Your Prospect is Asking One Question - Always. Do You Know What It Is?
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007Pete Ramsey was a really good guy. But from the moment he came in to seek counsel, I could see he had a huge problem - his general approach to business life (and sales) was way off. But how do you tell a guy who’s in his 40’s and somewhat successful, that his approach was old and over the top - and costing him money?But our style is to tell the truth - even if it upsets people and isn’t what they want to hear. So I had to tell Pete the truth and here’s what I said:
“Pete, you suffer from what most sales people suffer from - ignorance of human nature. You think that if you show up and are articulate, well-groomed and enthusiastic that the prospect will trust you - and buy from you. And that’s WRONG. You think that if you act from a mode of ‘convince and persuade’ then people will ’see the light’ and trust you.”
“But you see, the mode most sales people operate from is exactly the wrong mode to help the prospect answer the one question on his mind: Will this person (salesperson) act in my best interest?”
“If he can’t answer a resounding ‘YES’ to that, then you haven’t inspired trust. And you won’t get the truth - or the sale.”
Pete didn’t like my observation. But he knew it was accurate. In fact, he had been having trouble even getting past the first meeting with prospects - for that exact reason - they didn’t trust that he had their interest in mind.
So, to be a high achieving sales professional, you must be a student of human nature. And the study of human nature will tell you that a human being asks one question before all others when making a decision: Is this in my best interest?
If you are entering the sales process from a position of “what’s in this for me (a sale? a contest? money?)” then the prospect picks up on this and you won’t get the sale. His instincts tell him that you are not really there for HIM - you are there for YOU.
ACTION
So I suggest when you review your message and how your first call sounds, that you do a rigorous checklist. And on that checklist should be things like:==Does my message sound too self-serving?
==Does my message speak in his language?
==When speaking about my product, do I sell hard, trying to convince?
==When handling objections/stalls, do I sound desperate?Now, here’s the hidden, dirty little secret to all of this: You may not able to observe yourself accurately. It’s likely that you are too interested in protecting what you already do to see any shortcomings.
Consequently, it will work best if you have a friend or manager listen to some of your phone conversations (or select someone who has been with you on appointments) and ask them if you sound too ‘needy.’ Ask them the question: “If you were the prospect, how would you feel with my approach?”
Select someone honest. And listen to what they say. It may be the best coaching you’ve ever had.
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