One of the most perplexing problems that salespeople face daily is how to move an account along in a way that does not appear to be heavy-handed, manipulative or exercising undue pressure.
Like a lot of things in life, there is a delicate balance between pushing things so hard that you lose the sale and not exercising enough influence so that you lose the sale for lack of aggressiveness. This is, perhaps, the sales world’s most perplexing dilemma.
It is, perhaps, a balance that really does separate the real champions from everybody else. Let’s take a close look at 14 specific tips to make sure you are aggressive, not abrasive; persistent and not pushy. Here they are:
1. Know the time frame that the buyer or buyers normally work within to make purchases of the product or service that you are offering.
2. Be absolutely, 100% sure that you are talking to the right person or people. Don’t waste time with people who cannot influence or make the decision.
3. Understand the specific business drivers and influences that have both a direct and indirect impact on the timing of the decisions. You need to know the dynamics of their world and how those issues influence their timing of decisions.
4. Understand precisely why the prospect does buy your product or service. Generally, people will buy to either make or save money. You need to be able to show them how slowing down their decision can either cost them dollars or prohibit them from making more.
5. Be totally familiar with the personal agenda for each of the people involved in the purchase. Is it one of financial security, personal gain, position enhancement or financial gain?
6. Be anticipatory and aware of events that could impact the speed of their decision. What will it cost them if they delay? What will it mean to their personal or professional agenda? Communicate these events clearly to the buyer.
7. Be sure that you have a process that clearly and precisely moves the sales process along smoothly. You need a linked process to the sale…one that allows both of you to know that the sale is moving along satisfactorily.
8. Know when and when not to make a frequent contact with your prospect as necessary. Don’t invent reasons. Instead, have legitimate reasons for your contact, reasons that really do contribute value to the transaction, discussion and exchange.
9. Learn how to relate the normally unrelated. Do your best to understand how dynamics within the marketplace impact the outcomes that your product or service delivers to your prospect.
10. Offer to provide trials, tests and other sorts of opportunities for your prospect to have some sort of limited experience with your product or service. Allow them to have a legitimately positive experience with your “stuff”…and they’ll want more of it!
11. Work for minor commitments that are all positive. These minor commitments will then cumulatively build to a stronger, more fully sanctioned buy-in.
12. Build depth in the account. Work to get buy-in from the top down and from the bottom up. Develop as much internal advocacy as possible. Seek high-level endorsement for like rank approval.
13. Look for buying signs from anyone involved in the sale. Signs that say, “Yes, I’m ready” or “I understand that John is ready.”
14. Promise a lot and deliver even more so that your next sale will not be as demanding, difficult and drawn out as the first one.
Moving a sale to completion is the hallmark of a sales champion. A real sales champion completes the difficult sale without the perception of applying undue pressure. Instead, they use strategy and knowledge. These 14 tips provide both. Keep them handy for use in your next tough sale. The irony is that you never know which sale will be the tough one. What does that mean? That you need to really understand these concepts and apply them immediately when necessary. Don’t bring too little too late.
