The Buyer's angle: Create Engagement

Here is the first insight I gained as a buyer:

The best seller I have come across in this assignment is the person who Engaged with me patiently and Energetically. From our very first interaction, this gentleman has been continuously probing our NEEDs while also trying to learn the WANTs. He has spent a lot of time trying to provide me adequate and not excessive knowledge and information about his products, services and the marketplace.
He did this regularly which led to a certain relationship being formed between us.
He fertilised the relationship with a lot of genuine and honest help in various matters. He shared open insights about his own company, sharing with me things which would work in his company and things which would not. He continuously tried to read the same about my company. This clearly helped in defining expectations about each other.

So what has this engagement done for the Deal to go through?

1. It has built a certain familiarity about each other's company. Expectation management.
2. It has helped him understand my customer, which will hopefully give him an opportunity of customising his offering to our specific needs.
3. It has withstood some of the other competitors, who risk a chance of loosing out as they did not engage often enough.
4. It has built respect. If he is keen to sell, I also am keen to buy. The engagement creates value for both of us.

Now this is important. Every salesman has a certain desperation to clinch the order. This purportedly gives the buyer the 'upper' hand. Both forget that the customer gains value and utility from the product he buys. Hence there are no favours that a customer really does in giving the salesman an order. I think an Engagement with the right contents ensures that both sides understand VALUE.

How many times and how long do you engage with your customer? Very often, we believe that the follow-up for the order is Engagement. Well I don't think so.

Dwell on this. Share your views on this. I too intend to create this discussion with many other contacts. In my next post, I will try to crystallize this distinction.
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