Building relationships is key to successful sales and business and knowing yourself is the first step to achieving this.
Rotorua public speaker and motivational expert Deb Bell led a three-hour workshop on "Clinching the Deal" in business at the Distinction Hotel yesterday as part of the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce Business Toolbox series.
"It's all about getting the order - whether you are selling a product or a service - because that's the point at which business is done."
Bell outlined a six-step sales process to take new contacts, ask the right questions to see whether they fit into your target markets, make a first sale, bring the customer back as a regular client who will then become an advocate for your business, providing referrals based on the added value they have received from you.
"The last step is to create an evangelist who actively promotes your business because they really believe in you and what you are doing."
While there are various skills and techniques involved in moving new contacts through this process, she said the whole thing was overlayed on your ability to start and build business relationships.
"Selling is a conversation building trust and confidence.
"You cannot sell to, or do business with, somebody you do not have a mutual, respectful relationship with."
The best place to start when building such relationships is with yourself.
"You need to do a personal stocktake of where you are, what you are up to, what is your focus and what are your concerns."
This includes working out your personality type and the associated ways of working and relating to and communicating with others.
Bell recommended Allison Mooney's Pressing the Right Buttons as a good Kiwi perspective on personality.
"Building relationships is all about personality styles - being able to quickly assess who you are dealing with and adapt your style to fit. But you need to know yourself first."
She urged attendees to read books and attend workshops to gather as much knowledge and insight as they could to recognise where and when they worked most efficiently and how their style could be creating barriers with different sorts of people.
Being able to identify personality types also helps a salesperson to decide the best ways to try to add value for specific clients - by appealing to the bottom line, social responsibility or environmental sustainability.
While building relationships does build loyalty, Bell said "the law of recency" applied more today than ever before.
You can put effort into building a rapport with and educating a potential customer, but the timing is wrong.
Without regular contact and follow ups, there is a risk the customer will end up going with a competitor who happens to be in the right place when the right time does arrive.
Bell likened a business relationships to a rubber band - they are both flexible and can be stretched from time to time, but if you stretch either too far, they will break and, if you let them go, they will twang and it will hurt.
Ten top tips for clinching the deal:
1. Do business with people, not businesses.
2. Ask yourself why anyone would want to do business with you.
3. Be generous with your energy, time and resources.
4. Give away one referral every day.
5. Exchange five business cards a day.
6. Always ask if you can bring a guest to any function - share the opportunities.
7. Listen.
8. Encourage and enjoy pauses.
9. Honour your word.
10. Practice co-operation - with businesses that share your target market.