Not sure if it’s actually the case, but the first thing I remember learning in sales school 44 years ago was this:

According to Purchasing Magazine, the top three reasons why one sales rep is chosen over another are:

1. Raw Sales Ability
2. Product Knowledge
3. Customer Knowledge

Fast forward a couple of decades and I was asked to moderate a panel discussion featuring three Millennial buyers from Chicago. I told them about that survey and the results and asked for their comment. They leaned in and conferred with each other for a moment, then one spoke into the mic:

“Flip them. We buy from the rep who knows us. We buy from the rep who knows his/her products. And we don’t care about sales ability.”

That last point aside (I believe they don’t care only because they’ve never really experienced it in their swipe, swipe, buy world, but I digress…), take note, readers. It matters that you know about the client. What is their business? What are their trends? What are their needs?

You need to care about what they care about and go where they are headed.

It ain’t rocket surgery!

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Want to know how to read a prospect and come up with a powerful sales pitch? Take the course on SalesVault.pro or call Bill Farquharson at 781-934-7036 for more information.