Your Relationship With Your Customer Is Key to Your Success

Employee Spotlight Profile

Todd Luciano, Publisher
Products Finishing

Go Blue!

I’ve been fortunate enough to work for Gardner Business Media over the past 24 years and have had the benefit of working on the best brands in each of the manufacturing categories that we serve. Since 2000, my focus has been on the Products Finishing brand, with the last eight years as publisher.

Although my role as publisher includes responsibility over every aspect of the brand, my emphasis has been on the business side of our brand. That would include working with our advertising base to formulate marketing programs utilizing the channels we’ve created to engage with the end use market along with maintaining a close relationship with the associations within our industry.

There have been many nights socializing with industry contacts, whether that be a customer or association partner, and there have been numerous conversations on what makes a successful sales professional. To me, its always been and will ever be, the relationship you build with your customer.

At the end of the day, people buy from people, and it really doesn’t matter what you are selling.

Yes, the actual service or product must provide the buyer benefits of whatever they are looking for, but in most cases, the buyer won’t pursue a business relationship if they don’t know you or worse yet, don’t like you. The goal for any true sales professional is not to make it easy to say Yes, but rather, make it very difficult for them to say No. Having a strong relationship with your customer will continue to provide value to your bottom line for years to come, not just that sales cycle or effort.

So, that’s the easy part, but the difficult question is how do you build that relationship?

In some ways, it’s very easy. The true earmark of a successful sales professional is likability, being knowledgeable about the product and/or industry they serve, accessibility and most importantly, follows up on the needs of their customer. There is nothing worse than a salesperson who is difficult to talk with, doesn’t have a solid footing on the product they are selling, never answers an email or phone call nor do they ever reach out to you for followup.

If you follow the basic tenants of a successful sales professional the relationship with your customer will be the byproduct of your efforts.

In other ways, it can be more challenging.

What I have found to be an invaluable resource is my participation with the industry associations. At the end of the day, the associations are there to build the future of your industry and all that are involved are there for the good of the market they serve. Having said that, the association also provide a great opportunity to network with industry contacts without having to sell them on anything.

When we start our careers, we are just salespeople trying to pitch something, take up the customers time and looking out for our personal best interest. Your goal should be to tear down the salesperson wall and build up your persona, so that they don’t see you as just selling something but rather as a friend of them and the industry. Associations are a great way to do this and have been instrumental in my success over the years.

Access to my contacts became much easier as they saw me as Todd the industry professional and not as someone who is there to waste their time and take their money.

All of this sounds easy, but it can take years to implement. There’s a saying in our business that it takes two to three years for a salesperson to really impact their territory and I believe that stands true even today. It’s not going to happen right away, but once you build that relationship with your customer then success will follow.

Need more information?
Todd Luciano, Publisher
Products Finishing
513-527-8809

About the Author

 

Todd Luciano

Todd leads a team of sales professionals and collaborates with the Editor-in-Chief on topics and content for multiple media platforms, including a vibrant and innovative monthly print magazine for the industrial surface finishing sector and an online industry news and technical reference website. He hires and supervises Products Finishing’s professional staff of editors, columnists and contributors, and is responsible for the day-to-day business operation of the publication. He also works extensively with industry trade organizations to articulate Products Finishing’s values and vision, and is responsible for developing and carrying out the brands long-term strategic plan.