Ask just about any Head of Sales in B2B corporate Australia about the nature of the relationship between the Sales Execs and their respective customers and you will hear rhetoric about business partnerships and the training, leadership and expenditure invested to move beyond transactionally based sales relationships.

Too often, though, once the first layer or two of this onion is peeled back, the onion is revealed as hollow.  There are no tangible systems, processes, rules and tools to support superior farming activity.  From the inside looking out, XYZ industries believes that their customers consider the Sales Execs as business partners…………….when independents talk to the same customers the view is quite different and usually much closer to the sales relationship end of the spectrum.  “XYZ Industries Sales Exec comes to visit us once a month or two to sell us their products/services and to fix up the problems with the last lot of their products/services we bought”.

Often the customers judge the respective merits between  Sales Execs representing competing companies from a personality perspective.  “I buy from ABC Industries because I like their Sales Exec – he takes me to the footy every season”.

The key to elevating the Sales Exec – customer relationship from transactional/sales and service to value adding business partnership is…….not surprisingly……….in the way that the Sales Exec, on behalf of the company being represented, can add value.  Systematically.  As part of a program.  A program featuring calendared visits to the customer by the Sales Exec.  To run/deliver the value add program elements.  As well as selling and servicing.

Introspect accordingly – how can our Sales Execs add value as a trusted advisor?  As trusted partner?  As a trusted doer for the customer? Click here to access a model to assist.