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Imagine what it would be like if doctors acted like many salespeople. You might walk into a doctor's office one day and be greeted with a scenario like this. "Boy, are you in luck today!" he'd
greet you. "I don't feel so lucky...my head hurts
like crazy!" you respond. "Know why you're lucky?" he asks,
ignoring your comment. "We're running a block-busting close-out sale on
artificial hearts...getting ready for the new models!" "But, Doc," you protest,
"it's my head that hurts, not my heart." "Yessir! I can fix you up with this
'Super Pumper' model, which is loaded with options, for the unbelievably low
price of $40,000...That's a 40 percent savings...Besides, it's all covered by
your insurance. Could I schedule you for installation Tuesday, or would Thursday
be more convenient for you?" "If you are like most of us you would
run - not walk - to the nearest exit! I don't want to belabor the point by
stretching the scenario further, and I don't want to leave the impression that
salespeople are really that insensitive. But sometimes it helps to look at a
ridiculous example in order to detect a fatal flaw in our own selling patterns. The Fatal Flaw In Selling
As one who trains thousands of salespeople every year, I have observed that most salespeople talk their way out of more sales than they listen their way into. People who subscribe to the "jawbone theory" of selling lost many sales they could make because they focus more on what they want to happen than on what their prospects want to happen. Probing Gives You More Selling Power
Questioning skills are at the very core of
any successful selling strategy. When
you question correctly, you look beneath the surface to discover and reveal
what's really going on in the prospect's mind and heart. In our terminology, we call it
"probing." The dictionary defines a probe as an instrument used to
penetrate, usually for the purpose of measuring or investigating. As an action
verb, to probe means to interview, to ask questions and listen, to observe, to
study, and so on. Probing enables you to do two very important
things: First, it
enables you to discover what the prospect wants and the conditions under which
the person will buy what you're selling. It keeps you from wasting a lot of time
on prospects who won't buy what you're selling under any
conditions. But, more importantly, it enables you to discover needs you can meet
and suggest ways to meet them. Second, probing
enables prospects to identify, clarify, and express their wants or needs. Many
people have only a vague feeling that they want something but don't have the
foggiest idea what it is. Others may have a deep desire they've never even
admitted to themselves. Some may think they want one thing, when what they
really want is something entirely different.
Still others know exactly what they want but don't know how to go about
getting it. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that if
you can't get a prospect to discuss and somewhat extensively verbalize specific
needs, desires, wishes or alternatives you likely don't have a qualified
prospect! It works like this...if a prospect won't reveal conditions, terms or
circumstances around a purchase decision to you, then they are not going to feel
confident enough in you to go ahead and commit to a major decision that involves
time, money, emotion, commitment or risk. It's as simple as that. By skillfully and sensitively probing, you
can take the guesswork out of selling - and buying. You can avoid the amateurish
technique of holding up one product after another and asking, "Is this
it?" You can become a highly respected professional who renders a valuable
service to your customers, a service for which you can expect to be paid very
well. How To Listen People Into Buying
Get yourself a leather binder, a really nice
one that contains a legal pad. Treat
it as if it were the most valuable piece of equipment you have, for it may very
well prove to be just that. Once you are ready to start the questioning,
open it up as the prospect watches, take out a pen, and say, "In order for
me to be of service to you, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Then stop! Don't say another word until the person gives you permission to ask those questions. We can't emphasize enough how important this waiting interval is; it really sets a pattern for everything that follows throughout the course of your sales interview. |
