--- title: "The Big Sales Meeting: How to Understand the Customer’s Business" description: “Walk a mile in the shoes of your customer” business simulation can provide the skills needed to move from a product-pusher to a trusted business advisor. image: https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/understand-the-customer.png --- [![logo-advantexe-150.png](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-advantexe-150.png?width=150&height=123&name=logo-advantexe-150.png "logo-advantexe-150.png")](https://www.advantexe.com) ![blog-banner-2022](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-banner-2022.png?width=973&name=blog-banner-2022.png "blog-banner-2022") ### The Advantexe Advisor Blog - providing a deep and applicable understanding of the system of business. # The Big Sales Meeting: How to Understand the Customer’s Business By Robert Brodo | Aug 2, 2024 7:50:30 AM | [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-understand-the-customers-business%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-understand-the-customers-business%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-understand-the-customers-business%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-understand-the-customers-business%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=The%20Big%20Sales%20Meeting%3A%20How%20to%20Understand%20the%20Customer%E2%80%99s%20Business) [![Share on Pinterest](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/pinterest-24x24.png)](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-understand-the-customers-business%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dpinterest&media=) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-understand-the-customers-business%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-understand-the-customers-business%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) Earlier this week, I shared some ideas and insights about ways of preparing for the upcoming big sales![understand-the-customer](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/understand-the-customer.png?width=400&height=267&name=understand-the-customer.png) meeting. That [blog post ](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/its-time-to-start-thinking-about-that-big-q1-sales-meeting)generated lots of interest and many questions in my inbox. As a follow-up, and to present some additional ideas, I am pleased to share a specific application of an immersive simulation-centric meeting experience. **What is a “Walk in the Mile in the Shoes of Your Customer” Business Simulation?** Imagine for a moment you are a sales professional selling superior quality consumer products to a retail store buyer. The buyer is responsible for generating revenue, driving profit, and satisfying the needs of their consumers. They are under tremendous pressure daily to make the right choices in terms of the vendors they work with and the products they buy. One mistake could be catastrophic. By understanding the strategic and financial metrics of the customer, the sales professional can engage in a different conversation. A conversation that avoids talking about the features of the product they are selling and focuses on how much revenue and profit our product can add to the customer’s P&L. A “Walk a mile in the shoes of your customer” [business simulation](https://www.advantexe.com/business-acumen-simulations) literally puts you in the shoes of the customer by having them “run” their customer’s business in a simulated environment. Much like a pilot who learns how to fly a place in a flight simulator, these customer business simulations enable sales professionals to “fly” their customer’s business. **How it Works** A "walk in the mile in the shoes of your customer" simulation can be a powerful tool for developing sales skills by providing sales professionals with a deeper understanding of their customers' needs, challenges, and experiences. Here are several ways this type of simulation can enhance sales skills: **Develop a Customer-Centric Mindset** - **Focus on Value**: Sales professionals can better prioritize delivering value with a complete solution rather than just focusing on closing a deal and moving on. The entire learning experience will drive the skills needed to support the customer in achieving their goals. - **Building Long-Term Relationships**: A customer-centric business simulation approach will build long-term relationships and repeat business, as customers appreciate the sales professional’s commitment to their needs. **Developing Empathy** - **Understanding Customer Perspective**: Sales professionals will experience the world from the customer's viewpoint, helping them to better understand their emotions, pain points, and motivations. - **Building Trust**: Empathy builds trust, as customers feel understood and valued when sales professionals can relate to their experiences and use that knowledge to present real value in the form of revenue, profits, and other key metrics. **Better Communication** - **Effective Listening**: Experiencing customer challenges firsthand encourages sales professionals to listen more actively and ask insightful questions. The worst thing in the world for a sales professional who is taught to “ask great questions” is to not understand the answers that come back from those great questions. - **Tailored Messaging**: With a clearer understanding of customer needs, sales professionals can craft more relevant and personalized messages specific to the customer and their needs. **Development of Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills** - **Identifying Solutions**: Understanding customer problems allows sales professionals to be more innovative in their solutions and to better match products or services to address specific needs. - **Proactive Approaches**: Sales professionals can anticipate potential issues and provide proactive solutions, improving customer satisfaction. **Improved Product Knowledge** - **Real-World Application**: Seeing how their products or services are used in real-life scenarios can help sales professionals understand the benefits and limitations and their product and come up with even more innovative solutions. - **Context and Realism**: Sales professionals can demonstrate product features and benefits in a context that resonates with the customer and creates opportunities to have “real” conversations about the short-term and long-term impact on the business. **Building Credibility** - **Overcomes the Biggest Objection**: Every day, sales professionals complain that the biggest objection they get from their customers is that they have no credibility. Presenting ideas and insights using the language of the customer’s business instantly overcomes that objection. - **Authenticity**: A genuine understanding of the customer experience helps sales professionals communicate more authentically and credibly. - **Confidence**: Knowledge of the customer's world increases the sales professional’s confidence in handling objections and questions. **Agility and Adaptability** - **Flexible Approaches**: Experiencing different customer scenarios helps sales professionals become more adaptable and resourceful in their selling strategies. - **Innovative Solutions**: Sales professionals can develop creative solutions to meet unique customer needs. In summary, a “Walk a mile in the shoes of your customer” business simulation experience at a large sales meeting can be a game-changer. It’s immersive, innovative, and provides the skills needed to move from a product pusher to a trusted business advisor. [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1153922/19420986-afd6-4a7d-bf1b-8b322f7d7c98.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1153922/19420986-afd6-4a7d-bf1b-8b322f7d7c98) ![Robert Brodo](https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/Blogs/rob-brodo-author.png) **About The Author** Robert Brodo is co-founder of Advantexe. He has more than 20 years of training and business simulation experience. [**](https://www.advantexe.com) [**](https://twitter.com/robrodo) [**](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rob-brodo/0/334/574) COMMENTS ### SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL ### About Advantexe Advantexe is a gold medal winning training and performance improvement organization specializing in the development and delivery of interactive learning journeys using computer-based business simulations as the catalyst for learning and change in the areas of: Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling learning solutions. 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