Archives for July 2019

Salespeople waste a lot of time quoting to prospects who have not earned the right to have a quote. Just because they ask you to quote does not mean that you have to quote. The prospect must qualify to get one. They qualify by explaining to you in some detail the compelling reason they have for buying your product. They must have told you they have the money and you discussed the amount in some detail. Then they must play some part in the decision process, preferably in decision making capacity of some sort. And lastly they must have agreed to make a decision upon delivery of the quote or very soon thereafter. Sometimes the easiest way to get a salesperson out of their office and end the sales call is to ask for a quote. If that happens to you it is perfectly ok to say “no” (politely). Most of the time you will say something like “I would be more than happy to, but I just have a few more questions”. If you spend more time qualifying (and disqualifying) you will spend less time writing quotes leaving more time for more lucrative or leisure activities … your choice.

If you have a sales question you would like to discuss follow the link to schedule a call:
https://calendly.com/dancaramanico/callwithdan

You know how to lead a conversation, but do you do it on a sales call? Most people don’t. They come to the meeting concentrating on what they want to say and how to say it. What they should be concentrating on is the prospect’s situation, their pain their budget and other steps in the sales process. So, for example, they should “lead” the conversation to a discussion of the prospect’s pain. If we know that pain is typically found in the shipping department, then they should lead the conversation there. You lead the conversation by asking questions. You can get the prospect moving in the right direction by answering their questions in a way that inserts another topic into the conversation. We have all done it. So we all have the skill. However, all too often, salespeople forget to use this skill. They focus instead on themselves and their product or service. So, use the skill you already have. When you do, the prospect will more easily accept what you eventually have to say, and they will never feel like they were sold to, because it felt to them like they were in control the whole time.

If you have a sales question you would like to discuss follow the link to schedule a call:
https://calendly.com/dancaramanico/callwithdan

Great sales questions make the prospect think. Good questions merely get you a lot of information. Getting information is important and must be done to make a sale. However, just understanding the situation and the pain the prospect is in, is many times not enough. You must differentiate yourself from the competition. Asking questions that make the prospect think is a great way to do that. Some examples might be “Why did you not go down this alternate path?” or “Why does that keep happening when clearly you have directed otherwise?”. The first question shows that you may have some knowledge of the situation. Maybe the prospect has an answer. But maybe the question stops him in his tracks as he stops to consider that alternative that maybe he hadn’t thought of. Having the prospect think can never hurt you. It starts the conversation down a different path than they may have had with a competitor. They see you differently and hopefully they see you as someone who can help them. The second question can have a similar effect, or it can shine a light on the real pain and really cause the prospect to get emotional. Good questions get you information and are important. Great questions make the prospect think and can be a game changer.

If you have a sales question you would like to discuss follow the link to schedule a call:
https://calendly.com/dancaramanico/callwithdan

Most salespeople focus first on what the prospect needs. But a quicker way to pain after you understand the current situation is to ask what outcome the prospect is looking for. They may not know how to get to the outcome, but they certainly know what outcome they would like to have or hope that they could have. The obvious next question is “why is that important” or “Why did you choose that instead of this” or something like that. The answer will inevitably lead you down a path to the pain the prospect is having. The advantage of this approach is also that it prevents you from focusing on your product or service too soon. It is as simple as that.

If you have a sales question you would like to discuss follow the link to schedule a call:
https://calendly.com/dancaramanico/callwithdan