There is a lot of noise out there. It’s becoming increasingly challenging for buyers to know who to buy from and for providers to distinguish themselves from everyone else. The old adage, “people buy from those they like and trust,” rings truer now than ever before. Sales professionals are constantly looking for better ways to connect with their clients, establish themselves as a trusted advisor, and become the go-to expert for all related needs. We live in a perpetually connected world, but connected to what? The Internet? To each other? To a device? Sales reps would argue that it’s all three – simultaneously. When instant access to the Internet, your sales rep, and your personal devices are all expected; a very negative shift occurs when this connection is interrupted. Your credibility diminishes, you are no longer a stand out resource and your sales…fail.
Sales professionals are constantly looking for better ways to connect with their clients, establish themselves as a trusted advisor, and become the go-to expert for all related needs. We live in a perpetually connected world, but connected to what? The Internet? To each other? To a device? Sales reps would argue that it’s all three – simultaneously. When instant access to the Internet, your sales rep, and your personal devices are all expected; a very negative shift occurs when this connection is interrupted. Your credibility diminishes, you are no longer a stand out resource and your sales…fail.
Oh Sh*t! There’s No WIFI Connection?!
Stories are what pull an audience in and make the information that you’re trying to share both relatable and memorable. When we hear stories of others in similar situations or with similar goals, we overlay them with our own in order to gain a glimpse into what could be. It allows the audience to connect with your product and your other customers because they start to picture themselves in their own version of the story.
Storytelling is sharing one’s personal experiences and it’s only credible when it comes from the mouth of the individual directly involved. When you’re in a sales meeting and want to share a customer story, the next best thing to having that person in the room is to be able to show a video of the storyteller.
Imagine that the room is leaning forward and eager to hear one of your best customers share a few key points about what your company has been able to do for them. You queue the video, but all that shows is the dreaded loading window. After several refreshes and attempts to reload, you realize that not only do you not have an Internet connection, but you’ve lost your connection with your audience as well.
Reliability Earns Trust
The ideal sales rep/client relationship is when you can trust the other person enough to be able to rely on them when we need to. Knowing that someone is always prepared, reliable, organized and consistently on top of his game puts us at ease because we know that they will be able to handle whatever we pitch his way. Unfortunately, it’s the little things that eat away at this trust perception. Because when the little things slip through the cracks, the whole foundation of trust is compromised. If this person can’t handle the little things, then what happens with the big things? This is the worry that starts to creep into your mind.
I mention this because these cracks appear most often during in-person meetings when the sales rep isn’t prepared for any and all alternative caveats to the conversation. Or worse yet, when the sales rep is “prepared” but can’t access the data or content that they need because there is no WiFi connection.
You can’t predict or control everything, but you need to ensure that you are always connected and one step closer to earning the trust of your clients. The tools that should be enabling you to be a better salesperson need to facilitate that. You need to be able to connect with your audience, even when you don’t have connectivity. Whether you are online or offline the Mediafly sales enablement application, SalesKit, won’t leave you stranded without your content. We know that you need to navigate a lot of unforeseen issues. Connectivity should never be one of them.
What’s your funniest sales fail? We know that everyone has one to share. Tweet #salesfails to @Mediafly. We would love to hear from you!
Luke Martin is the Manager of Services at Mediafly and is also a published author and cartoonist. He is the creator of our SalesFails comic. For more of his work, visit www.lukemart.in
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