Do you ever have trouble getting
a prospect to take action, pull
the trigger, and become a paying
client? A large percentage of my
coaching clients are salespeople who
often haven't done much in their
career to upgrade their professional
selling skills. They believe that
because they have the gift of gab, they
can "wing it" during meetings with
prospects. No wonder their numbers
are down!
The following is a step-by-step
approach I've adapted to my style and
teach to my clients. I give much of the
credit for what I share with you here to
the Nightingale-Conant audio programs
Advanced Selling Techniques by Brian Tracy and Close the Deal from
the Sandler Sales Institute.
STEP ONE
Introduction with benefit. When
beginning a relationship with a
prospect, start with something like,
"Hi! I'm _______________________ with
________________________________. We
help people like you to
__________________________." Fill in
the blanks with your name, your company,
and, most important, the main
benefit you provide to your clients. For
example, "Hi! I'm John Smith with
Acme Benefits. We help our clients in
companies like yours to sleep well at
night instead of worrying about their
health-care coverage." Ideally, you want
this statement to be catchy or memorable
in some way. The idea is to get
your prospect to want to know more.
STEP TWO
Positioning statement. The next step is to mention what you do, and perhaps what you don't do. So
you might say, "I'm really a consultant, and my role is to help you make
good choices for yourself about your situation. What I don't do is sell,
promote, or recommend anything before I know exactly what's in your best
interest."
STEP THREE
Ask permission to ask questions. The Sandler Sales Institute calls this step "The Up-Front Contract."
You ask a prospect for explicit permission to ask questions, for example: "I'd
like to get 15 or 20 minutes of your time to ask you a few questions about where
you're at currently, where you want to get to, and what might be getting
in your way. Then we can decide if it makes sense to do something further together
or not. Does that sound fair?" Let me offer a few discussion points about
this powerful sales tactic:
- "15 or 20 minutes" You're indicating
this will be brief and you won't
take up much time. (Prospects who
have a real need will choose to extend
this time frame.)
- "... we can decide ... to do something
further together ..." This
implies that you and your prospect are
going to collaborate, that you won't be
begging for his business.
- " ... or not." This lets a prospect
know that it's OK to for him to say no.
Knowing that allows him to relax:
You've given him an out if he needs it.
It also implies that you can say no too,
which helps you to screen out poor
prospects.
- "Does that sound fair?" No one
has ever said no to this seemingly
innocuous question. And when a
prospect says yes — congrats! You
now have control of the sales process,
because it is the person asking the
questions who is in control, not vice
versa.
STEP FOUR
Start the interview. Proceed with a consultative interview, using a series of
questions in a logical sequence to determine your prospect's …
-
Pain, need, or gap: What lies
between where she is now and where
she could be with your product or
service.
- Budget/Value $$$: What kind of
money she has set aside to address any
problems you uncover, and what the value of your product/service would
be above and beyond her investment.
- Decision-making process: Who
else besides the person you are in front
of is involved with moving forward,
what their time frame is, and what
would they need to be convinced of in
order to know that working with you
would be a great decision for themselves
and their firm.
Your skillful use of questions in
these three areas will be all you need
to determine if you and your prospect
are truly a good fit. I give all of my producer
clients the assignment of scripting
these questions out and using them
on every sales call. Only amateurs
"wing it," and they are usually checking
the want ads for a new job in short
order.
STEP FIVE
The Directive Close. If there is a good fit, Brian Tracy suggests you tell your prospect the exact
steps he will need to go through to become an active client, with a statement
such as, "If this sounds interesting to you, the way it works is ________________."
Then, SHUT UP! The prospect will either agree to proceed to the next step (which
might entail a proposal or presentation) or present an objection. If there is
an objection, go back to the interview to determine what the prospect's
real concerns are. Redefine these in terms of his "conditions of satisfaction":
what he must get from you in order to feel comfortable moving forward. Then
restate the steps for becoming a client, then silence. (Note: if another meeting
is required, you MUST set a firm appointment — date, time, and agenda
— even if by phone, to keep the process moving. No nextstep appointment?
No sale is likely.)
STEP SIX
Proposal/presentation. You may think this is out of place here, but you must
refrain from doing a proposal or presentation for your product or service until
a prospect has answered your interview questions satisfactorily. The key concept
of this entire strategy is not to do dog-and-pony shows, but instead to qualify
prospects first through questions and get their commitment BEFORE you deliver
your proposal/presentation. I learned a perfect analogy from Tracy: A doctor
who would prescribe a treatment plan for a patient before doing a thorough examination
and diagnosis is engaging in malpractice. Why should it be different for you
and your prospects?
This is a simplified outline for handling
the ins and outs of any high-level
sale. I greatly respect any sales professional
who is using this type of
approach on a potential large sale,
with its multiple calls, elusive characters,
political intrigue, and seemingly
endless sales cycle. If that describes
YOU, I know you're well on your way
to Closing the Deal!
Since developing his first coaching program in 1982, Success Skills Coach Jim Rohrbach, "The Personal Fitness Trainer for Your Business," has coached hundreds of business owners, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals on increasing their clientele.
Learn more about Jim Rohrbach at www.AdvantEdgeMag.com/CoachsCorner.
To find out how a Nightingale-Conant coach can help you become a high achiever, call us at 877.512.3100 to speak with a coaching representative.
