Do you struggle with customer business reviews? How do you move away from customer conversations focused on operational reporting to truly strategic, forward-looking discussions?
Rita McGrath, author of “Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen,” shares three ideas:
- Be prepared to meet your customers where they are. Keep in mind that your customers can be anywhere in the buyer’s journey with your solution.
- B2B sales teams need to move away from industries as the dominant way of thinking strategically. Instead, focus on the job your customer is trying to get done. At the end of the day, nobody purchases your solution to simply make a purchase. Buyers purchase your solution because they have something they want to achieve for themselves. The first part of a good strategic conversation is to ask your customer, “What outcome are you trying to achieve?” And then, you can dive into a rich exploration of the alternative ways of getting to that outcome.
- The most significant competitor you have may not be in your industry. Sellers need to have a deep understanding of their customers and what else is going on in your customer’s life or in your customer’s experience, which could affect demand for the solution you provide.
Learn more about how to elevate your strategic business reviews to retain your customers in this video clip.
