Titanic

Senior VP - Sales

Opinionated

Catalyst

Valued Contributor

AEs, SVPs, VPs, alphabet soup - What is your strategy on developing relationships with customers?

Curiosity killed the cat... or should I say the fox in this war room.

What are your ways of building a personal relationship with your prospects?

What are your most efficient ways of retaining client information that you know will get them talking? (Making notes under their contact info in your phone, client company cheat sheets?)

Personally, as many other savages in here may know, I prefer the hands-on get to know your client as much as you can approach. But I'm curious about some other ways you keep tabs on your clients, build rapport, personal relationships and even employee relationships that drive sales goals.

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27 comments

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oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

I have no idea how to give anyone a tactical plan to build a good relationship. Tactics and relationships don’t mix. You first have to just be the most responsive, reliable partner they’ve ever met. If you’re that good, you get a chance as a human. Be human, not tactical.

Titanic

Opinionated

Senior VP - Sales

Always human, never tactical. But I'm talking about strategy that you roll in with on something as simple as a cold call.

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

The strategy is to let it happen organically, you can’t force a relationship.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

So, not a tactic. You’re looking for a strategy. 😂

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

You better not try to kill @CuriousFox — I saw her kill a man over a missing bbq dipping sauce for her nuggies.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

I want ALL the smoke

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

That guy that dressed up in a crotchless fox suit on Halloween? He’s dead too.

Titanic

Opinionated

Senior VP - Sales

I’m still new here 🤣 can’t diss the fox!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

🍿👀

Titanic

Opinionated

Senior VP - Sales

Never! Lol. Just waiting for the savage comment!

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

Building a relationship takes time, it doesn’t happen after one call. It takes building trust with your client though your customer service and responsiveness, and imo it’s hard to do through a computer screen. Eventually you have to get in front of them. Have lunch, a drink, get personal face to face time. And do it often.

Titanic

Opinionated

Senior VP - Sales

I totally agree with you. The first Boeing 747's were sold on a golf course. So ideally, zero not being an option of course, what do you feel is the ideal price point to invest into a client (in person at lunch, or a drink) is enough to either call it a quits, or move forward?

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

Um your looking for a $ amount to spend? I guess that depends on your product, price, client, budget, etc. there is two types of clients to also consider. Those who can buy a lot potentially, and those who may not buy a lot but if they are a good client who gives you all their business they can be important as well.

In the end your question was about building relationships, this could take multiple calls, meetings, lunches and drinks, again it doesn’t happen immediately. But I will leave you with this. If you work in an industry that prioritizes phone calls and e-mails, even one lunch or personal meeting can go a long way to set you apart.

Titanic

Opinionated

Senior VP - Sales

I agree, and we actually have a good handle on HVAC as well. A branch of our company that I also oversee is in building automation. So I appreciate your input. But I’m just looking for a full discussion that hopefully others will read as well. Not my own specific needs.

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

Oh fun! Love my fellow HVAC peeps.

Titanic

Opinionated

Senior VP - Sales

JCI (aka York), and my company have a very tight executive relationship. From Global ops to CEO. We love HVAC, both Union and non-Union!

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

That was my former employer

Titanic

Opinionated

Senior VP - Sales

Tremendous company, but would be even better if they embraced dealers better. This is where Honeywell and Carrier excels.

ChumpChange

Politicker

Channel Manager

There are tons of opinions on how to be successful at relationship-building. IMHO it always comes back to being a partner and not a pusher. Don't be afraid to tell prospects straight up if it's going to be a fit or not and the reasoning behind it. At the end of the day, they have all the information they need to either make an informed decision or reevaluate their options. Leaders value (and remember) this no-bullshit approach.

A recent real-life example. Call with a VP and they were interested in _______ feature which my product does but not at the level of granularity that they were looking for. Knowing there's not a fit... I had three options: Continue the sale, disqualify, or refer to another vendor.

I ended up referring the VP to another company (not a direct competitor) that has that specific feature set. I contact the Partnerships person at the other company and explain the client use-case/pain points/budget. Let the VP know I had contacted the other vendor and the path forward. The partnership person funneled it to their sales closer to wrap everything up for the sale.

Several months later, the same partnership person reached out with a handful of interested prospects who fit our space. Why? Because they remembered what I did for that one client.

To layer it on even further, the original VP that I had referred, ended up referring two other companies that fit our ICP and we landed those deals. Why? Because they remembered our conversation and most importantly the experience.

At the end of the day, did you just tell your client "No and move on" or did you help them solve their problem? One of these answers gains loyalty, trust, and reputation. We tend to think that sales is about the people in the room but in reality, it expands beyond those confines.

Beans

Big Shot

Enterprise Account Executive

Talk to people like they are in fact, people.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

Listen and actually care does 99% of the work

waterjugsales

Politicker

Account Executive @ Funemployed

i have a pretty solid memory and am curious about people in general (especially when it suits my own personal agenda... making $$$$$)
but thats a side effect of trying to be the best or at least top 10% of sales reps they've worked with in terms of customer experience.

If I am not getting thank you emails or comments on a call "you've made this so easy and have been pleasant to work with/you and your team have been great" -then that's a failure, even in defeat I want to be getting those

From there when you win or lose - keeping up to date with them on LI, engaging with their posts and shit - takes minimal effort. Basically showing you care, that's what matters, and if you don't care find a way to make it beneficial to you so you do ( it shouldn't be hard, we are in sales for a reason).

lieselfuel

Member

Regional Vice President

VP here… I def do not have a strategy. I just treat them like humans. People do business with people they like. And trust. And that just happens when it’s not about sales it’s about humans

Foxtrot

Executive

Vice President of Business Development and Marketing

You actually have to give a f*** about them as a human. Care about helping them with their goals and connect with them along the way. Know their industry and the problems they have that you solve. Ask smart questions to earn credibility. Share stories. Master the small talk that is meaningful and remember what they share with you…aka use your CRM.

Retired Sales Professional

👍👍

GDO

Politicker

BDM

The biggest thing is be genuine en honest

RCon

Fire Starter

Owner

Do research on your prospect. Find something unique about them that you both have in common (trout fishing, deer hunting, golfing etc). Make a reference to that in your correspondence. Attach a picture. Be organic and unique.

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Titanic

AEs, SVPs, VPs, alphabet soup - What is your strategy on developing relationships with customers?

27 comments

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