Moving into the Fall selling season, you will probably encounter a number of buyers who are working on their 2014 budgets. Depending upon your relationship with the buyer, often a great way to enhance your relationship is to offer to help him/her with the process.
Let’s say a property manager is budgeting for 2014 and you are selling security services. The obvious no brainer is to project routine service costs for the coming year. But you might be able to make the manager look good by offering to do a few other things that could also help advance your own cause in the process. For example, you might offer to do a security audit that the manager can then include in her report. It could point out areas that might need more attention over time . . . something like lighting in a corner of the parking lot or an alarm on a key door. Whatever the situation, she looks smarter for having gone beyond just the ordinary in speaking to security in her budget plan, and you enhance your relationship by providing her with the input to do so.
I can think of some opportunities where the intellectual discussion can be elevated in almost any property-related service . . . cleaning, elevators, landscaping, etc. The idea is not to upsell . . . it is to simply offer insight and resources as the manager, and her superiors, are thinking about the property’s strategic plan. Same goes for any other industry where services can contribute to value over time.
The best, long term buyer/seller relationships feature a “flow” of ideas and good will. Once we become part of the buyer’s strategic thought process, we are in the best place we can be as salespeople, advisors and just plain friends.
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