Here’s something I learned in my past about the roles sympathy and empathy play in the sales process. Keep in mind, you are sitting across from your prospective buyer because you want to help them solve their problem, not become a part of the problem. Continue reading
Here’s an example of a retail sale that shows how evaluation and diagnosis both require the salesperson to get in the head of the prospect and tailor the sales process to the prospect’s buying process.
Not long ago I attended a U2 concert at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida with my family. We were down in the club level and I had all these salespeople from our client, the Miami Dolphins, talking to me. That’s when I happened to notice this one guy who works there as the head of Sponsorship. Continue reading
In the last post, I wrote of using your questions not only to get your prospect’s attention but to also keep their interest by selling to the gap. I also wrote that your meeting is shaped by the questions that you ask, the order you ask them and how you ask them. As I’ve said before, sales is an away game – it takes place in your prospect’s mind. So, you control the pace of the sale by getting in your prospect’s mind, focusing their attention on the challenges they face, and leading them to a place they want to be. A vital piece of this process is talking like your prospect to increase rapport. Continue reading
In the last post, we looked at a process using questions to identify and build a sales opportunity, selling to the gap.
In addition to building the opportunity, your questions shape your prospect’s mindset and perceptions to achieve persuasive influence.
The questions you ask are important. But so is how you ask your questions, when you ask them, as well as how you order them. In creating your questions, you need to be cognizant of all of these factors. You want to leverage them to create a favorable environment in your prospect’s mind, conducive to moving the sale forward. Continue reading
In the last post, we explored the potential of enhancing your evaluation process by asking sales questions. In this post, we’ll take a deeper dive into using the questioning process to build increased interest in your prospects.
Previously, we used a river as an analogy to develop a questioning model. In this river analogy, one bank represented the prospect’s current situation. The opposite bank represented the desired situation. And the river represented the gap that the prospect must bridge in moving from the current situation to the desired situation. Continue reading
When was the last time you were on a car lot to shop for a car?
You and I both know you weren’t there by accident. You were there for a reason and more than likely, you planned it all out.
However, the first question most salespeople ask is: “Can I help you?”
That question is a brutal sales starter, because the buyer answers the same way each time: “Nope, just looking.” Continue reading
As I addressed in the previous post, much of your success as a salesperson will hinge on an effective sales starter. Contrary to the popular belief, there is no skill in closing sales – it’s all about creating a great opening. Your opening should quickly establish rapport with the prospect by engaging in brief pleasantries. But, you should also gauge how to make the best use of their time. Help them see that you value your time together. You’ll find substantial part of creating that value is understanding what your prospect really wants and why they want it. Continue reading
Opening a sales call to get your prospect’s attention is no different than introducing yourself to someone of interest in your personal life. Both situations require authenticity, interest, and relevance.
Beginning the conversation hinges on a good sales starter – something that captures your prospect’s attention favorably. To make this happen, you can compliment a prospect on an achievement or positive quality. You can highlight a referral. Also, you can leverage statements that educate or even startle your prospect to capture your prospect’s attention. Continue reading
In my training sessions and consultations, I find that many salespeople focus their attention on closing tactics. However, when you open your sales call correctly, execute your sales process in an above-board manner, and you wrap all of this in an effective sales presentation, the close happens effortlessly and naturally. Check out this example, showing when all of these items are aligned, the close happens naturally and organically. Continue reading
In an earlier post, I reviewed one of the most common questions I get from salespeople: how do you reach the C-suite executives of a company? It reminds me that the natural impulse for new salespeople is to look for the silver bullet that will solve all their problems quickly, effectively, and efficiently. Continue reading