UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
JEAN-PAUL DAMEN argues for using technology to personalise experience
T
he sales process has undergone a makeover in recent years to focus on a personal approach for building and maintaining strong customer relationships, rather than one-off transactions. So what does personalisation mean and how can sales teams use it to help close deals? IMPACTING ON TODAY’S SALES PERFORMANCE Gone are the days when it was all about closing deals by any means possible. Sales leaders and teams still primarily measure performance on sales numbers – and this can drive a laser focus on getting those last deals closed by the end of the quarter – but the process has become much more sophisticated, and the opportunity for improvement is greater. Customer demand and development of new technologies now enables sales professionals to create closer ongoing relationships that can drive customer advocacy, loyalty, recommendations and repeat purchases. Sales teams should be very context-specific in 18 WINNING EDGE
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their interactions with customers. Too often we still see very generic customer service responses that look like they come straight out of a machine and miss the right tone of voice or personal touch to trigger the customer. TECHNOLOGY AND CUSTOMERFOCUSED CULTURE The application of the right technology, reporting tools and coaching can assist in driving a customer-focused culture. This can stimulate a truly personalised approach whereby the salesperson understands and works to serve customer needs. CRM and marketing tools can inform sales teams about the context of the customer; reporting tools inform how the customer is using products and what the customer wants. Teams can use the information to offer tailored, contextually-based pitches on the next sale and, most of all, to prepare themselves before they engage with a customer. This information can also help organisations determine how and where they may need to improve and how they can therefore deliver ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
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