Strategic Sales Systems
Diane Helbig
Business Advisor l Sales Trainer l Increasing Your Results Through Always Be Curious Sales Strategy | Strategic Planner l Speaker l Author l Podcast Host l Workshop Facilitator
How do you handle a sales call? Do you pull out your slide deck and wow the prospect with all the bells and whistles of your product or service? How’s that working out for you? There IS a better, more effective way to sell.
Selling is not about telling someone all about your product or service. Yet, this is the way all salespeople approach selling. They get the golden appointment with the prospect and then they talk, talk, talk. So often they leave the appointment feeling great but never get the prospect back on the phone! No kidding!
Sales is about discovery and matching a solution to a problem. The only way you know if you have the right solution is if you are asking a lot of questions. Too many people assume they have the best solution and if they just explain it well enough, it’ll be a slam dunk!
I suggest you look at things differently. First of all, until you get to know the prospect you don’t know if you even want to do business with them. They might be a difficult client. There isn’t enough money in the world that can make that a good situation.
Secondly, you don’t know whether you really have a good solution for them until you know their circumstance. They may seem like the perfect client – until you get to know them. Then you might discover that you can’t really help them. And that’s okay!
Here’s a strategy that is sure to provide you with the right client connections.
1. Ask a lot of questions. Before you share anything about your product or service ask a bunch of questions. And these questions are about more than the situation. You want to know what their decision making process is, what their budget is, if they’ve every used a vendor like you before. See what I mean? Ask as much as you can to identify how they do business as well as what their need is.
2. Really listen to their answers. You will hear who they are, and what they need if you aren’t thinking about the next question you will ask. And take a lot of notes.
3. Respond to what they tell you. If you believe you can help them, tell them you think you can and that you’d like to create a proposal for them. If you can’t, tell them that. You build trust when you are honest.
4. Schedule a next meeting before you leave this one. You want to bring the proposal to them. Always have a next step. Don’t leave a meeting without a follow up that is agreed to.
Try this out and see how it works for you. Believe me when I tell you that no one cares about your solution until you are explaining it as it relates to their situation.
Article originally published in Soar to Success Magazine on May 1, 2019.
Business Services, OhioMeansJobs Lorain County
5 å¹´Very important lesson! ?Starting the process off on the right foot. ?"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand, they listen with the intent to respond." ?Taking time to stop what you are doing, and REALLY focus on what someone is telling you, is sage advice, not only for business, but for quite a bit of life! Being able to identify the needs is the beginning of the process that starts with learning about the client. ?While I'll start with a "Tell me about . . . " question, my favorite question to ask is "How so?". ?I found that if I ask too specific of a question (even if it is based on information they have already told me, but just digging deeper), they tend to try and answer the question you gave them, instead of steering the conversation to their needs. ?"How so?" gives them the freedom to choose the direction of the conversation. ?It is subtle, but it gives you the opportunity to listen to what they feel are their largest hurdles or most important needs. Said another way, a paramedic doesn't respond to a scene and begin to list body parts. They (when a patient is coherent and communicative) usually start with your name, and "What do we have going on here today?" followed by "Can you tell me where it hurts?". ?Of course, this is followed up with their own evaluation from training and experience, but it starts with patient input. ?The broken leg may be painfully obvious (pun intended!) but chest pain and shortness of breath is information that is more critical.
Regional Sales Manager at Cable Ties Unlimited
5 å¹´Selling Consists of Answering Needs (SCAN). Operative word being Answering. Only way to answer someone is to listen to what they are saying.
Technology Solutions Provider
5 å¹´Absolutely True! I use the 45 second rule.