Sales should not just revolve around promoting your product, it should be about ensuring your customer’s success.
A successful business with consistent sales is not achieved through always having the newest and best product on the market, it is earned through relationships that run deeper than just the features of your product.
I believe that investing in your customers’ brand, professional journey and success breeds loyalty and with loyalty you will have a strong partnership.
In my personal experience, investing or showing interest in my customers’ success has generated more sales calls and meetings than appointments arranged through the conventional channels.
Below I have listed a few tips which I have personally executed and proven incredibly useful in my career.
Build YOUR network
So why is this relevant for your customer?
Well, imagine you’ve built strong networks with global leaders, those key people of influence in your field. This instantly proves you are a trustworthy, well connected and up to date person which portrays a positive impression of you in their mind.
It proves you know your stuff, are obviously bright enough to be having conversations with global leaders (or at least be following their work) and suddenly builds a professional brand for yourself.
This might even lead to you connecting your contacts with your customers which will have everlasting impacts on your relationship and demonstrate your value and interest in their business.
On a side note, LinkedIn is the most underutilised sales and networking tool. I suggest building your profile and connections ASAP. But more on that to come in my next article.
Support their brand
Building your customers brand ensures their success. If you have experience in marketing, networking or sales, you may be able to support them through this journey and engage in helpful discussions around how to build their brand.
Your company might have the ability to help sponsor their business or share resources that they can offer their customers thus adding value to their brand.
You may even be able to promote their business through your networking and social media platforms. For example, you could do a collaborative webinar and share that through both business websites which builds credibility and promotes both parties.
Support their professional development
Everyone wants to be known for their work. Who doesn’t secretly want to be recognised as a leader in their field?
If you have a platform such as a website or social media page to share their work through then do it!
Imagine how that would make them feel, I for one would be incredibly excited if one of my readers shared this article!
Other outlets for supporting their career progression is inviting them as a speaker to an event you’re hosting or potentially sponsoring.
This also allows your customer to build their network and reach out to a group of individuals they may not have had the chance to connect with.
As an added bonus, I’m sure they’d feel honoured to share their work or expose their brand with you as the driver of this opportunity.
Maintain or develop their education
What better way to ensure your customers thoroughly understand the benefits of your product and its implementation than through offering ongoing training?
It is important to maintain your customers understanding of your product so they can get the most out of it and it gives you another opportunity to remind them how great it actually is.
This also demonstrates you haven’t forgotten about them after the initial sale.
You could offer internal advanced training for your product. For example, if you sell a software program, you could arrange an in-depth troubleshooting session with one of your programmers which would again demonstrate the quality of your product and that you provide exceptional service and invested in improving their skillset.
I’ve personally found that investing in training gives rise to future business opportunities because it demonstrates your ability to go above and beyond the sale.
Conclusion
Sales goes deeper than just promoting your product, if you want everlasting business then you must be able to offer more.
Loyalty is the backbone of any business and means your customers will always advocate and stand by you. By supporting your customer’s brand, professional development and training, they will feel you are an inherent part of their career and this will contribute to gaining loyalty and everlasting business.
Investing in your customer’s success may even open doors for your own professional growth, networking and career progression.
Comment below with examples of how you drive your customer’s success.
