Friday, August 13, 2004
The Buyer's Perspective
What a coincidence. On 8/12 I was at Okidata teaching Executive Focused Selling for Channels for the Executive Conversation. On the same day, a reader's comment to The Channel Professional about giving channels or customers bad news stated that the larger question is one of perspective. 'How do we perceive our customers, as partners or adversaries?'
I agree. While delivering bad news is never easy, especially to strategic accounts, if we are in an adversarial relationship, delivery of bad news becomes all that much harder. Furthermore most channel relationships with vendors, despite the name channel partner, are adversarial because they are traditional sales relationships.
I had just made this point in the course at Okidata. Traditional selling erects barriers. Even the language we use demonstrates this. Sales people talk about needing "arrows in their quiver." If the relationships were not adversarial, perhaps sales people would not need to be armed with arrows with which to shoot our customers.
Respect and trust at the executive level are created when vendors adopt the buyers perspective and work WITH the customer to solve business issues. Products and technology are merely tools to use with customers to achieve business results and performance.
Companies that try to build "Trusted Advisor" status in their sales organizations without changing the conversation will only succeed in creating spin and slogans. Most customer relationships have times when bad news has to be delivered. Which side of the table would you like to be on if you have to deliver it?
Scott Karren, The Channel Pro
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What a coincidence. On 8/12 I was at Okidata teaching Executive Focused Selling for Channels for the Executive Conversation. On the same day, a reader's comment to The Channel Professional about giving channels or customers bad news stated that the larger question is one of perspective. 'How do we perceive our customers, as partners or adversaries?'
I agree. While delivering bad news is never easy, especially to strategic accounts, if we are in an adversarial relationship, delivery of bad news becomes all that much harder. Furthermore most channel relationships with vendors, despite the name channel partner, are adversarial because they are traditional sales relationships.
I had just made this point in the course at Okidata. Traditional selling erects barriers. Even the language we use demonstrates this. Sales people talk about needing "arrows in their quiver." If the relationships were not adversarial, perhaps sales people would not need to be armed with arrows with which to shoot our customers.
Respect and trust at the executive level are created when vendors adopt the buyers perspective and work WITH the customer to solve business issues. Products and technology are merely tools to use with customers to achieve business results and performance.
Companies that try to build "Trusted Advisor" status in their sales organizations without changing the conversation will only succeed in creating spin and slogans. Most customer relationships have times when bad news has to be delivered. Which side of the table would you like to be on if you have to deliver it?
Scott Karren, The Channel Pro
0 comments
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