Networking in the Construction Industry Selling Shouldn’t Stop at the Invoice

Selling Shouldn’t Stop at the Invoice

By Gerry Wiebe

As a sales person, you are fighting for the win.

You follow the best possible practices. You out-learn and out-hustle all of the competition to land the sale, and, hopefully through excellent product and service quality, convert that one sale into an account with a chain of future sales.

There is just one big problem with this concept: No matter how well you perform, you are always giving your customer one final thing . . . an invoice.

The customer has a responsibility to pay the invoice, and, as a result, will diligently be watching to ensure top performance on your part.

At the same time, they won’t be able to help but look over their other shoulder to see who is willing to outperform you on product, service or price. It’s just the nature of the game.

So now you “job it” and work toward developing strong customer loyalty, which, on a good day, is already a tough enough challenge.

This is why it’s imperative that you exercise top value delivery, and . . .

Become a Profit Center to Your Customer

Wait a minute. As a seller, my job is to sell, get paid, and line up the next sale.

There’s no room for moving backwards in the sales process. They pay you—you don’t pay them.

Herein this singular logic, lies the magic of bringing your customers value— so much value that you become a hero, the receiver of the warmest smiles, a personally made cup of coffee by the gatekeeper and the receiver of your customer’s time any time you ask for it.

How is this done?

• Invest “Quality Time” with your prospects and customers.
• Know your customers and what to them is the perfect customer.
• Know your customers problems and what to them perfect solutions look like.
• Connect the dots between those who need solutions (buy or sell) and those who deliver them.
• Literally, arrange coffees between members of your network and make the contacts that bring new business relationships into existence, some are buyers of solutions, others the sellers.
• Systematically, over time you will have brought your prospects and customers more net profit than your own products and services cost.
• You are now a PROFIT CENTER to your customer.

Eliminate competition

Now how will the competition, compete with you?

All they do is sell. Even if they drop their price to $0.00, they will not win a sale because your value proposition is simply superior.

You have brought, and will continue to bring, so much value to your customers that change will not even be considered unless you bring it.

Understand, this is not a make-sales-fast scenario.

Significant hard work is needed to generate the network and trust that leads to a true understanding of your prospects’ and customers’ needs so you are able to legitimately connect those within your network to make referrals powered by your personal recommendation.

Understand that the efforts, when maintained over a prolonged period of time, generate sales results and customer loyalty like you have never experienced before.

Change your value, change your world.

To learn how to apply this strategy to your business, get in touch.

[email protected]