Understanding the Needs of Customers

"Do you understand all of your customers' needs?"

Almost every sales professional worth his or her salt acknowledges the key importance of understanding their customer's needs But what does this really mean, and how do you achieve it in the real world?

The concept of needs-driven or needs-based selling is nothing new. Corporations have always boasted about their ability to develop products that address their customer's needs and the concept has been incorporated into sales training programs for decades. Why then, is needs-based selling often so poorly implemented?

"Do you understand all of your customers' needs?" In surveys, more than 80 percent of salespeople answer "yes" to this question. Yet studies of their customers reveal that, seen from the client's side, only 20 percent of salespeople are addressing needs. Some people call this startling discrepancy in perceptions the "80/20" rule." As a sales person, you need to understand why this happens, and what you can do to make sure that you're part of the successful 20 percent.

ACTION POINT: Aspire to be in the 20 percent of sales people.