Selling With The Customer In Mind
Industry News
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If you listened to our podcast (Construction Disruption) recently, you might have heard us discuss ethical selling and, by extension, consultative selling too. Most professionals are familiar with ethics, sales, and consulting, but combining the three yields promising results.
Sales power most businesses, whether those appeals come from marketing campaigns, targeted ads, fundraisers, promos, or even door-to-door efforts.
Ethics drive us, the code of conduct we hold for all our dealings in life. But in a business context, they affect our partners, suppliers, and clients. Our behavior defines us and the companies we represent.
Consulting is seeking advice, paying for the learned experience, and enlisting another opinion. Consultants often make great money offering their services, but how does a role like this serve the customer?
Before we answer that, let’s combine ethics and sales for a different take on selling. According to Rolf Snobeck, our interview guest in that recent episode, “if we can help, I am ethically bound to tell the building owner that I have a solution for them. If, however, I can’t help them, I’m also ethically bound to say I’m not the right fit.” From Rolf’s perspective, ethical sales involve comprehensive knowledge of his company’s offerings and his client’s needs. Once you establish that, steering customers in the best direction for them may include a competitor.
We’ve gone further, setting a self-defined code of ethics for all customer interactions. Your solution may fall somewhere on the spectrum between a written code and an understanding. Whatever the case, ethical selling is a refreshing approach for all salespeople.
Beyond ethics, leverage the consultant’s role to truly discover the problems and pain points of the homeowner. We recommend asking questions, inspecting the current roof and attic, and applying existing knowledge to nail down the perfect roof every time.
Much like Rolf’s statement, a true consultant wants the best for his client, willing to send them elsewhere to find success. They assume the position of guide, leading people through a roofing journey. The homeowner becomes the hero of the story, not the product and certainly not the salesperson or company. Our President, Todd Miller, says it best, “you’ll see this moment in a salesperson’s career a lot of times where suddenly the lightbulb goes on that they are selling for the benefit of the customer, not for the benefit of themselves.”
So how will your ethics influence your sales approach? And will you invest in each client, hearing their story, discovering their problems, and delivering a tailor-made solution? Take a closer look at your sales process and remember who the hero of the home improvement journey is.
Todd Miller has spent his entire career in the metal building products manufacturing industry. He is president of Isaiah Industries, an organization recognized as one of the world’s leading metal roofing manufacturers. Todd is currently Vice President of the MRA (Metal Roofing Association) and a Past Chair of MCA (Metal Construction Association). Through his website, he strives to raise the bar on standards and practices to provide property owners with the best possible products for successful roofing projects.
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