Few would argue the point that companies couldn't exist without customers. Yet, how many companies put the customer front and center in their businesses; that is, how many are truly customer-centric?

Ask yourself a few basic questions. Do you develop products that customers have asked for, or do you develop products that you think they will buy? Do you price products based on the value they provide to the customer, or do you price products based on your internal costs or your competitors' pricing? Do you promote your products based on how they can be used to improve the customer's business, or simply based on what they are or do? And, finally, do you sell to customers based on what you've learned about their business, or based on what you know about your own products? In today's marketplace, selling is all about the customer. If you don't understand what your customer needs, then you haven't earned the right to talk about your products. In addition, if you can't demonstrate how using your products will improve the financial results of the customer's business, then you will lose out to someone who can.

Let's reflect back on how the role of the sales person has evolved. In the earlier days, demand was abundant and products were well understood by potential customers. Sellers went in to give their "pitch", differentiate themselves by comparing "features, advantages, and benefits", nudge (or shove!) the customer by "overcoming objections", and secure the deal with the ABC approach, i.e. Always Be Closing.

As technology advanced and competition intensified, customers were looking for a way to make investments that gave them a competitive advantage but they didn't understand the technology. Sellers then took on the role of a consultant. They "partnered" with their customer by first learning about their business, then positioned their own technology in a simplified way so that non-technical buyers could make decisions. This was the first step towards becoming customer-centric.

Today's marketplace is even more competitive and confusing, but for different reasons. Technology is no longer the panacea to "world hunger." Advances in technology have been more incremental than monumental, so the mystique associated with high tech is no longer a huge issue. If anything, technology has become commoditized and customers are now confused by the plethora of vendors claiming to have the "most automated, integrated, seamless, robust, state-of-the-art solutions." Your customers struggle for differentiation by demonstrating that they can add value to their clients' business, so you, as sellers, have to do the same. What customers need is a sales person that can play a dual role of buyer and seller...the sales person needs to understand the business issues from the perspective of the customer (buyer), wade through the pile of available solutions, and demonstrate that their own (seller) solution can lead to the financial improvement of the business. In essence, the sales person needs to answer this question, "If I were the buyer, why would I want to buy this solution?" and then be able to explain the answer to the prospect. A win/win must be achieved.

So, how do you move from a seller-centric to a customer-centric approach to selling? Let's break it down into the mechanics of the sales process and see what the sales people can do to keep the focus on the customer.

Introduce yourself and your company by describing how you help your customers. As a CustomerCentric Selling® affiliate, my "product" is sales process training and consulting services. If I were to call you, visualize your reaction to the following introduction: "Hi, this is Deb Voigt with CustomerCentric Systems. We're in the sales process training and consulting business, and I would like to talk with you about our offerings to see if you would have an interest." Now, imagine that you heard: "Hi, this is Deb Voigt with CustomerCentric Systems. We're in the business of helping customers address challenges with their selling organizations such as reducing sell cycle time, improving close ratios, and improving forecast accuracy. I'd like to learn more about your business to see if there might be an opportunity for us to work together." Both introductions are professional, but the latter clearly puts the focus on the customer. The idea is to connect with the customer by sharing a business issue that he/she may be facing so that enough curiosity is generated to warrant further discussion.

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