The way in which prospects and customers want to deal with sales people has changed dramatically over the past several years.

Some of you may recall the days of relationship selling, needs-based selling, question-based selling, followed by selling to address your clients’ companies’ goals. All of these had merit in their day because they were providing the value that clients were seeking at the time.

But in today’s sophisticated business environment, clients are looking for more than great relationships with sales people and sales people that are focused on solving pain points.

How to grab the attention of decision makers in today’s tough market

The answer lies with the business decision makers themselves; and what they want may well surprise you!

It’s about what you know and ask—and less about what you pitch.

Business leaders say that it is imperative for sales people to know their business and industry. They expect sales people to do their research and understand how their offering specifically provides benefits to their organization. Frequently, however, sales people are not prepared when they meet customers; and have a tendency to wing it, leaving their customers frustrated and feeling as though they’ve wasted their valuable time.

Winning clients over requires you to change your approach from pushing your pitch, to engaging them with perspective-sharing and collaborative conversations that reveal your knowledge and interest in their industry, processes, needs, and wants.

So do your homework, prepare for your sales calls, show your customers that meeting with you was a good use of their time, and win!