Do you ever wonder why your salespeople aren’t hitting their revenue or profit targets? Or why salespeople in other firms are outperforming the people on your team? In this episode I tackle both questions and show you how to get the salespeople on your team to book more business and crush their goals.
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It’s inevitable that someone you want to interview or hire will say “no.” However, that “no” isn’t permanent. You can get a talented person to change his or her mind by applying a powerful principle of selling.
I first witnessed this principle during a conversation with a longtime client. He called to say there was somebody else. Another company had approached him, offering similar services for 5% less.
My client explained that he had to watch his budget and decided to seriously consider making a change. He further explained to me that he didn’t really want to, but if I couldn’t meet that price, he’d have to go with the other company.
Now of course, I felt a bit betrayed. Rather than give in to this feeling, which was valid but unhelpful for solving the problem, I kept the conversation going.
“Harvey, I want to thank you for calling and being candid with me. I’m curious. What would it make it worth staying with us, paying what you are now?”
There was a pregnant pause. He didn’t just dismiss the question out of hand, which was a good sign.
“That’s an interesting question,” he said. “There is something. Our payables department has been on us about getting longer payment terms to help with cash flow. If we had a bit longer to pay, that might make it worth that 5%.”
Playing off his idea, I simply asked:
“Okay, what’s longer?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe 10 more days?”
Harvey’s voice had gone from conciliatory and resigned to hopeful in a matter of seconds. Now, instead of prompting me to adjust my price or lose him as a client, he asked me for accommodations in order to maintain our relationship. This created a productive conversation in place of a “break up” phone call.
Harvey’s company had always paid on time and often, in less than 30 days so his request was by no means unreasonable. Now, I needed only one more question to close the deal.
“If I can get you those 10 additional days, then can we continue working together in the way we always have?”
“Yes, Scott. Thank you! That’s such a relief. I really wasn’t looking forward to the transition.”
I remember ending that phone call with a smile on my face. I had just experienced the value of allowing Harvey to sell himself on an idea, rather than trying to do the heavy lifting myself. I let the better salesperson sell. Him. Not me. He sold himself on changing his own mind.
Yes, I kept Harvey as a client. More importantly, I’d experienced a powerful sales principle. A principle that became an important focus in my recruiting and hiring. That principle:
Buyers always believe themselves, but only sometimes believe you.
Job candidates are buyers. They’re buying into opportunities. When they say “no,” they’re the most qualified person in the conversation to change it into a “yes.”
How does this work in recruiting and hiring? Well, there was the project manager who wanted a higher salary than we could offer. I asked, “What would make it worth taking the job for what we originally offered?” He talked himself into that number after asking for an extra week of vacation.
Then there was the accountant who didn’t want to drive across town for a job. I posed the following: “Under what circumstances would you consider commuting that far?” The accountant offered up the idea of a flex schedule sealing the deal for her to accept the role.
Candidates always believe themselves, but only sometimes believe you. Let the better salesperson sell, especially when it’s a candidate who just said “no.” If there’s anyone who can get them to change their own mind, it’s them, not you.
One simple often overlooked action can shift your team from sometimes reaching its goals to crushing them on regular basis. In this episode, I tell you how to do it.
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No one likes to be sold to, but almost everyone likes to buy.
Creating buying experiences enrolls prospects in a mutually beneficial experience that gets them buying. And keeps them buying.
Watch the video to learn more.
Even though most salespeople could easy come up with a thousand words, that’s never a good idea. Painting a picture isn’t just better than thousands of words, it’s worth much, much more. This video shows you how.
Powerful facts are always more compelling than platitudes and generalities. In this second of four videos on letting Letting Your Success Do the Selling, I share how to deliver these in a soundbite fashion.
It’s often said that salespeople should listen more than talk, however, those spouting this wisdom typically are the ones who continue to inundate those around them with voluminous amounts of words. In fact, most salespeople spew a stream of factoids, details, and feature-benefit chunks of information all over prospective clients.
No one likes to be thrown up on, and it’s certainly no way to start or grow an important relationship. Instead, our industry must adhere to a better standard:
Say little, ask a lot.
When you live by this rule, you always hear more while keeping the buyer engaged in a much more compelling conversation. Since the buyer always believes him or herself but only sometimes, if ever, believes you, you’re letting the better closer close. And, when you consistently conduct yourself in this manner, important comments you make are actually heard versus dismissed, since you’ve demonstrated that you share only important details.
Not only is this standard soothing to buyers, like a spoonful of Pepto Bismol, it’s also a mega-dose of vitamins that establishes and grows healthy, long-lasting partnerships.
It takes less effort to increase sales when you let your success do the selling. In this first of four videos on this topic, I share why it’s more important than ever that we pick our words carefully and use soundbites to deliver them.
© 2015 Scott Wintrip All Rights Reserved
The focus on consultative selling by many salespeople is often great in concept and poor in execution. This failure stems back to one issue and one issue alone—the fact that consultative selling is really about basic skills.
Too many salespeople, especially those with more tenure, are too focused on acquiring and mastering advanced sales skills. What many of them don’t realize is that the phrase “advanced sales skills” is really a misnomer. Advanced selling is really about consistently doing the basics.
Those who are achieving the best results in staffing and recruitment consistently apply the core competencies of basic selling. They don’t have to get “back to basics” from time to time, instead, consciously choosing to stay with the basics.
This approach to being at an advanced level may not seem as sexy as pursuing the complex or convoluted approaches often presented in the latest tomes on selling. However, the increased profits and commissions gained through this approach more than make up for the “dullness” of keeping selling simple.