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Think about the last time you bought something. How attuned was the salesperson to your “why”?

Most salespeople make the mistake of “selling” or “pitching” their product or service rather than discovering the prospective customer’s motive, reason or desire to buy.

EXAMPLE: “I want my daughter to go to college” is not a motive. WHY you want your daughter to go to college is the trigger for writing the check. Maybe it’s that you were too poor to go; maybe she’s been talking about being a nurse since she was 7. Whatever the motive is, all the sales pitches in the world won’t mean anything unless or until you discover and press on the emotional nerve.

Old-world sales tactics, closing techniques and other sales drivel are over. The Internet has replaced the pitchman. All facts are retrievable in a nanosecond. The Internet has made business buyers and consumers smarter than ever.

Today’s salespeople better be question-based, value-driven, customer-focused and able to prove the value of a product rather than try to sell it. Proof comes from testimonials, not sales presentations. Testimonials will reveal other people’s motive to buy.

In case you haven’t noticed, the world is changing. Not just the economy. The world. This will affect the way sales are made forever. At present, customers are reluctant to buy. Sales cycles are lengthening.

It’s interesting to see companies, management and salespeople reacting to this. Most panic to “make their numbers” or “push for more sales.” Or they’re “worried about what their shareholders will think about falling sales.” Total mistake.

Now is the time to find out why and where your customers are hurting and try to help them. Now is the time to keep your customers loyal by providing extra service, not cutting back. Now is the time to invest in attitude training for everyone in your company, so they can have hope and a better outlook than what is portrayed in the media.

I am telling my readers and clients to do the following four things, and if they do these things, there will be a reward – it’s number 4.5.

1. Serve your customers beyond their expectations. Fast deliveries. Error-free order processing. Ease of doing business with you. And all of that with FRIENDLY people.

2. Help your customers beyond their expectations. Your sales are suffering because their business is suffering. Look for ways to help them. Your gesture of genuine help and kindness will be remembered when the economy begins to rebound (and it will). Maybe the help is in the form of volunteering to work there for a day; maybe it’s an idea or brainstorming session; maybe it’s a lead or a referral.

3. Look to increase your wallet share (sales volume) with existing customers. It may be at the same location, it may be at a different branch or even a different division, but more sales are out there.

4. Work your ass off. Start an hour or two earlier, work an hour or two later. If you’re looking for more sales, it’s likely they won’t come between 9 and 5. Have breakfast or lunch with as many customers and prospects as possible. They’re too busy? Call them and tell them you have a prospect who wants to do business with them. They’ll suddenly become available.

Once you dedicate yourself to mastering and executing these four actions, then and only then …

4.5. Referrals will begin coming your way, because you have earned them. Maybe not many at first. But the harder you work, the more value you provide, the more positive you are, the more help you offer, the more the world will pay you back.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2009 Jeffrey H. Gitomer