The Garden Approach

It’s not about going in, closing a sale, and simply leaving. Sales are about building a relationship with your clients, which involves trust and understanding. To comprehend how to actually build a long-term client relationship we have to understand The Garden Approach. This approach treats sales and relationships as a garden that must be taken care of every day, must be introduced to modifications every once in a while, and has basic needs that must always be met.

First thing’s first, we have to lay out the groundwork of your sale. We need a problem and a direct solution. The problem, of course, needs to come from an understanding of your client; you need to listen to what they need and present a solution that makes sense for them.

The seed represents your solution that will grow each day to contribute to your client. This step involves going into the technicalities of your solution – if it needs a specific process, if it has established goals, an established timeline – every detail that your client needs to know.

Watering our plant will be the equivalent of giving your client confidence in what you are offering. This is an everyday thing, it requires commitment and a daily reminder of why you are doing this. It entails explaining and demonstrating why they need to pick you, why you are different from anyone offering a similar service, and why this solution makes sense for them in particular.

This one is similar to watering your plant. It symbolizes the trust that is built every day, or every meeting with your client. People buy from people they trust, so give them the opportunity to trust you as a real person with knowledge in the field, with experience, with the tools needed and as a partner in growth.

The seed can be good on its own but it needs soil with the right ingredients and conditions for it to flourish. Your company is the soil, therefore your clients need to understand that you are the perfect ground to lay the seed on. Your clients need to understand your ‘why’, they need to know where you come from, what has given you enough experience to solve the issue and why you are the perfect match for them.

It’s now time to close the sale. You’ve put in the effort and resources to get the garden to grow, now you have to harvest what you’ve planted. We do this by making a call to action at the end of the sale. An example would be asking for a time table; this is definable and sets an expectation.

But it doesn’t just end there, we have to make sure to take care of our garden so that we can harvest again; therefore, we have to maintain a good client relationship so that our sakes can always go up.