In a sales slump? - Perhaps you are “selling” too much vs. allowing people to buy from you?

In a sales slump? - Perhaps you are “selling” too much vs. allowing people to buy from you?

We all start in sales with the “best” intentions. – We are excited, we have a strong belief in what we can provide for our customers as being the “best” solution, and we can recite our features and benefits as if it were the alphabet while gingerly overcoming any objection presented to us. But at some point, we may find ourselves losing that fire, that strength in conviction, that zeal for our products and services – we may start to become stale in our sales craft – and when we try to fix it, we hit a hard wall. Something that was once so natural and strong within us may start to be overwhelmingly complex to correct.   – So, why do we complicate something that should be so “seemingly” simple to communicate?

How do we learn to get out of our own heads and back in the game that we originally started playing with such un-paralleled enthusiasm?

One of the practices that I have the pleasure of training is the art of “resetting” oneself – whether it be for a meeting, after an “off-month” OR even an “off” year. There are many techniques that we can put in to play – but the underlying theme ALWAYS comes back to the fundamentals of communication and the fashion in which you can position yourself in relation to your customer’s true needs.

#1.) Transitioning into a “partnership” vs. just being the salesperson: It starts and ends with trust and rapport. First clue: At the end of the conversation – who knows more about who? (If you answered that your customer knows more about you… - , well, we have some work to do...) – YOU SHOULD ALWAYS KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CUSTOMER!! That is the foundation of the 80:20 rule –(your customer should be doing 80 percent of the talking / which means you are listening for 80 and talking for 20) Once you understand their story, you are positioned to ask the RIGHT questions, and further more establish yourself on THEIR agenda NOT YOURS.. It is the quintessential notion of CARING!!! (one of my favorite go-to’s, and I mean this with full authentic intention: - “I am here to listen and understand as a subject matter expert as well as, someone to assist you in getting the solution you deserve, at the end of our conversation, if we are not the right fit for you, It will be my pleasure to provide you with the direction you need, however, if it seems that we are a fit; I will do everything in my power, to make the solution a reality for you..”) By communicating this, you are set up for a solid exchange of truth in information and transparency of intent – thus, there should be NO NEED for reactive objection handling – because, you went from being the salesperson to the consultant to the PARTNER.

#2.) You now know your customer, and you already know your product/service – at this point, you can lead with NEED and preserve value that is specific and unique to them. This is essential to keeping you out of the selling “price trap” - meaning it can prevent you from defending price (most of the time).

3.) At the point of closing, you should be confident because this is where your customer is invested in moving forward, there is a sense of partnership among both of you. Objections at this point are merely agents for tailoring the solution – NOT A ROADBLOCK.

By focusing on your customer’s agenda versus your own, your interaction should flow more organically. If you notice that you have been on your soap box for more than a couple of minutes – that should be your red flag – inciting you to reset and switch your communicative style. Focus back on the customer and create your questioning around their emotional why or triggers for interest (these should be thought provoking questions, not the obvious ones you would see on an information gathering sheet.)

By switching your agenda, you will notice that the excitement will start to come back – your product belief and strength in messaging will reignite because you will NO LONGER BE SELLING – people will be asking to buy FROM YOU.. The product/ service you sell may be the same on a daily basis, but it will feel different, because your customer’s “whys” are different – and you are coming to their aide with the ultimate solution purely based on the premise that YOU CARE!!