Mike Clark’s Business Bites: An outward mindset helps you see the benefits of collaboration

By collaborating, you can multiply the size of your salesforce through the power of referrals and word of mouth. Photo / Freepix

OPINION:

One of the more cliché sayings in business is that “one should work smarter, not harder”. An area where this can be done particularly well is through collaboration with other businesses - those which service a similar market to you but that are not competitors.

For many people, this requires a mindset shift, because we tend to closely guard our client base. This often springs from a sense of lack - a poverty mindset and inward focus. When you become more strategic and have an outward mindset, you see the opportunity collaboration can bring. This requires being prepared to put your clients’ needs first, and thinking about what is good for them.

Take a holistic approach to what their challenges and opportunities are from your perspective, with your industry knowledge and connections. The better you know your clients, the better you can serve them. Identify areas of improvement and consider who you could partner with to solve these problems. When you leverage what each brings to a client, you can both service the client far more effectively.

Some examples of this include:

• Finding sales reps who offer complementary products and seeing if you can put together a package deal for clients. My favourite example is a client who made steel sheds and collaborated with a company that made steel sheep runs. They worked out a package deal where a farmer could have a new shed and customised sheep yard, and then marketed the deal to their client database. The additional marketing exposure was good for both of them and the offer was exactly what some farmers were looking for.
• Training other reps in what your product does and how it benefits the customer. This allows sales reps to offer insight beyond their product or service and sets them apart as people who know the industry.
• Letting each other know when a large project is coming up and/or going to tender. This allows you to be one of the first to engage with the client. Additionally, if a project is a significant size, you can partner with others to be a strong contender.

Training reps from other businesses in your product knowledge enables them to come up with better solutions for clients, builds their reputation as a trusted adviser and conveys to the client you are focused on their success.

Trade fairs and expos are great places to meet reps who you can collaborate with. You can also explore networking opportunities by speaking to your clients and finding out who else they trust and are working with.

When your scope of knowledge lies beyond your product or service and is truly focused on helping the customer to be successful, they are far more likely to trust and rely on you. Their willingness to call you when something comes up means you will often be their first point of call when they are thinking of upgrading or replacing products and services.

This puts you in an ideal position to pass on leads to the companies that help make up the solution for the customer. This is often reciprocated, effectively multiplying the size of your salesforce through the power of referrals and word of mouth.

Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company.