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As sales executives we all feel like we’re pretty smart cats. Right? How many times have you caught yourself saying, “The client just does not know what they really need.” All too often we assume we know what the client needs. To that same end, we act like we know what data the client needs to make a buying decision. After all, it’s that buying decision that will result in your commission check. So, your first step toward success is to stop assuming and soon you will start winning.
Step one: Stop Assuming. Let me give you an easy example of a classic sales blunder. Remember, this is the wrong way to sell. You are selling advertising space in a magazine called the Polk City Parent. Your magazine targets parents in Polk City Kansas. Your prospect is Sam Jones, the local Mercedes car dealer. You have a meeting set for Wednesday and you want to be prepared. So, what is your first step? Collect data. Dig through your magazines data and find out how many of your readers bought new cars last year. Then you determine the income of your readers. You identify how many people can afford a new Mercedes. You then look through your list and find out how many doctors and lawyers you have in your database. You wrap all of this up in a neat little Power Point, throw a few magazines in your brief case and you are ready to rock and roll. Ok, lets walk through the meeting. You: Good morning Mr. Jones I sure appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. Jones: No problem. You: We’ll I have pulled together some data that shows how many of our readers would be great customers for you and you will love these numbers. Jones: Really? Wow, you are a great sales person. You: (in your head say I know.) We’ll I have been doing this long enough to know what you need to be a success in Polk City. You see 45% of our readers have an income over $125,000 and last year over 12% bought a new car. Jones: Great. I have no problem selling new cars, so tell me about your readers in the $75,000 income bracket that bought used cars. Used cars is where I need the most help. You: (in your head… CRAP!!!) We’ll I, um, we’ll, um. (At this point you may choose to flat out lie or… ) May I e-mail you that data. We have it. How about a test drive in that new C-class you have over there? Classic, huge sales blunder where the rep assumes they know best what the client needs. If you want to win… assume nothing. It is imperative that you do not waste a prospects time. Thus, a pre-meeting quick call to set goals, priorities and find out what they need is critical. I have often developed a short e-mail that asks these same questions. If you tell the prospect you value their time, then they will appreciate it. Or, have all our data in neat, brief files and be prepared from all directions. This is a much harder approach that requires greater skill. Research is one thing, but you need to be careful not to become guilty of paralysis by analysis. Too much data can make even a seasoned sales prospect drunk. All too often we ask the wrong questions in advance that do not allow us to move the sales prospect to make a buying decision. You do not know how many sales people I have met that are so afraid that they will not have the right answer when a sales prospect asks that they spend countless hours researching data. Then, once they think they are up to speed and only then do they make the first call to a client. A much better approach is to contact the prospect and tell them you would like to put together a proposal for them, but you have a few questions as your desire is to not waste their time yet present them with a well thought out plan for success. The only way you can do that is to find out more from them first. Stop assuming you know what they need. Classic sales dilemma, how many times has a prospect said to you, “Just send me your media kit” in an effort to get you off the phone. DO NOT do this. Simply reply back, I would love to do that. We customize every proposal to maximize your return on investment. I need to ask you three questions to better prepare my proposal to meet your needs. (1) What is your greatest revenue struggle right now? (2) How long has this been a problem? (3) What type of budget do you have to fix this problem? Then, and only then, can you truly start your research. All to often sales people think they have only one chance so they better be prepared. This is just not true. Any prospect that gives you only one shot is not worth doing business with. Sure, we are all busy, this is why you need to focus on being the sales person that better uses their time to benefit them, their goals and their needs. You can only do this if you have data from the prospect. Stop assuming, start winning. The views of Ryan Dohrn are 100% personal in nature and do not represent the views of his employer, any other person, company or entity in any way. Any similarly is coincidental in nature. http://www.RyanDohrn.com |
