Avoid Sticker Shock
When the prospect gets Sticker shock, the sales process stops dead in its tracks and the prospect usually heads off in another direction. They want to check to see if it’s a good price, or see what other vendors have. The best outcome when sticker shock occurs is that it just delays the sale. The worst case is that you lose the sale (and possibly a client) to a competitor and your credibility takes a hit. Once Sticker shock occurs it is difficult to recover the momentum you had built up during this pursuit. This is easily avoided if you discuss money in advance of providing a price. It is even better if you can discuss it very early in the sales process. But that is a whole other subject. Learn the worst time to talk money with a prospect.
Pain Varies Over Time
The world is a dynamic place and things change from day to day. Just think about your own company and your own life today compared to last quarter or last year. If your life and your perspective changes so much why would you think that the prospects life and perspective would be any different? When things change in the prospects life, their view of your product and the urgency to make a purchase will also change. When their situation changes, that change will have a major impact on whether you can close the sale and how and when you should close the sale. The fact that the situation can change mandates that you stay abreast of the latest developments. When you go in to make a presentation or have a follow up meeting, make sure that you verify that things haven’t changed dramatically since your last meeting before you proceed.
Sell Yourself First
If you don’t believe in your solution, the prospect won’t either. That is why you have to “sell” yourself first. Make sure you 100% believe in your solution to their problem and in your right to ask certain questions. If you have doubts about your own solution, your tonality and body language will convey those doubts to the prospect. If you believe you are asking an inappropriate question, you will convey “don’t answer what I’m asking” by our voice, facial expressions, and body language. Your prospect will listen not to your words but to our visual cues. How can you have the right tonality and body language? Sell yourself. Before approaching any real prospects, convince yourself of the value of your solution. Your body language and voice tonality will be 100% with your words and you will communicate that – “I believe my solution will make a big difference for you!”
Rejection is like Scotch Whiskey
Rejection, like your first taste of Scotch is distasteful (At least is was for me). My friends who drink scotch assure me that you have to develop a taste for it. The same is true for rejection. You don’t have to like rejection. And if you realize that they are not rejecting you but only the opportunity to buy and use your product or service then it goes down much smoother.
Don’t tell prospects what to love!
Raising a prospect’s expectations too high can lead to disappointment and create a hole you have to dig yourself out of. This 1 minute video explains how many salespeople set themselves up to fail with one small statement and create problems that put them on the defensive. Eliminating this one phrase can make your presentations be accepted more readily.
Respond Don’t React
Reacting to tough questions gets you into trouble. Responding leads you out of trouble. Associate the word “defensiveness” with “reacting” and “professionalism” with “responding”. Let’s say a client questions your price. If you “react”, you will offer excuses, trying to explain to the prospect why you set the prices as you did. You are fumbling to regain your footing, having been knocked down by their question. If you “respond”, you see the question about price as an opportunity to learn more from the prospect and generate sales. You can ask them questions about their pricing expectations, their budget, the features and benefits they are looking for, and the pain they are experiencing. The optimal salesperson learns to leave their emotion and defensiveness outside the door and enter a meeting with a prospect understanding that each and every objection is actually an opportunity in disguise to close sales and increase business.
Deal with objections upfront
Objections are ticking time bombs. Failure to deal with them leaves you vulnerable and puts your entire sale and even you credibility in jeopardy. This video illustrates a method to defuse the bomb you know is coming. Don’t fear the objection … meet it head on early in the sales call. If it is an insurmountable objection, then you will know that right away and not waste any time with this prospect. The biggest fear that salespeople have in this regard is that they will cause the objection to occur by bringing up the subject. They would prefer to hope that it doesn’t occur and deal with from a position of weakness when it does. They do this from a mis-guided belief that somehow this prospect won’t think of it even though it has come up on the previous 98 sales calls they have been on. They prefer to ignore the proverbial “elephant in the room” hoping no one notices it.
Know When to Close
It’s not about when you need it to close. It’s not about when you want it to close. Watch this 1 minute 4 second video and discover how know exactly when to close. The proper time to close is when the prospect is ready and you have completed the qualification steps in your sales process. If you try to close too soon you look pushy. If you wait too long you look disinterested and risk losing the account after you have spent time and resources nurturing it.
Mindset of a Winner
How you feel will determine how you act and most importantly what you say and how you say it. You need to adopt this mindset and be totally present with the prospect at the sales call. If you watch this video you will discover what your mindset has to be. The real trick is to maintain this mindset no matter what else I going on in your life outside of the sales call. If you can’t pay the electric bill, put it out of your mind, if your kid is sick, forget about it for an hour or so. If your company is in turmoil don’t think about it. If you are not confident in any way, imagine what it would feel like if you were confident. If you adopt the proper mindset, you will usually do and say the best that you are capable of and you will win more often than not. In the ART OF WAR the author states “The battle is won before the fighting has ever begun”. This is what he was talking about many centuries ago. It still applies today in your sales career.
Live On Introductions
When you are introduced to the right person at the right time and in the right way your chances of closing the deal rise dramatically. So how do make sure all of that happen? The real key is making sure that the people you count on to refer you have a good understanding of the problems that you fix. That is totally different than what you actually do to address the problem. It is not important for your introduction sources to understand how good you are at laying bricks or the unique manner in which you lay them. It is important for them to understand that you are looking for clients who need a wall built, or a builder who is unhappy with his current bricklayer.