This week, we introduce “Blazing New Trails,” a new blog series highlighting what’s on the minds of our ZMac Thought Leaders. Caleb Eeg, ZMac Sales Executive, authors our first post on what makes for a successful sale.

The opinion of a successful sale seems to vary quite a bit. One sales rep will tell you it’s a profitable one. The next will say it’s a high volume, high revenue sale that really got his boss fired up. I can recall working for an employer who would not approve a sale unless we made a specific amount of gross profit percentage and that always bothered me.

What if I told you that neither of those truly define a successful sale? That a successful sale, stripped down to the most authentic meaning, is a lot simpler than that.

Think of it this way: a sale is the exchange of a commodity or service for money. That’s it. When you go to your local Target to pick up laundry detergent, is it anything more than that? Aside from the man or woman pushing the cart a little too slowly in front of you, probably not. And I’m sure Target would call that a successful sale. Now, let’s imagine that the laundry detergent rang up higher than the price marked on the shelf. The team member at the check out will price-adjust the laundry detergent to the sale price and you, the customer, walk away happy. Again, a successful sale. And chances are you’ll be more likely to return to Target when you need more laundry detergent because of the good service they provided.  

My Sales Philosophy

I apply this same idea to my own sales philosophy. I ask myself “What will keep my customer happy and ultimately coming back for more business?” My answer is always to make my customer’s experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. To make sure my customer understands they are important and valued. Let’s say they ask you to drop the price a little bit for one reason or another. If it strengthens the relationship, I say, why not? And if they ask you to make some last minute changes that might have you bending over backward? You make it happen. And at no cost to them if you can manage it. There’s a breaking point of course, but you should be doing everything in your power to accommodate them.

Eventually, what will happen is your customer will learn to rely on you. To trust you. To come to you when they’re in a seemingly impossible situation. And with each time that you provide a solution, your relationship strengthens and grows and suddenly (or not so suddenly) the price will no longer be a determining factor.

Change Your View Of The Sale

The sooner you change your view of the sale, so will your customers. The small things won’t matter anymore, and you both are focused and committed to your customer’s success. You are viewed as an ally, and not an enemy eating away at their pocket book.

So, how do we really define a successful sale? It should be simple. Complete the exchange. Make your customer happy. The money will follow. And it will be a side effect of the more important end result: keeping customers happy!