Elevate Your Sales Game and Achieve Sustainable Business Growth

Through consultative selling, your customers will see you as a trusted partner not just a pushy salesperson.

While there are hundreds of strategies and techniques to selling, the fact is, there is an art to selling and doing it well. That’s especially true for today’s B2B space, which involves a more strategic approach to getting to know who your customers are and details of their goals and pain points.

In a recent live stream Kristina Witmer and Debra Horowitz discussed the top recommendations for elevating your sales approach. Here we will discuss a few.

Tip #1: The Art of Consultative Selling

When you position yourself as a trusted advisor, rather than an over-zealous salesperson, you’re laying the groundwork for a long-term relationship as someone who can be trusted and relied upon. By practicing active listening and asking direct-to-the-point questions to better understand your customers’ needs (and pain points), you are not only amassing valuable insight, but you’re also demonstrating that you genuinely care, committed to resolving issues and finding answers.

Once you establish the answers you need to move forward with proposed ideas and recommended solutions, you are able to tailor those solutions to address the customers’ needs and wants. Be patient. The time it takes to achieve the most beneficial solutions to your customer’s problems will validate your authenticity and reliability.

Here’s an example of a successful consultative selling approach scenario:  You've received a referral from a satisfied customer for a company struggling with lead generation.  Before reaching out, do in-depth prospect research, such as discovering the potential client's industry and common obstacles to reaching the right audience.

Tip #2: Leveraging Social Proof for Sales Success

Maximize the value of your satisfied customers with case studies, customer testimonials, online reviews to build credibility, showcasing the strength of your brand and how it has served other customers successfully. 

Success stories that are prominently featured on your website, social media, and blogs can have excellent impact. Excerpts from happy customers can also be powerful callouts on blogs, press releases, newsletters, and more.

Invite and encourage satisfied customers to leave a review of their experience on relevant platforms, such as Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business),

Social Media Platforms, Industry-Specific Customer Review Sites, eCommerce Platforms, and Emerging Review Platforms. And be sure to say “Thank You” once they do.

Tip #3: The Power of Referral Marketing

Implement referral programs to incentivize customers to refer others. Incentives might include cash, discounts, free downloads or demos, or products and/or services that best match your target audience.

Explore partnerships to expand your reach and tap into new networks. Evaluate your current partnerships and identify areas for growth. Some examples of business partnerships include Nike & Apple, Spotify & Uber, BMW & Louis Vuitton, Airbnb & Flipboard, to name a few.

Create a referral-worthy customer experience that delights and encourages recommendations. Cultivating an exceptional customer experience leads to customer loyalty, word-of-mouth referrals, and, ultimately, revenue growth. 

From HubSpot we learn how to get referrals from customers who are delighted with their experience and want to share it. Here’s good food for thought.

• Exceed expectations. 
• Add a customer loyalty program. 
• Keep existing customers engaged. 
• Provide a template. 
• Make the experience shareable. 
• Leverage LinkedIn. 
• Adopt a customer referral program. 
• Offer incentives. 
• Look for opportunities for a positive response. 
• Create different avenues for advocacy. 
• Align with your customers’ values. 
• Act on positive feedback. 
• Distribute your content and resources across different channels. 
• Refer to other companies. 

Discover More Sales Ideas

Explore Witmer Group Case Studies to view real-world examples of our communication, lead generation, and social marketing solutions. Get insights into our development process, featuring a range of projects from HubSpot onboarding and implementation to web design and lead magnet strategy. Our approach is consistent across all marketing endeavors, involving in-depth project immersion, thoughtful inquiry, audience empathy, and the creation of strategic, belief-driven solutions.

Conclusion

By implementing these and other proven strategies, you can elevate your sales game and achieve sustainable business growth. Remember, building strong relationships that serve your customers’ needs will prove your value as a trusted, long-term partner. 

In case you missed it, watch the recent Witmer Group podcast, Ready-Set-Action, for more insightful sales tips and candid discussion on how to elevate your sales growth.

Join us for future podcasts each week covering a diverse range of relevant topics.

Our Commitment to You

Witmer Group guides our clients through marketing decisions for a smooth path to business growth, using data analysis and broad multidisciplinary marketing experience to help businesses grow.

Our process is the same regardless of the type of marketing work we do for you:

• immerse ourselves in the project discovery
• ask questions to better understand the challenge
• put ourselves in the mindset of the target audience
• develop strategic marketing solutions we believe in

Contact Witmer Group today for a quick chat or if you prefer, a free consultation.