Sales Roles That Match Buying Behavior

You can increase your sales and enjoy greater customer satisfaction by changing your approach to match your customers' changing perspective throughout the sale. The following summarizes the eight specific roles that match customers' needs at each of the eight buy-learning steps.

Sales Roles that Match Today's Buy-Learning Process:

The Student

Studies the 3C's (customer, competition, change) and approaches high probability prospects.

The Doctor

Diagnoses discontent and uncovers important needs.

The Architect

Designs customer-focused solutions that set the ground rules in your favor.

The Coach

Applies competitive sales strategies and presents a compelling solution.

The Therapist

Understands and resolves the buyer's fears.

The Negotiator

Prepares and applies win/win strategies to reach an agreement.

The Teacher

Sets customer expectations and teaches the customer to achieve maximum value.

The Farmer

Nourishes customer satisfaction in order to grow the account.

Most salespeople are using a sales process that's shorter and not integrated with the customer's eight-step "buy-learning" process. The result is that salespeople go faster than the customer does, getting to the "close" of their process before the customer is ready to buy.

The irony is, if your salespeople sold slower, your customers would buy faster. So, slow down and sell more.

The eight roles of selling provide salespeople with a road map for partnering in your customers' buying process. Salespeople who apply those roles will make more sales, generate more repeat business and become a more important relationship to their customers.