Tired of “Think it Over” and “We’ll Get Back to you”?

Most salespeople rely on their product or service to sell their prospect, using features and benefits to persuade them into buying.  This typically means the person is giving away free consulting and lots of time and effort in hopes of getting that elusive “YES”, when in fact, they mostly get , “Let me think it over” or “We’ll get back to you”, or other non-committal responses and a sale likely never happens.

Think about what’s happening here. Following this traditional approach, the salesperson spends way too much time on the opportunity—and does not get the results he or she desires.  This definitely can lead to frustration and reduced motivation.

Your expertise is valuable and should be protected.  Free consulting only makes this worse for you, since you are giving away your intellectual property, one of your most valuable assets.  This traditional selling approach of sharing product or service features and benefits will only maintain the status quo and rarely get you to the sale. But, everywhere I go, I find salespeople are freely giving their precious intellectual property away. Why? Because they don’t know any other way to sell than using the traditional approaches.

 Is this you? Are you giving away free consulting only to get vague, non-commital responses from your prospects? If so, what can you do to change these outcomes?

First of all, you have to accept responsibility for letting it happen.  I realize you were conditioned to sell this way, but only you can change your behavior. It’s not the prospect’s fault, they are doing what they consider best for their business. So it’s up to you to get better going forward.

If it is true that you are personally accountable and you have control of your own outcomes, how can you become a more effective salesperson? What do you do instead of offering time-consuming free consulting before and during your (too early) presentation? How do you avoid discussions that end with, “Let me think it over”?

Here’s the short answer: You need to sell first and educate later. That’s right. No more free consulting. Your prospects must buy from you before they get any of your value-added knowledge. This is one of many changes I can show you in the Sandlers System.  I’m telling you about it now because, for most sales-people, the idea takes a little getting used to—it means going outside their comfort zone.

Even considering the idea of not sharing your knowledge with a prospect is probably making you a little uncomfortable.  But rest assured, the Sandler Sales process will show you new techniques that will help you transform your selling and achieve greater results. You may feel uncomfortable at first, but no change comes without some discomfort.  However, reaching your sales goals and beyond will ease your pain!

If you apply the principles described herein, your rewards will be great—both professionally and personally. You’ll see yourself sell more and sell more easily.