The Walk: Why Your Sales Team Needs to Start Educating Your Customers

One of the most exciting things a sales rep can experience is when a customer explains that they bought a product or service because the sales rep took the time to walk them through the process. Too often, sales reps fail to do something we call the “The Walk” at SmartFox Technologies.

Let’s take a closer look at how “The Walk” can help both your company and customers, and how Salesforce and AppExchange apps can help you enable it.

What is ‘The Walk’ and why does it matter?

“The Walk” is truly one of the most important game-changers in the sales process. Let me explain. Quite often customers are buying products or services for the first or second time in their career. Sometimes, even their job depends on the success of this purchase. For this reason, the customer often doesn’t know how to start and how the purchasing process works. They lean on research, advice, and direction from others to ensure they don’t make a mistake. They are looking for that sales rep who will “walk” them through each step in the buying process with confidence. They desire an expert opinion needless to say from someone who knows everything about the industry, the vendors and products available, and the requirements necessary to purchase the product or service they desire.

At SmartFox Technologies we ensure the process of “The Walk” is not forgotten. “The Walk” is simply the process of setting up goals and objectives in each stage of a sales process for the customer to follow. This means becoming a coach/advocate for the customer’s best interests and not the sales rep. We believe the sales rep needs to show the customer they are willing to support them through each stage of the buying process. The key is to establish trust and confidence with the customer by steering them down the path of success.

How the best sales reps educate customers

The most talented sales reps perform “The Walk” with their customer early, showing them each stage of the buying process. They educate the customer to help them build the criteria necessary for purchasing the product or service. They present to them the vendors in the industry and show them if and how they measure up to their criteria. They help them create a shortlist of vendors to consider. They ensure the customer sticks to a plan on how to compare and contrast the differences and advantages of the shortlisted vendors based on the criteria both the sales rep and customer have agreed upon. They show the customer they are willing to walk away in the best interest of the customer sooner than later. The outcome is the sales rep gains trust and now owns the customer’s buying process. The sales rep guides the customer to that smooth trail to walk down without unforeseen obstacles and proven success.

In contrast, a sales rep who assumes the customer knows how to purchase their product or service and does not complete “The Walk”, will lose more often even if they have a better price or offer. If the customer tells the sales rep they decided to go a different direction even though the sales rep’s offering was better, the sales rep should now know that the competition controlled “The Walk,” not them. These moments happen too often because the sales rep did not establish the customer’s trust in the beginning, allowing their competition to take advantage of educating the customer through the buying process.

How the AppExchange can help

“The Walk” is too often forgotten, but it is a strong indication of if the sales rep has taken full command of the customer’s buying process or not. The AppExchange has tools that can help enable the effectiveness of “The Walk.”

I encourage all Salesforce AppExchange partners to do “The Walk” early, establish trust, and improve your success. Salesforce AppExchange provides us partners with dashboards and insights to help us connect more fully with customers shopping for our apps. Staying on top of app statistics and leads in your Salesforce Partner profile is a great way to establish “The Walk” early with your potential customers.

Check out SmartFox Prime’s Business Forecast System and other apps that can help your sales team do The Walk on the AppExchange.