It’s then my job to find the solution to their problem, need or pain. Sounds like a no brainer but talk to anyone who has recently had a sales person in their office and ask them if the account rep actually had a grasp of what they needed? Do they think the account manager actually listened? What do you think the answers would be based on your own experience?

Listening in a manner that makes me a trusted advisor allows me to identify a solution to their needs. I become an important part of their development and this allows me to help them with their business while doing the same for my company.