Some would say selling is a complex psychological process. Others would say it is a battle of wills and opinions. Even others like Stephen Covey would say it must be a win win arrangement, where the customer wins and the seller wins. Regardless of your opinion or feelings about selling, this is the truth! If you are insensitive to the customer's words and behaviours, then the sale will not take place!
Often the salesperson is so impatient to make the sale they make a number of mistakes, then they are surprised when the sale does not happen. I have even heard some salespeople comment that they think they control the customer. They feel they can make the customer buy! What nonsense! Who are they kidding, besides themselves?
What I hope to do in this article is to help the reader understand the dynamics of the sale. For many unsuccessful salespeople find closing the sale a very difficult part of the sales process. The successful salespeople have figured out what I am about to share with the reader of this article.
First, let's consider the dynamics of the relationship between the seller and the customer. Each has different objectives. The seller obviously wants to make the sale. The customer wants to determine if there is value in purchasing the product. So each customer as an individual has different objectives or goals. These objectives can only be reached if the seller behaves correctly. This is where the salesperson has the real power. They have power and control to behave correctly and appropriately. If they do so, then everything is possible, like more sales and more referrals. Wouldn't you like to make more sales?
Next, let's consider the various parts of the buying process. When anybody buys anything, whether it is a car, clothes, TV or Life Insurance, that purchase is based on four reasons. Theses reasons are the only reasons why people buy anything. These reasons exist every time a purchase occurs. They are NEED, HELP, MONEY and URGENCY. Let's examine each of these reasons.
NEED
It is not the need of the salesperson to make the sale. It is the need of the customer for the product, or at least for the benefits derived from buying the product. Salespeople need to spend a fair bit of time with the customer, asking questions, taking notes and analyzing the customer's current and desired situation to ensure the salesperson understands the customer's needs. Customers must have an opportunity to verbally confirm that they believe they have a need. This customer verbalization of the need is often overlooked by the salesperson. I believe this is where the sale takes place. Unsuccessful salespeople incorrectly believe the sale takes place during the close. This belief is a big mistake! The salesperson's objective is to get the customer talking about their needs and then they will be building a foundation for the sale. If the salesperson spends enough time gathering correct information, the closing portion of the sale becomes very easy.
HELP
This is where the salesperson connects the product to the need. Again, unsuccessful salespeople talk too much about the product and too little about how the product will solve the needs of the customer. Customers care very little about the name of the product or how it technically works. They do care about the benefits they can derive from the purchase of the product. They are interested about how this product will help them solve their needs . To effectively talk about the product, the salesperson must first understand the customer's need. Next, they must be able to explain to the customer how the product helps solve their need. Often this is explained as features, applications and benefits. What are the features or special additions to the product, how does this apply to the customer's situation and how does it benefit the customer, now or in the future? The salesperson must explain this very well in the customer's terms, not the company's terms. Be very careful not to use industry terms unless you fully explain them.
MONEY
Unsuccessful salespeople make another mistake. They talk too much about how much the product will cost the customer, and too little about the value the customer will receive from purchasing the product. Sometimes the customer does not have enough money to purchase the product. Most times they have the money but see no real or inherent value in the product, so they do not purchase it. At this stage of the sales process the salesperson must clearly explain the benefits the customer will receive by purchasing the product. If a customer has difficulty with the monthly premium, then explain it differently. For some customers it is easier to understand the premium to be paid in terms of a daily cost. This is not effective for all customers, but some benefit from this explanation. If the salesperson explains a small premium on a daily basis rather than a larger one on a monthly or annual basis, it makes the buying decision a little easier for that kind of customer. Others want to know about the value received from the purchase. Value for premium paid may be expressed in terms like; the customer being responsible, taking care of their family, solving a need they have uncovered, or planning and preparing for the future. The salesperson must help the customers understand the value they will receive if they purchase the product.
URGENCY
The final and probably one of the most often over looked reasons why people don't buy is that the salesperson does not assist the customer to embrace a sense of urgency. A sense of urgency drives the customer to take action today, not next week, next year or never take action. This is when the salesperson talks about the concept of risk and reward. The salesperson explains the risk in terms of what happens if the customer does not take action. What risks do the customers or their families face if the customers do not buy the product recommended today. As well, the salesperson must explain the reward for the customer and their family if they take action and purchase the product today. The salesperson must paint a picture as clearly as possible to ensure the customer fully understands the risk and reward. They must help the customer understand the risk and reward in terms of today!
I explain these concepts more clearly and comprehensively in my two books, the Passionate Manager and the Passionate Agent. You can find information about these books by visiting my website at www.heidema.com. Both books are filed with systems, processes, scripts and tools to help make the sale happen.
So what else can salespeople do to improve their chances of making the sale?
First, the salesperson must memorize, practice and master a series of questions that get the customer talking and help the salesperson understand what is important to the customer. I am appalled with the lack of professionalism exhibited by most salespeople. Most do not know what to say and when to say it. They act like amateurs when it comes to practicing their profession. Successful salespeople learn the sales processes and scripts. They memorize the words, practice and role-play, and master all the steps of the sales process so they are always in control of the process. Many salespeople feel that they do not need to be professional. Therefore they get the abysmal results that they get. If they would treat this profession seriously, they would achieve much better results.
Second and foremost, they need to learn to listen to the customer and equally important, learn to shut up! I am amazed at how much the unsuccessful salesperson talks. I am not surprised that the salesperson must see so many people to make one sale. They make it very difficult for customers to buy. When salespeople talk too much, they are telling the customer that they are far more important than the customer. It seems salespeople like to hear their own voices more than the voice of the customer. Successful salespeople love to hear their customers talk. If the salesperson would learn to ask good questions and really listen to the customer, the salesperson would truly understand what drives the customer and be able to find the reasons why the customer might be willing to buy.
Third, salespeople must take good notes. Indeed, they must write down word-for-word whatever the customer says. The customer's words are far more important than the salespeople words. When salespeople reach the point in the sales process when they ask the customer to buy, and the customer responds with a no, salespeople must then go back over the four reasons why people buy (need, help, money and urgency) and determine which of these areas the customers are having difficulty with. Maybe the customers feel they don't need insurance, or your recommendation does not solve their need, or for the premium they must pay they will not get value, or finally, they have no sense of urgency. Any one of these four reasons may cause the customer to say no!
When they say no and you have uncovered the reason they have said no, this is when you repeat back to them the words, as you have written, that they have used earlier in the sales process. You would say phrases like;
- Didn't you say you had no insurance, did you say that?
- Didn't you say that you felt what I was recommending would likely solve your need, didn't you say that?
- Didn't you say that you could afford (?) so much premium per day, week, month, didn't you say that?
- Didn't you say that you felt your family would be at risk if you did not take action, didn't you say that?
Then you say to them, help me understand! You said you have a need, you said you felt my recommended product would solve your need, you said you felt you could afford so much a month, and you said your family would be at risk if you did not take action. Did you say all this? Great, then I only have one question; what is preventing you from taking action today? Now shut up and listen.
If you ask these questions one by one, then shut up after each question and listen, you will make more sales. I promise you will!
So what have we learned from this article. We have learned the value of changing our behaviours. Master this profession, ask better questions, listen more actively, take good notes and feed back the customer's words to them. We now know the four reasons why people buy; need, help, money and urgency! As a salesperson you must ask enough questions to uncover these four reasons and what the customer thinks about these four reasons. With this information you can make more sales. If salespeople change their behaviours, they will improve the chances of changing their results. Remember making the sale is less about closing the sale and more about asking good questions and listening. With these new skills you can become more successful. I wish you good luck!
Good luck!
By: James M. Heidema
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