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Here’s one way it might have played out. You showed up for a face-to-face meeting, you made what felt like a good initial connection with your contact, and you found some points of commonality that made the initial “meet and greet” phase go quite smoothly. Everything seemed to be going great. Then you asked whether it made sense to “get down to business.” The prospect agreed. And you started asking a familiar set of “needs analysis” and “fact-finding” questions.
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17/11/2014 Dallas TX ClientPoint: Check Your Assumptions at the Door | Sandler Training by TrustPoint Management Group Sandler Training - Addison, TX Trustpoint Management Group-TX, LLC AUTHORIZED SANDLER TRAINING CENTER FOLLOW US ON TWITTER TODAY Now you all can follow us on Twitter and get daily tips! MANAGEMENT TRAINING Sandler Management Solutions provides comprehensive training to sales managers, executives and business owners. SALES TRAINING Sandler's non-traditional selling system plus innovative reinforcement training has made us the global leader in sales training. HOME ABOUT US SANDLER SOLUTIONS SANDLER MEDIA FEATURED ARTICLES SERVICES NEWS POINT ARTICLES CAREERS NEED A SPEAKER? ARE WE RIGHT FOR YOU? TESTIMONIALS CALENDAR CONTACT US < See More Articles Sign Up Now CHECK YOUR ASSUMPTIONS AT THE DOOR To receive our strategic newsletter on sales or sales management tips Email Address Have you ever seen a prospect’s eyes glaze over? Most professional salespeople have had this experience. Maybe you have, too. Subscribe Here’s one way it might have played out. You showed up for a face-to-face meeting, you made what felt like a good initial connection with your contact, and you found some points of commonality that made the initial “meet and greet” phase go quite smoothly. Everything seemed to be going great. Then you asked whether it made sense to “get down to business.” The prospect agreed. And you started asking a familiar set of “needs analysis” and “fact-finding” questions. I have experienced more growth in sales strategy and technique in the last 18 months working with Karl than I have in the prior 10 years. If you have the guts to be honest with yourself and with your organization and aren't afraid to grow Karl can help you take your sales team and That’s when the person’s eyes started to get strange. You focused on a series of questions based on your own assumptions about the situation. Once you started working through that list of questions, you noticed that the prospect’s gaze started to shift, as though you’d suddenly started speaking a different language. company to the next level. Alan Neill | Vice President | Business Development | BRG, Dallas And that’s exactly the problem. You were speaking a different language. Any time a sales discussion starts out strong, and then dies the moment you move out of the “meet and greet” phase, there’s a very good chance you have lost the sale to your own preconceived notions. All too often, in their attempt to increase sales, salespeople focus on all the wrong elements. They approach selling situations with preconceived ideas about why a prospect would or should buy, and then frame their “needs analysis” or “fact-finding” questions around those notions. This may happen early in the relationship, when salespeople typically turn their attention to the features, benefits, and value- added aspects of their product or service, in an attempt to differentiate it from that of the competition and ultimately convince prospects to buy. Or they may focus on price or cost containment. While these elements may eventually play a part in the decision, they are never where you want to start. Salespeople need to first focus, not on their own assumptions, but on the prospect. The next time you are tempted to move out of your initial “meet and greet” discussion by appealing to a familiar sequence of questions, try asking about the one thing that’s likely to be unique to this individual buyer: motive. Remember: Prospects buy for their reasons . . . not necessarily your reasons. This is the "Golden Rule" of sales. The prospect’s reason for talking to you is not something you can expect to understand as you begin the discussion. You must determine not only what aspects of the product or service prospects are interested in, but why the person is interested. What is this person’s motives for wanting, needing, or desiring a discussion about the product or service? Using this approach, you can share what other people you’ve worked with have typically raised as concerns (late delivery times, loss of key customers, missed market opportunities, or whatever else is relevant) and then ask your prospect share how close those kinds of challenges are to his or her own experience. Notice that you are not focusing on features, benefits, value- added aspects of your product or service, or price at this point. You are asking about possible gaps between where your prospect is now and where he or she wants to be. Once you identify that gap, in the prospect’s terms, that’s what you should discuss first -- and in depth. In short, you must determine exactly what your prospects are trying to accomplish. What problems are they trying to solve or http://www.trustpointtx.sandler.com/pressitems/show/12222/1050 1/2
17/11/2014 Dallas TX ClientPoint: Check Your Assumptions at the Door | Sandler Training by TrustPoint Management Group avoid? Is their concern short-term or long-term? Is it an immediate need or a future need? Give these issues precedence over any assumptions or preconceived notions of your own. If your prospect is concerned with the increased productivity aspects of a product or service, and you’re emphasizing the cost-saving aspects, the prospect will disengage. The two of you won’t be speaking the same language. Invest the time to first uncover the prospect’s motivation for the meeting … and then formulate questions that dig deeper into that motivation. It may be tempting to use a familiar sequence of questions in an attempt to “script out” your exchanges with prospects ahead of time. But it doesn’t work – unless your goal is to get the person’s eyes to glaze over. Check your assumptions at the door, and focus on the motive instead. You’ll close more deals. Comments Make a comment Name • Email • Comment • Captcha Security • Submit Comment • = Please fill in all required fields PRIVACY NOTICE | LEGAL NOTICE | CONTACT US SANDLER TRAINING | TRUSTPOINT MANAGEMENT GROUP-TX, LLC S Sandler Training Finding Power In Reinforcement (with design) is a registered service mark of Sandler Systems, Inc. © 2014 Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. 16775 Addison Road Suite 500 Addison, TX 75001 T: 888-831-0466 | kgraf@sandler.com http://www.trustpointtx.sandler.com/pressitems/show/12222/1050 2/2
