How You Can Ensure Your Absolute Right to the Next Order

I talk a lot about being other-oriented on this blog. If you are aiming to be a level 4, trusted advisor sales professional you won’t get there by being focused on yourself. I also talk about not being subservient to your client.

A client who does not see you as a trusted peer is not your dream client, and may very well be your nightmare. If you find the balance where you put your client’s needs at the forefront and you gain their trust by being a value creator, you can create a situation where you have an absolute right to their next order.

• How do you sell so that you have an absolute right to your client’s next order?
• How do sell so that you have an absolute right to the next initiative, and the right to recommend what that change should look like?

Selling is conversations and commitments. The whole concept of selling is about creating a strong preference for you and your solution.

You can’t create a preference with the lowest price. Some sales organizations win with lowest price because it’s their business strategy. But even then, a competitor with an even lower price can displace them. That’s not a preference.

To create a preference you need relationships. Relationships start with trust, and trust starts with caring. If you’re self-oriented, you make it hard to believe that you care, and when a decision is complex, risky, and expensive, trust is the first test. The relationships you have throughout your dream client’s company deepen their preference for you, your company, and your solutions.

But after trust, you create a preference by demonstrating your ability to develop and execute the solution. You need to be someone that your dream client prefers because they want you to be part of their team. You also need ideas that allow you to create value from quarter to quarter and year to year.

Relationships matter. The economic value that you create matters.

What would you do differently if your goal was to create so strong a preference for you that you had an absolute right to your client’s next order?

What would you do now to create the right to develop and execute the next initiative your dream client pursues?”