Communication is an important component of any company’s success. When firms empower their employees with the interpersonal skills they require through sales training, they may be able to address their clients’ most crucial challenges.

‍Hair care brand listens, succeeds
‍Inc. Magazine reported that at the recent GrowCo conference in New Orleans, La., Lisa Price, founder of top-selling hair care brand Carol’s Daughter, spoke about how considering customer input helped her improve her offerings and shape her brand. Price said that when she began mixing and bottling fragrances and body butters in her kitchen, her mother encouraged her to start bringing those items to local craft fairs and flea markets. At these events, Price said at first she experienced disappointments: Women often asked if she carried hair products, and when Price said no, they would walk away without making a purchase.

Instead of just lamenting the fact that many customers weren’t interested in her items, Price decided to take action and use the feedback to her advantage. She explained that when she began looking into producing hair care products, she realized there was a whole niche market that wasn’t being filled. By listening to customers’ input, the businesswoman discovered that she could take on an important role in customers’ lives. Today, Carol’s Daughter is the top-selling hair care brand on HSN and the number one hair care company in terms of unit sales in national department stores.

Ultimately, Price stressed that for brands to be successful, it’s critical that executives don’t just consider what they want to do. Instead, they must be flexible and keep their ears open. She said that if businesses don’t really care about what consumers desire, they won’t be able to get shoppers to open up their wallets.

Vision Critical explained that this same principle applies to B2B enterprises. The source pointed out that purchase decisions are especially important in the B2B sphere, as many times, the success of a client’s organization truly depends on a merchant’s ability to provide the right solutions. Buying is a high-stakes process for these customers, and failing to meet client needs could result in significant financial losses on both ends. After all, dissatisfied B2B customers are likely to turn to competitors if they don’t see their requirements met.

In the B2B world, it is absolutely critical that sales associates and customer service staff are always listening. Any company’s health depends on its ability to fulfill clients’ varied needs on an ongoing basis, and this means that firms should ensure employees are getting the sales training and other resources they need to communicate effectively and turn their insights into solutions.