When you stop and think about it, a list of the ‘best business development skills’ could be extremely long. Sales, marketing, management, finance, HR, are all necessary skills. Without this one though, all the others fall short. The most important business development skill to have is the ability to relate to people in an authentic and caring way. Since we all do business with people we know, like and trust this is the only skill that will quickly impact profits.
Here are a few ideas that will help you relate better and turn strangers into friends consistently.
Build all of your sales and marketing messages on the value buyer’s gain from doing business with you. If you are focused on telling them about your business, they will shut you out every time. The reason is buyers don’t care about your business. They have a problem and have money to spend to solve that problem. As a result, they will buy from someone who understands their situation.
Buyer’s want you to listen, understand and help them achieve a result they want to gain.
When businesses shows buyers they care about the result gained more than their business, trust is established. The buyer feels comfortable and frequently moves forward. Caring about giving buyers what they want will increase sales closing ratios. Instead of making a sale once every five presentations, a business can improve their sales closing ratio to 1-in-2 or 1-in-3.
To understand what your buyer wants from you be an engaged and active listener. Don’t think about what you are going to say next when you’re in a sales situation. Instead, listen to what the buyer is saying and provide honest and thoughtful responses. Focused listening demonstrates authentic caring. It is THE key element in building trust that builds relationships and sales.
Successful businesses understand what buyers want to achieve. They provide solutions that other people are willing to pay money to gain. It’s the quickest way to profit and grow. When you genuinely care about your buyer, they feel it, trust you and allow you to work your magic. When you do, your new client will be more than happy to share the good news about you to the people they know.