Mar30
We’ve all heard the saying, “People love to buy things, but they hate to be sold!” Do you agree? I sure do.
The problem is, as small businesses, we’ve got to sell things or we’ll go out of business. We can’t sit passively next to the phone until someone decides to give us a call. That’s a recipe for disaster (and despair).
So how do we sell things without people feeling like they’re being sold? By viewing the sales process from the buyer’s perspective. Or, perhaps more accurately, viewing the sales process as the “buying process” and not the “sales process” at all.
What I think is key to doing this is understanding what’s going on in the mind of the buyer. What do they want? What are they thinking? I would like to suggest that they are seeking to have the following four questions answered in the exact order presented here.
QUESTION ONE: Are you worth my time?
My life is very busy. Your pop-in, your phone call, your voice mail, your email is an unwanted interruption in my incredibly crazy day. So the first thing I’m asking is this, “Are you worth my time?” Because, if you’re not, I’m not interested no matter what super-low, introductory, gotta-get-it-now product or price you’re pushing.
You are worth my time if you can state the real value you’ll bring to my business clearly and succinctly. Not the typical chest-thumping bravado, “We’re the leading blah, blah, blah with the greatest yada, yada, yada.” Honestly state your case in a bottom line, results-driven way.
And don’t be a jerk. You’re not worth my time if you’re not interested in building a long-term relationship with me. That means being authentic (Again, drop the chest-thumping bravado) and being persistent. Remember, I’m busy so it will take multiple attempts to get an appointment with me. Research actually states it will take 7-10. But, if you are worth my time, I will meet with you … eventually.
QUESTION TWO: Do I really need to change?
The second question a buyer is asking is, “Do I really need to change?” Change is difficult. It takes time (Again, I’m very busy), and it has unintended consequences. I may not like what I’m doing now, but at least I’m familiar with it and comfortable with it. Even doing nothing is more attractive than doing something that will rock the boat.
How do you answer this question? With a question. In other words, engage the prospect in conversation. Not about news, sports, and weather (a fatal sales flaw), but about real business issues and real business problems.
The most powerful tool you can use at this stage of the buying process is thought-provoking questions. In answering them, your prospects will realize just how much the status quo is costing and decide that change, while risky, is a lots less risky than continuing to do what they are doing now.
The biggest mistake you can make at this stage of the buying process is skipping this step, answering Question One and immediately moving to Question Three. That is, proving that you are worth a prospect’s time, getting that all-important first appointment, and then presenting product and price. This is like a doctor prescribing a drug without diagnosing your condition. It simply doesn’t make sense!
No one wants anyone’s solution if they don’t know they have a problem. If there’s no pressing reason to change, any price is too high and any product unnecessary.
QUESTION THREE: Will your solution work for me?
So, you’ve proven that you’re worth the prospect’s time, and you’ve asked thought-provoking questions to help them see just how much the status quo is costing them. Congratulations! What do you do now?
Here’s what you don’t do. Don’t go into information mode and bury the prospect with facts and figures. Customize your presentation to the exact needs expressed in the previous conversation. If a feature of your product or service is not relevant to your prospect, don’t mention it. You’re wasting your time (and precious mindshare).
I may give you the benefit of the doubt that your solution works, but I need to know if it will work FOR ME. So customize your presentation TO ME.
And ask for my objections. Yes, get them on the table. Even suggest a few if I’m too polite to bring them up. I’m thinking about them any way, might as well talk about them openly and honestly.
QUESTION FOUR: Would I use you again?
More completely stated this question would read, “Knowing what I know now, would I use you again?” You really don’t know a product or service until after you buy it and use it every day. Once buyers buy from you, do they like what they bought, or do they just endure it? Or regret it completely!
This is critical because buyers talk. They talk about the terrible experiences they’ve had with bad products, and they talk about the great experiences they’ve had with good products. What do you want your buyers saying about you? Make sure by exceeding every expectation you set when you answer Question Three.
What’s great about all the talking is this: you’ll run across people you’ve never met who’ve heard about your business and know immediately that you are, in fact, worth their time and the process starts all over again. This time virally.
Nov10
Purgatory, how’s that for medieval concept? Whether it’s real or not, I wouldn’t want to go there, even in a virtual world.
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Nov 3
I don’t think anyone doubts whether or not email is here to stay. Like cell phones and iPods, Twitter and Facebook, these disruptive technologies are now an integral part of our daily life. With the onslaught of spam in all of our inboxes, however, email’s effectiveness as a sales tool has greatly diminished. Nevertheless, using email well is a critical sales skill. Here are six rules to follow without exception:
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Sep 8
I was meeting with a group of sales people this week and the conversation turned to their use of voice mail. To a person the assessment was that voice mail, a relatively new technology, was virtually useless to them.
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Aug20
When you reject the myth that sales is magic and embrace the science of a step-by-step sales sales process, you begin to experience some amazing business benefits. Gone are the days when sales go up and sales go down, with no explicable reason for either.
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