Our last newsletter covered the ‘trusted advisor’ role and explained what that looks like conceptually. This weeks newsletter I detail the specifics of the trusted advisor role in the landscape industry.
Most of us in the landscape business believe we are viewed as trusted advisors. Unfortunately, many times this is not the case. Customers have been scorned by previous landscapers performance and communication. Earning credibility or ‘Trust’ takes time. My experience, which spans over three decades, is many customers don’t trust the salespeople’s intent and at the beginning of the sales process don’t see them as credible advisors. To address this concern, I will explore three key principles that provide a path to trusted advisor.
First, you must create Trust in the Trusted Advisor…
We have all seen articles or been to seminars stating that “relationship selling” is dead. However, successful salespeople will say trust, the foundation of relationship selling, is a must. Salespeople know if you don’t have a strong, trusting relationship with your customer, you will never be seen as a trusted advisor, and success is difficult. Creating a trusting relationship is both mindset and action. A salesperson must believe his/her job is to help customers solve problems. Salespeople who calculate their commission during a sale will be seen for what they are, someone more interested in making the sale than they are in the customer’s needs and expectations.
Besides having the right mindset, trusted advisors must demonstrate their sincere interest in helping the customer. The discipline of relationship selling is showing empathy, credibility, competence, and anticipating the customer’s’ concerns. It is this mindset and set of actions that a salesperson must have to approach the educational (sale) process with authenticity, passion, and positive intent. Relationship selling is about who you are and what you do and is communicated by actions focused on the customer and their needs. This leads to trust.
Next; you must facilitate the Customer’s Buying Process…
For many years landscape business owners have drilled into salespeople they must follow a systematic “sales process.” Countless resources have gone into developing process and procedures, checklists and now technology – all demanding that there is one best way to structure the “sale.” This is wrong.
The best “selling process” does not sell, it enables the customer to buy. The antithesis of the trusted advisor is the salesperson who believes that, if I follow these five (or seven or nine) sales process steps, success will follow. The action of a trusted advisor is to help (or ALLOW) the customer buy the way they want to buy, not how you want to sell. This is why we educate clients our engagement process is built on education and not just selling.
Lastly; the discipline required to facilitate the customer’s buying process is:
- You must Help the customer discover the urgency behind their needs and defining the problem that needs to be solved.
- Helping the customer see what elements of a solution has value for them, and which elements don’t. This is what I consider your ‘value proposition’
- Helping the customer gather support for the solution within their own organization, creating alignment for action.
- Helping a customer buy cannot be done by following a seller-centric sales process; it requires a two-way conversation between the trusted advisor and customer to understand the problem and to recognize the urgency.
Help your clients making sense of complexity…
The good and bad news for buyers today is they have almost an infinite amount of information available at their fingertips. The responsibility of a trusted advisor is to help the customer make sense of this complexity, cutting through the clutter to find the right solution that will solve their problem. The discipline of the trusted advisor is to link their solution to the advantages and benefits for the customer. A trusted advisor listens to the customer and shares business insights, clarifies to ensure understanding, reduces (not creates) confusion, and presents possible solutions to the problem that not only satisfies, but delights the customer.
Apply actionable discipline to Achieve ‘Trusted Advisor’ Status…
Actionable discipline, however, is going beyond what is just necessary and taking the time to do what they know they should to do, every time. While all salespeople take action, many take the path of least resistance doing what is comfortable or what they think is necessary to make the sale. However, it takes actionable discipline to become a trusted advisor, and once a salesperson earns it, it is a coveted position that provides greater business-level value to customers and to your organization.
In closing; you must take ownership for creating trust. Facilitate the customer’s buying process. Make sense of complexity. Your efforts will produce ongoing, long-term relationships that present multiple opportunities to sell and service while enabling your customers to buy how they want to buy.
In our next article, we will share with you the conclusion of our Trusted Advisor 3 part series and will provide you with a downloadable presentation to share with your TEAM.
Have a great week!
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