"Going forward, the salesperson must build trust with the customers' people that's deeper than before and sustained over time. You cannot design a solution without information from the customer. And if the customer does not trust you, he or she will not give you information." -- WSJ article
I'll pluck out one string to comment on - in general the article makes sense from the stand point of finding high probability prospects who need your product and are willing to give you information to see if conditions of satisfaction can be net (my words).
BUT that one sentence tells it all as far as I'm concerned and a constant theme I've posted on here many times. It's a two way street.
When you can't get honest and direct clear answers move on. When you can and those answers clarify the needs of your would-be buyer carry on - now you begin to establish mutual trust.
Many have used the phrase "re-inventing the selling process" which, for example, is on the cover of "High Probability Selling" so we get to determine if it's true or not.
What the writer is calling a re-invention is going from your product focus to person/company needs focus. I'm not the pro as some here who have been in sales decades with much more varied experience than I have BUT my twelve year experince and having studied others tells me that the best of the best always:
1. know their product
2. know their company
3. get questions answered
4. answer questions with information
5. meet expectations consistently
I don't believe it's much of a re-invention but that's an opinion only - not a researched fact.
Why don't you talk about it a bit like I have, Thomas. Put some thoughts down on your own question.
MitchM
