As I was chatting to the National Sales Manager about the potential danger of losing this important client of theirs, I asked her whether her salespeople were holding their client accountable for receiving the value they sought.

Let me repeat that question for you as you read this article…..”Are you holding your clients accountable for receiving the value they sought when they bought from you?

My conversation with the National Sales Manager soon turned to one of the key problems that the ‘soft selling’ movement have created…..that of a lack of clarity around accountability.

Whether you’re selling a product or service, the value that can be experienced by your clients when they buy what you sell, will only be fully realised if they, the client, live up to their end of the deal.

For example, if you’re a recruitment consultant who has successfully placed a candidate with a client company, and that candidate is not well inducted, welcomed, coached, and resourced to perform the role for which they were employed, then it’s the client who has not kept up their end of the deal – and when the candidate quits……who is really accountable?

If you’re selling a product and your client, despite having been fully briefed or trained on how to use the product to gain maximum value, chooses not to follow recommended procedure and the product doesn’t perform to expectation….who is accountable?

When we ‘close’ or confirm the sale, highly effective , successful and professional salespeople clearly articulate not only what they will be accountable for, they also gain commitment and confirmation from their clients (that’s why I prefer ‘confirm’ the sale rather than ‘close’ the sale), that the client will do what they need to do to fully experience the value they seek.

There’s nothing soft about selling and professional salespeople hold themselves and their clients accountable for value fulfilment.