Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

Since the key to differentiation is in forging closer links with clients, the role of Long Term Ally is a crucial one. Once the salesperson has earned the right, it is important to develop and maintain the relationship.

As the term suggests, acting as a Long Term Ally, involves maintaining contact with the client even when there is no immediate prospect for a sale. It also suggests that the salesperson needs to be committed to the long-term development of the relationship. Our research shows that top salespeople demonstrate this commitment by continuously looking for ways to:

• Build interpersonal trust
• Create and maintain a positive image of the sales organisation
• Inspire respect for their company
• Show genuine concern for their customers’ short and long-term interest
• Identify ways to strengthen the quality of their business relationship
• Help the customer meet needs within his or her organisation
• Deal with issues openly and honestly
• Deliver on promises
 
It is also crucial for the salesperson to ensure that the relationship between the organisations is mutually beneficial. In other words, it is essential to build and honour the expectation that reaching agreements will mean good business for both parties.

At the end of the day, taking a long-term approach proves more profitable since the customer will recognise that the salesperson is taking a committed interest and in so doing is giving honest and open advice. This inevitably encourages the customer to trust the salesperson and to view him or her as a colleague rather than an opponent

In Summary: Long Term Allies and Mutually Beneficial Agreements.

Supplier organisations must be willing to…… 

• Elicit feedback from customers regarding overall satisfaction with the products / services delivered.  
• Maintain regular contact with current and prospective customers 
• Alert customers to new developments in own organisation 
• Review the business relationship underlying each account on a regular basis 

Buyer organisation must be willing to……

• Keep suppliers “in the loop” regarding the company’s strategic direction and needs
• Value the record of service provided by supplier organisations above lower cost competitors
• Grant access and information about their customers to the supplier organisations

I am certain that virtually anybody who operates in a sales related field will have heard of the “Queen Of Cold Calling” my good friend and fellow “Top 10 Sales Articles” expert panellist, the dynamic and immensely successful Wendy Weiss.

She is the author of the new self-study programme, “The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script” and the best selling book, “Cold Calling for Women”.

Her site is packed with cold calling tips, cold calling scripts and information on telephone prospecting and appointment setting. But best of all, Wendy is having her annual “Birthday Sale” until midnight on May 31st (EST) I urge you to check it out.

For a real treat, I urge you to listen to Wendy in conversation with Clayton Shold of Salesopedia here - it really is a superb interview. 

Another week, another dollar and another set of exciting new initiatives preparing for launch – watch this space!

You know what comes next – sincerely, wherever you are in the world, have a great w/e.

JF

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