Psyching Yourself Out of A Sale

Psyching Yourself Out of A Sale

When clients ask for help in closing more sales, I’d ask them to list the objections they are hearing that prevented the sale. It’s when they start stumbling over their response that I ask, “Are these the objections you are hearing directly from your prospects or what you’re assuming as the reason why they don’t buy?”

Whether it’s around our sales efforts, during a conversation with our boss (and our kids), or when trying to uncover ways to best manage your team, certain assumptions can dramatically affect the results we seek to achieve, especially during a conversation.

Rather than uncovering the real barrier to the sale, assuming the objection becomes a detrimental process that spreads like a virus throughout every sales call. These assumptions are not based on the facts but rather the salesperson’s assumption of the truth.

When clients ask for help in closing more sales, I’d ask them to list the objections they are hearing that prevented the sale. It’s when they start stumbling over their response that I ask, “Are these the objections you are hearing directly from your prospects or what you’re assuming as the reason why they don’t buy?”

Whether it’s around our sales efforts, during a conversation with our boss (and our kids), or when trying to uncover ways to best manage your team, certain assumptions can dramatically affect the results we seek to achieve, especially during a conversation.

Rather than uncovering the real barrier to the sale, assuming the objection becomes a detrimental process that spreads like a virus throughout every sales call. These assumptions are not based on the facts but rather the salesperson’s assumption of the truth.

Salespeople often fall into this trap when creating solutions for their prospects. During a conversation with a prospect, they uncover a similar situation or problem that they have handled with a previous client. So, they assume that the same solution will fit for this prospect as well.

The problem arises when the salesperson fails to invest the time to go beyond what may be obvious and explore the prospect’s specific objectives or concerns.

Thinking they “know” this prospect, the salesperson provides them with the benefits of his service that he perceives to be important, without considering the prospect’s particular needs.

The next time you’re speaking with your boss, your family your employees, or if you’re on a sales call, rather than assuming the objection, how the prospect makes a buying decision, what they know or what they want to hear, follow these suggestions to create more selling opportunities.

1. Identify The Knowledge Gap.
That’s the space between what people know and what they don’t know. Instead of assuming what they know, start determining what they need/want to learn in order to fill in this gap and ensure clear communication. What may seem old or common to you is new to them. Use questions up front to uncover what’s needed to fill in the gap. Example: “Just so I don’t sound repetitive, how familiar are you with-?”

2. Be Curious.
Question everything! Since you’re in the business
of providing solutions, invest the time to uncover the person’s specific need or problem, as opposed to providing common solutions that you assume may fit for everyone. For example, the words “Frustrated, successful, affordable, reliable and quality,” can be interpreted in a variety of ways and often carry a different meaning for each of us.

When you hear a prospect make a comment like, “I want a quality product that will give me the results I want at an affordable price,” use this as an opportunity to explore deeper into what they want or need most. “What type of results are you looking for?” “What is affordable to you?” Questions allow you to clarify what you have heard or go into a topic in more depth so you can become clear with what they are really saying.

3. Clarify!
Make each prospect feel that they are truly being listened to and understood. Use a clarifier when responding to what you’ve heard during the conversation. Rephrase in your own words what they had said to ensure that you not only heard, but also understood them. Then, confirm the next course of action. Examples: “What I’m hearing you say is…” “Tell me more about that.” “What do you see as the next step?”

4. Just The Facts, Please
“I told a prospect that I’d follow up within a week. Two weeks later, I figured I missed my chance and they went with someone else.” Sound familiar? Effective salespeople don’t guess themselves into a sale. To ensure you’re operating with the facts, ask yourself this, “Do I have evidence to support my assumption or how I’m feeling?” Enjoy the peace of mind that comes from gaining clarity rather than drowning in the stories that you believe are true.

Are you the victim?

Are you a victor or victim? I’m against being a victim cause victims sound weak. Sales can make anyone turn into a victim easily because sales people to overcome a lot crap. Victims are avoided after a while. Victims are seldom listened to because the have lost their credibility. Victims are never respected. And in general, nobody wants to hang around with victims. Well, except for other victims, of course, because like attracts like.

Just think for a moment about what you say when something doesn’t go your way or rather the way you act it. Review the last experience when you a big sale. Think for a moment about how and what you said to yourself, the body language you used and your tonality. If any of those reactions or responses contain victim like attitude, like whining, put downs, – stop it or you’ll become a victim.

You see the your goal is for you to become a victorious sales person whether or not you close the sale. Victors don’t whine. Victors learn, they overcome, they master themselves. It’s easy to up beat when life is going your way, but guess what the BIG profits are in the problems.

Kicking Your Butt

Kicking you own Ass. It’s one of my favorite scenes from a Jim Carey movie call Liar, Liar. Here’s the lesson  If your harder on yourself, if you demand more from yourself than what is expected life becomes easier. Sales people are always asking me, “Bert, how do I motivate myself?  How do I stay positive Bert?”  Here’s the secret.  How you feel is more important than what you know. Put it simply, your emotions lead to your belief system, your belief system lead to actions and your actions lead to results – good or bad.  The better you manage your emotions, the more positive your results will be.  Good or bad day?  That’s  completely programmable.

Emotions are skills. Your emotions will drive your attitude and if you have the right emotional skills, you’ll act instead of think, develop a emotional skills.

Sales Training Can Show You Ways to Increase Sales

There are many advantages to engaging in sales training. An experienced sales trainer can teach you techniques on how to prospect customers, sell the customer, and maintain fruitful relationships with customers, which will lead to additional sales. Just being in the presence of a sales coach can greatly improve your own awareness. What are some examples? Read on to alert yourself of five ways to increase sales this year.

- Study your competitors closely. How do your products and services look in comparison to what your competition offers? Look for ways to distinguish yourself from them as well as ways to angle your products and services in a better way.

- Good salespeople know their products and services very well. Beyond this, sales training will teach you to begin to learn how to read people well and how to predict their actions as well as general trends they partake in. Knowing your products and services is only the half of it; you must realize how your customers can relate and benefit from what you have to offer.

- Increase your reputation in your field. Focus on becoming a recognized ‘expert’ in your industry. This is part of building your name and your company’s brand name. Customers will learn to keep your name and that of your company in mind next time they are in need of services.

- Make your business a presence on the Web. Many shoppers now rely on the internet to find desired goods and services. Maintain a company Web site and look for ways to promote it within search engine results. Purchasing ad space on the search engines such as Google and Yahoo as well as devoting time to SEO (search engine optimization) strategies are two ways to increase your company’s online visibility.

- A sales coach will help you understand the potential of word-of-mouth marketing. Many companies devote large sums of money each month towards advertising and marketing. You can decrease the amount of money needed to spend on such things by searching for ways to spread the word about your company. Asking current clients to refer you to others in compensation of some kind of reward is just one way to facilitate the process.