Yes, both. Odd, but this is the closest thing to real truth in the Sales industry. You need to be both in Sales, a doctor and investigator and here’s why.
The question you need to ask yourself in sales is what is it that your prospect “could” be looking for? YOU need to be an investigator. Asking questions is a great way to investigate, and you should mix it up with closed and opened ended questions. Get the prospect to engage with you. By asking the right series of questions that person will open up and tell you exactly what they are looking for. You need to be the investigator to get it out. Also you need to investigate and look at the prospects profiles, business model and know their products or services of interest. If your B2B then know what your client sells or does the most, know their niche.
Then ask yourself what could be their immediate needs based on your investigation, and do they have wants they publicly share? Investigate what they are about, where they hang out, and how they interact. (what medium) That way once you actually know about them, their potential needs and wants, and how to communicate best to reach them, you can create an effective advertising message. What you should look at is what it is that can help that person with using your product/service.
Then paint pictures to the prospect about how your benefits can help the other person be more effective, or be more productive using your product/service. The intentional recommendations could be at first base on your initial investigation. Then by being a doctor you may probe enough to find out how you can help solve a problem for them.
Most people don’t want a mortgage, they need the financing to buy the home. They don’t want the Toyota Prius, it’s just affordable and is a means to the end goal. To have transportation to work. (no pun intended car guys). The bottom line is by investigating and digging deep, ask questions, typically the client will tell you what comforts them best. (what they want). That then gives you the ability to custom tailor a solution.
BE a Dr. By being a doctor your prescribing solutions to the “problems” they have. You’re just not in a white lab coat. And don’t have the patient spilling their guts making it easy for you to diagnose their problem. This is why you need to be both a Doctor, and an Investigator. If you get the “patient” to open up, they will tell you what is “wrong”.
By asking probing questions and seeking to understand before your understood will allow you to aim your responses the best way to custom tailor a solution. To give them a “prescription”. Those responses I view as bullets. Pulling the right bullets out at the right time is part of the art of selling. To many times in selling people bring too many out all at once. What is called “info dumping”. This is typically because the person selling is trying to do just that. Sell. Not prescribe. Stop selling so much, and try prescribing a solution. If you feel yourself doing this at any time, stop, and ask another question. If you ask the right questions you can have that “patient” guide the sale along. Especially when they start to describe features and benefits of what you have. Cars, mortgages, t-shirts, whatever it may be.
When I did this is when my big “ahhh ha” moment of sales kicked in. You see it’s not how you see your product fitting in their hands, its how the client see’s it helping them accomplish an end goal. You need to really dig sometimes and ask questions to understand any prospects wants/needs/desires. This takes investigating, and once you do that, it becomes easy to pull out the right bullet in your arsenal to “highlight” how you can assist them. Your prescribing a remedy. A solution to help them obtain the end desire.
I see this all the time with home loans. Loan officers ask about rate, costs and sell the program to fit their needs. But never go deep enough to know that the cash out was to pay for their kids college perhaps. (an example) Dig really deep, and knowing how you can bridge the gap to creating URGENCY in your “offers”. If you do this, their “why” may be big enough to warrant a decision today, instead of waiting. So by knowing what they are trying to accomplish, the reason they should have your product becomes easier to identify. And then using that reason to help push the urgency buttons to gain a commitment is easier. (the sale) When executed correctly, your not pushy, your not sales-y, your caring. Your highlighting how much faster you can help them reach the goal. That type of urgency is the best way to “sell”. This goes hand in hand with my Thankful Thursday video, Thankful Thursday. Know what makes others tick and then find a way to appeal to that.
I aim to be a helpful resource for all those reading this. Sometimes it’s sales tips, or tricks or objection responses. Sometimes my content could be about mortgage guidelines or lead generation opportunities. I aim to fill my blog posts and videos with content you can use and apply. I am looking for opportunity to help others grow, and I will promote others that have tools to help you achieve the end goals. A sale. I surround myself with power players in the world of sales on purpose. From that I learn what is working and what is not. And in my sphere’s of influence those best practices are shared. Today, I present a book, Elevator to the Top, which is a best seller, to those that are looking for sales tips. Get it free by clicking the link below;
More Sales JUICE to come.
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The JUICEman! 