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Sales Management
Last Updated: Dec 6th, 2004 - 18:07:16
How To Get Your Salespeople To Understand That Decision Makers Buy What They Need From Salespeople Who Understand What They Want
By Bill Brooks and Tom Travisano
Dec 6, 2004, 18:05
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(Note About Author: Free teleseminar next week! What To Look For When Going On Joint Sales Calls With Your Salespeople
This is a great opportunity to preview our 2005 Yearly Teleseminar Packages for Sales Professionals and Sales Managers http://www.salestrainingcamp.com/t_bbrooks_jointcall.htm)
There's a very good reason why techniques like product or service references, quality claims and benefit claims don't work very well during the initial stages of the sales process.
1. When your salespeople meet a decision maker for the first time (either on the phone or in person), the decision maker always asks the same silent, unconscious questions:
Does this person understand what I want?
Does he or she know what it's like to be me?
Does he or she know what I go through every day?
The answer to these questions determines if the decision maker's perception is positive or negative, which leads to trust or mistrust of your salesperson, which leads to an open mind or closed mind, which leads to a sale or no sale.
2. If your salespeople start off with something like a product or service reference, they're not answering the decision maker's subconscious question. They're ignoring them.
Here's an example of a dialogue that you can share with your sales team to get this point across:
Pretend that we live in a world where everything people feel and perceive is expressed on the conscious level, where everything is "at the surface." Here's what the typical conversation between decision makers and salespeople would be like:
Decision maker: "Do you understand what I want?"
Salesperson: "I'm selling something that can satisfy your Needs."
Decision maker: "I realize that, but I'm more interested in my Wants than my Needs at this point. We can talk about my Needs later."
Salesperson: "What I'm selling has a great track record for satisfying Needs like the ones you have."
Decision maker: "Look, just about every salesperson I talk to says the same thing. Besides, they can all satisfy my Needs to one degree or another. I'm interested right now in finding out if you understand my Wants."
Salesperson: "Let me tell you about our track record."
And so it goes...
Take these words to heart. They're at the core of every salesperson's frustrations and disappointments, as is the whole dynamic of the conversation. The decision maker is saying, in effect, "I'd like to know if you and I can have a relationship."Meanwhile, the salesperson is actually saying, "I'd rather sell you something."By the way, don't skim over the words, "They can all satisfy my Needs to one degree or another."
Despite what you might like to believe about your competitors, they're not that bad. They could probably do a pretty good job for the decision maker if they happen to beat you out for the sale. At least that's what most decision makers perceive.
Take this research fact to heart: The average decision maker perceives the differences between competing products or services to be considerably less dramatic and meaningful than the competing salespeople perceive them.
Most decision makers are more interested in the person they're buying from than in the thing they're buying. Day in and day out, they're looking for relationships, specifically, relationships with people who truly understand what they want. This is the key to differentiation in today's competitive marketplace and you need to be sure to communicate
this concept to your salespeople.
You can click on the following link to download a series of questions you can give to your salespeople in your next sales meeting that'll help them determine whether they truly understand their prospects' and clients' wants http://tbglinks.com/9vpzvq.
About The Author:
Bill Brooks, CSP, CPAE, CMC, CPCM former CEO has real-world expertise. Bill has spoken or consulted in over 300 different industries while being engaged by at least 150 clients an astonishing six times each. Bill is the author of nine books, including the best-seller, "High Impact Selling."
Contact Information:
The Brooks Group
3810 N. Elm Street - Suite 202
Greensboro NC 27455
800-633-7762
www.brooksgroup.com
e-mail: will@thebrooksgroup.com
© Copyright 2003 by SalesVault.com
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