Archives for October 2019

Be careful of how much information you give the prospect. If they become overwhelmed, they will stop listening and find a quick way to disengage from the conversation. You need the prospect to feel comfortable during your call. An over-energetic personality can unnerve the prospect. Too much information will confuse them. Having too much experience, education or background in the industry can intimidate the prospect. Being unnerved, confused or intimidated are not comfortable feelings for the prospect and they will try to get out from under that feeling. Since you are the cause of that feeling, they will politely end the meeting or stop listening or try to put you on the defensive with lots of demands or tough questions. So the lesson for today is watch how much information you give out and look for signs that the prospect is being overwhelmed. If you sense that they are, then just back off.

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

Ambiguity can kill a sale. The prospect doesn’t want to commit to something, so they say they are “leaning toward going forward” with the purchase. The salesperson “hears” that and assumes that the prospect will most likely buy in the next few days. She forecasts it as a sure thing in her pipeline. Management makes decisions assuming that the sale will come in. Then the prospect disappears or they “change their mind” and decide not to go forward. Everyone is upset. This could all be avoided if the salesperson had actually made sure of what the prospect’s decision was in the first place. “leaning toward doing something” is essentially meaningless. The salesperson should have recognized that “leaning” meant nothing and followed up with more questions like “what does leaning mean?”. Or “could you tell me why you wouldn’t do it?” Or, almost any other question to get the prospect to commit to an actual decision.
The culprit here is the willingness of the salesperson to accept the ambiguity. Under oath, the salesperson would have to admit that they could not be sure what the prospect meant. So, they should not have moved forward with the sales call. The lesson is if you are not 100% sure, ask more questions until you are sure.

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 (but not all) can get the prospect to tell them what they need. But few are skilled at uncovering why the prospect needs it. People don’t buy for need alone or want alone. We all have things we need and want but have never bought. Sometimes it’s a money thing, but most times we don’t buy because there is just not enough motivation to buy it. In other words, there is no “compelling reason to buy”. The compelling reason to buy is usually found by asking “why?” when the prospect tells us what they need. However, most salespeople are so excited to find someone who needs what they have, that they immediately launch into a presentation of the product or service. The better ones even go so far as to talk about money and the decision process. What both fail to do is to uncover why the prospect needs the product. The answer to the “why” question will most often lead to the compelling reason. For example, I may need a new car. If I “need” it because it has 50,000 miles on it and I am getting tired of it, that is one thing. If I “need” it because it has 175,000 miles on it and my mechanic has told me it my break down at any time, I will be more motivated to buy a new car. The first example is a reason to buy and the second is a compelling reason to buy. That is why the answer to the “why” question is more important than the answer to the ‘what” question.

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

Be optimistic about the outcome of the sales process but you should be pessimistic about every step along the way. Optimistic people are generally happier and more successful. But being overly optimistic can get you into trouble. Successful salespeople are pessimistic enough to anticipate problems that might occur in the sales cycle as they move the prospect through the sales steps from prospecting to closing. An appropriate amount of pessimism allows them to see problems that might occur and ask the right questions or take the right steps to move the prospect around any obstacles to the sale that might occur. When the salesperson is overly optimistic, they think everything is A-OK and run the risk of being blindsided by events or obstacles that they should have seen coming. So be a little pessimistic, not about the outcome, but about the things that could go wrong with the sale.

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

Presenting or pitching too soon in the sales call can turn off the prospect. If that happens they will stop hearing what you are saying though they will still appear to listen to your pitch. Your opportunity to build trust and rapport will be severely compromised. If you drop into sell mode before you really understand the depths of the problem, you run the risk of treating symptoms instead of the real problem. But, more importantly, you will trigger the prospect’s natural aversion to “being sold”. People like to buy. They don’t like to be sold too. That is why they stop hearing and why rapport is difficult to establish if you “sell” too soon. So, listen more. Understand the full scope of the problem. Sell consultatively and your sales call will go better and you will not trigger any automatic resistance from the prospect.

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