Coaching the Customer to Elevate the Quality of their Decision Process

Jeffrey Lipsius wants you to coach the customer. Salespeople often spend more time looking at their own sales record, as opposed to their customer’s sales record. But, customer buying performance is significant, and something that should be taken into heavy consideration. This isn’t just another conversation about how to coach salespeople. Lipsius, interviewed by John Golden, will tell you how to coach the customer.

In this expert sales interview covers these sales topics:

• How a salesperson can coach the customer
• The way a salesperson adds purpose
• The importance of sales performance

Sales Performance Isn’t the Only Important Thing:

The salesperson’s selling performance isn’t always what ultimately closes the deal. “You could have a lackluster performance. But if your customer is sharp, and they know what they want with a clear goal in mind, they could buy the product, even if the salesperson doesn’t have the best selling performance,” said Lipsius. “But by the same token, a salesperson can say all of the right things. And yet, if the customer is confused, or if they’re unclear about what they want, they may end up not buying the product in spite of the salespersons great performance.”

What a Customer Needs:

One of the key ways to coach your customer is to help them be clear about their own goals. Many customers are confused and unclear about what they want. Ask, “is my customer really in touch with their needs?” Customers in the age of technology are very distracted. They have tweets and instant messages to get back to, people are continually trying to get ahold of them, and there are a lot of demands on them that are happening in real time. They also have so many choices, and the ability to research these choices, that customers have a difficult time navigating the decision process. By helping customers be clear on their goal, what they want, and what they really need, the salesperson can sell directly to that need.

A Salesperson’s Purpose:

One crucial thing for salespeople to keep in mind is their purpose. While closing the deal and putting bread on the table is very important, a salesperson’s goal is to help the customer make the best decision. When customers go to a salesperson, they do so because they want someone to help them make the best choice. The salesperson and customer unite as a team to figure out the best move for a customer. That’s where a salesperson can add value.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.