Feel like you have too many eggs in too few baskets when it comes to your revenue? Too reliant on TPA business or national accounts? Or maybe you’ve watched your direct insurance agent referrals waning over the last couple years?
Expanding into commercial sales could prove to be a strategic pursuit to answer your problems. The world of commercial or B2B sales is all about pain-solution selling, a time-tested sales approach designed to hit the bullseye of your customer’s deepest needs. At the heart of this powerful method is a simple yet profound truth:
People buy not out of want, but out of need; a need to alleviate pain, solve problems, and eliminate frustrations.
The traditional notion of relying solely on candy and smiles is fading away, or rather, has already become obsolete. In today’s commercial landscape, the key lies in embracing the concept of discovery as the driving force behind sales. It’s about getting to the truth. How do damage events affect their business? What are the most frustrating parts of the experience? What keeps them up at night? What are they not getting from their current vendor that we could potentially give them? How well do you actually know your prospect?
There are various types of pain:
- Negative or stressful past experiences that your clients want to avoid.
- Unfulfilled preferences and wishes that your clients are waiting for a vendor to fulfill.
- Recurring service failures that your clients are suffering from.
However,recognizing the problem is only the beginning. Pain-solution selling empowers you to offer tailored solutions to your client’s specific pain points. Forget the one-size-fits-all sales pitches or canned objection-handling; this method is all about selling to what the customer actually cares about.
The key lies in establishing a meaningful connection between their pain and practical, tangible solutions within our business.
“It sounds like communication frequency has been a frustrating theme during your last several damage events. We’re not perfect either, but I can tell you about the system we use to try to make sure you’re always in the loop?
We refer to it as our 24-hour job update email. All of our project managers close their day with an update to every active job on their desk. This way, all of our clients stay up to date on what’s happening with the jobs we’re doing for them.
If XYZ Restoration had a process like that, do you think it would have made your last several damage events with them easier on you and your team?
That’s exactly why we do it- it’s the only real way we’ve found to keep our property managers and their owner-clients in the loop.”
In the realm of operational decision-makers, one approach doesn’t fit all. Every company, ops executive, and real estate portfolio has different past experiences and different needs. Our technique enables you to adapt your offering and communication to different pain points. As a result, you don’t come across as a fast-talking or annoying salesperson. Instead, you are a trusted peer and partner- accelerating trust-building, and fostering long-lasting relationships.
Developing commercial sales in your business isn’t easy, but with pain-solution selling, and the proper training you can build a strong book of business that feeds the team and grows your profit.
What are 4 foundational attributes of pain-solution selling?
- Be an active listener and a curious inquirer.
- Seek to understand your prospect’s business and past/current vendor experience.
- Instead of pitching and promoting, sell your solutions to their pain points.
- Don’t bother prospects- make your follow-ups value-added, related to their pain-points or needs.
In essence, pain-solution selling goes beyond a mere sales methodology. It serves as a catalyst for building partnerships, generating revenue, and ensuring client satisfaction. By adopting this approach, you position yourself as a reliable resource and a trusted Peer-Partner for your potential business prospects.
Ready to build a thriving commercial sales operation? Dive into Floodlight’s Commercial Sales MasterCourse. This comprehensive program is your team’s turnkey solution to mastering the art of pain-solution selling, tailored specifically for the restoration industry.
Our course doesn’t just teach you methods or word tracks, it instills a fresh mindset, a new way to think about our prospects, what they need, and how to sell what they want. Empower your team to become more than just salespeople – transform them into trusted advisors and valued partners for your clients.
For more information visit us at: www.floodlightgrp.com
FLOODLIGHT’S COMMERCIAL SALES MASTERCOURSE: https://www.floodlightgrp.com/salesmastercourse
Chris Nordyke
Chris Nordyke is the co-Founder and President of Floodlight Consulting Group and Floodlight Sales Partners. Chris speaks throughout the year at industry events, and conducts live workshops focused on commercial sales and ops, customer experience strategy and building enterprise value. He is also the co-Host of the Head Heart & Boots podcast, a popular restoration industry show. For more information on Floodlight’s fractional sales management solution, visit https://www.floodlightgrp.com/
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