In my work as a sales coach and mentor I often speak about Customer Intimacy
For many, Intimacy is an awkward word to use when referring to your customer (or prospective customers) relationships.
Awkward in the sense that most people are uncomfortable with the dynamic of intimacy in their personal lives. For most, Intimacy is actually an element they seek to avoid or extract from their professional world.
This makes sense when you think about what the word intimacy suggests.
It conjures images of closeness... connectedness... trust... the sharing of hopes and dreams and fears... our deepest darkest secrets... Right?
How does this contrast with a typical buyer-seller relationship?
What words come to mind when you think about your 'normal' customer interaction?
-Adversarial
-Closed
-Guarded
-Distrustful
Often, the most important information - that which would enable us to truly help - is not shared (or worse... Concealed) by the prospect.
Why?
Because they fear we will use information gained to our advantage instead of to their benefit. This should sound familiar as the primary barrier to intimacy in our personal lives is the fear that others will use our hopes and dreams to hurt us...either intentionally or by accident.
People spend years...sometimes decades in therapy trying to open up and connect with others. It shouldn't be surprising then that this dynamic carries over to their careers.
How them are we to overcome this challenge in the professional realm?
Should we even bother trying or should we resign ourselves to shallow, guarded, and transactional customer relationships.
I am going to save my approach to this conundrum for another post...a series actually. In the meantime, I'd love to see your thoughts and have you share some experiences.
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2 comments:
great post. i'm interested in your follow-up posts on this topic. customer intimacy is lacking from my sales interactions and i can see the value of this; much like building rapport and trust.
In my experience, customer intimacy is critical to gaining trust and credibility throughout the sales cycle. These are the first steps toward the customer understanding that your are truly trying to help them, and finding ways for the offering you represent to eventually become a solution.
It is critical that through these efforts the AE understands how the tool will enable their core business to drive value or see significant return.
However, as of late I have noticed that having a strong understanding of these intimate values, and relationship with your champion/sponsor is the most deadly weapon in complex negotiations.
When the procurement types take a first hay maker to demand discounts, the knock out blow for a sales pro is to respond with a NO backed up with the quantified details wrapped around your most intimate findings. Like an iron fist in a satin glove.
Basically the exercise of explaining to the procurement person, who is compensated on discounts, that YOU know your customer better than they do... Check Please..
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