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Ignite Selling Productivity by Using a Creative-Problem-Solving Selling Method:
Building Rapport and Defining the Customer’s Needs

by Dan Coleman

One of the most effective ways for sales professionals to ignite selling productivity is to use a Creative-Problem-Solving Selling Method. In using a Creative-Problem-Solving Selling Method, the sales professional looks at interests and needs through the lens of the customer, and not through a self-serving lens. In the first issue of The PartnerShip Connection we went over the four steps to using a Creative-Problem-Solving Selling Method. Here we will discuss the first two steps more in-depth.

Step 1: Open the Discussion and Build Rapport

Greet and welcome customers. Put them at ease and build rapport by being friendly, and by finding common ground and a common topic. An opening general phrase to break the ice could be, “You came at a really good time; it was very busy a little while ago.” Know what statement starter you will specifically use to build rapport and jumpstart the conversation.

Step 2: Discover and Define the Customer Interests and Needs

Here you put yourself in the customer’s shoes and relate to their concerns, interests, and needs. Do this by asking, in a non-threatening way, pertinent, open-ended questions that begin with who, what, where, when, why, and how. This approach will help you to explore and understand what the customer wants to solve, accomplish, or avoid. An opening discovery question could be, “What brings you into the store today?” Once you’ve asked your open-ended question, give the customer space to talk freely and provide more than a short answer – and listen to what they say. As you listen to the customer, it’s important to understand the difference between a customer:

Upon identifying primary needs, ask close-ended questions to focus attention on a specific thought, statement, or action and elicit a yes or no answer, a specific fact answer, or quantification. For example, “Would you like the shirt in blue or green?” If the customer has multiple needs, asking an evaluating question assists the customer in prioritizing their needs. To illustrate: If you had 100 points to distribute across all of your needs, how would you allocate them?

After you have discovered and defined the customer interests and needs, transition to Step 3: Generate Ideas to Address the Customer Interests and Needs – and Recommend a Solution. Look for next month’s edition of The PartnerShip Connection where we will discuss the finals steps in developing and using a Creative-Problem-Solving Selling Method.

Dan Coleman, the founder and president of Excelsior Learning, has a B.S. from State University of New York and is currently working on a M.A. in Creative Studies at Buffalo State College. He is consistently praised by his clients as a highly knowledgeable and energizing trainer who brings fresh content, practical tools, and unique experiential learning methods to deliver training that works. For more information visit www.excelsior-learning.com. Contact Dan by email at dancoleman@excelsior-learning.com or by phone at 330-284-5446.