{"id":9149,"date":"2016-01-18T09:54:07","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T08:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/passodue.flywheelsites.com\/2016\/01\/18\/internal-customer\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T12:40:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T11:40:03","slug":"internal-customer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diariodiunconsulente.it\/en\/2016\/01\/18\/internal-customer\/","title":{"rendered":"The various dimensions of a sale: the internal customer"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Alberto Aleo<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome back! Since one of the major difficulties on returning to work after the holidays is getting used once again to your working environment<\/strong> and your “internal customer<\/strong>“, that is to say your colleagues, today’s article tackles this issue. We salespeople are accustomed to think of customers<\/strong> as people who live and work outside our company while there may sometimes be an underlying conflict in our relationship with colleagues<\/strong> (and company procedures). This could be because we are used to being \u201cout and about\u201d and find deskwork stifling, or it might be that our direct contact with the market means we really know \u201cwhat they want out there\u201d. The fact is that we poorly tolerate anyone and anything that comes between us, our goals, and the way we have decided to achieve them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is selling all about the external customer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Actually, the work of selling involves creating connections. Salespeople must not only find, develop <\/strong>and retain <\/strong>customers, but also translate their needs into information<\/strong>, procedures<\/strong> and inputs<\/strong> that can be \u201cdigested\u201d by the company and then transformed into an output<\/strong> for the market<\/strong>. Companies without salespeople would be like tourists without an interpreter<\/span>, grappling with the language of a foreign country. Seen from this point of view, our work is strategic, isn\u2019t it?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"cliente<\/p>\n

Photo by\u00a0Vlad Hilitanu<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

The art of translation<\/h2>\n

Customers<\/strong> know and appreciate the skills that salespeople wield when they manage to translate \u201ccustomer talk\u201d into \u201ccompany talk\u201d and vice versa. In fact, customers need to perceive the salesperson<\/strong> as their ally, someone who can plead their case against the company, who can make information simple and friendly by organizing and summarizing all the elements of the offer system<\/strong> for them in a customised mix that is designed to provide real advantages. Personally, I find it very sad when certain colleagues complain about the role we play as a dual interface<\/strong> between the customer and the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Salespeople sell twice: firstly to the customer and then to their company by negotiating conditions and organizing and overseeing the various procedures and steps that make it possible to deliver the \u201csales service\u201d.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The customer\u2019s journey<\/h2>\n

If you want to grasp the importance of what I am saying, I suggest you take a pen and paper, sit down and make a note of all the stages<\/strong> through which customers<\/strong> pass in their relationship with your company. These will doubtless include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n