Don't sell products, solve problems

Here's the simple truth of modern day selling, it's not about selling products, it's about solving problems.

We know two very key facts in sales:

1) People DON'T want to be sold too

2) You CAN'T sell to everyone

The best salespeople in the world don't go out trying to sell to EVERONE. They go out and find the people who NEED their product. By doing that they don't end up trying to "sell" to those people, they end up helping them.

Here is what most "bad" salespeople do....

They throw up features and benefits at anyone who will listen with the belief that somehow it will convince the prospect to buy. The best example I can give of this is how MOST people "sell the pen".

When asked to sell the pen, most people do this:

"Well this pen is amazing, it's the best pen on the planet. It can write in?ANY?colour that you want, it shoots lasers, prints money, it will do?ANYTHING?that you want!"

That approach is known as?SELLING A PRODUCT.

What's wrong with that you ask?

• You haven't identified if the prospect?NEEDS?a pen
• You haven't identified what the prospect?WANTS
• You haven't built any?RAPPORT?with the prospect

When you stop selling and start to solve, you become a true sales professional.

This is when you start to look for the people out there who?NEED?your product or service. This is when you actually?LISTEN?to them, not just talk over them, to see what they need and?WHY?the need it. By asking more questions and listening, not only will you identify buying information and buying signals, but you'll also build rapport as well.

(One platform that we recommend to help record all of the valuable information on your prospects and customers is Pipedrive, the CRM built by salespeople for salespeople, used by over 100,000 companies and voted the easiest to use CRM (and cost-effective). You can try it completely free for a whole 30-days and if you like it, you'll also get 20% discount on your whole first year -?Find out more here )

This is what the best salespeople do, and this is why sales is an?AMAZING?profession.

Done right, sales is a fantastic thing. It's not something to feel bad about, and it's not something that people should fear either.

True, genuine and authentic salespeople are out there right now?HELPING?people save money, upgrade their systems/processes, improve their business and so much more.

Here are my top 7 tips to sell better by solving problems instead of selling products:

1)?ASK MORE QUESTIONS?and let them talk as much as possible. Really dig into their world to identify and understand potential problems.

2)?ACTUALLY LISTEN TO THEM, I mean really listen to them. Don't sit there thinking of your reply, listen to what they're saying.

3)?BE OPEN ABOUT OTHER OPTIONS. You don't need to try and hide from the competition, be honest about the other choices the prospect has but make sure yours is the best option for them.

4)?MAKE IT ABOUT THEM?and not just the same pitch you give to everyone. Use their name, refer to their problems and make them feel like it's just for them.

5)?BUILD UP THE PAIN?that they feel from their problem, and also build up the pain that the will feel if they don't solve it soon.

6)?SHOW THEM PROOF?that you can deliver on your promises by showing them similar people you have helped and the results they gained.

7)?AVOID PUTTING PRESSURE ON THEM. You want to create a sense of urgency within them, but not in the form of pressure from you.

What would you add to that list? Add them into the comments box below.

If you're a?SALESPERSON, don't go out there to sell, go out there to help (it will make you a far greater salesperson).

If you're a?CUSTOMER, seek out truly genuine sales professionals and work with them (you'll end up with the best possible solution).

If you agree, make sure you click LIKE!

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This article is supported by?Pipedrive, one of the world's best CRM's that's built to help salespeople sell more. It's used by over 100,000 companies in 179 countries.?You can try it for free for 30-days right here.

They normally offer 14-day free trial but if you follow one of our links in this newsletter you'll be able to get an extended 30-day free trial and as a bonus, if you choose to use?Pipedrive?after your trial, you'll get?20% discount?on your first year.

If you're potentially interested in trying?Pipedrive ?out, we have a few extra resources that might help:

VIDEO -?The 5 best features of Pipedrive CRM

ATICLE -?10 reasons salespeople LOVE Pipedrive CRM

VIDEO -?Import prospect details instantly from LinkedIn using Pipedrive

ARTICLE -?Why salespeople are switching from their current CRM to Pipedrive CRM