Each phase contains danger from at least one of the 10 death sentences: Phase 1 – Planning: Death Sentence #1: Not Reaching the Right Person Phase 2 – Listening: Death Sentence #2: Talking Too Much Death Sentence #3: Announcing instead of Selling Death Sentence #4: Winning Argu- ments
Phase 3 – Presenting: Death Sentence #5: Taking a “One Size Fits All” Approach Death Sentence #6: Hard Selling instead of Need Selling Death Sentence #7: Talking about Features instead of Benefits Phase 4 – Handling Questions and Objections: Death Sentence #8: Dropping the Price
Phase 5 – Closing Techniques: Death Sentence #9: Not Asking for the Sale Death Sentence #10: Failure to Fol- low Through
1: NOT REACHING THE RIGHT PERSON All too often, a salesperson will call a company and talk to the first person who answers the phone. Even if that individual wants to help, however, he may not have the authority to make any commitments.
Unfortunately, salespeople gener-
ally discover this only when they try to close, and hear, “I need to take this to...” or, “You’ll have to talk to...” Strategy: Be sure to qualify the per- son you’re talking to. It saves a lot of your prospecting time to find out up front in your contacts with prospects. Questions to Ask Yourself: • Do you have enough information about the prospect and organiza- tion?
• Does the prospect have a prob- able need you can fill?
• Does the prospect have the ability to buy?
• Does the prospect have enough awareness of you and your com-
‘‘
You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction. GEORGE LORIMER
pany to understand and appreci- ate what you have to offer?
2: TALKING TOO MUCH We’ve all been around a person who talked constantly and never listened. Generally, we “close down” and can’t wait to get away from them. Some salespeople launch into their “pitch” and make the mistake of assuming the prospect’s silence means ac- ceptance. As long as the prospect is quiet, the salespeople keep talking. Instead, the prospect may be
waiting for his chance to signal the salesperson to close. As the sales- person talks on, that “window of opportunity” begins to close and the prospect begins to cool off. Remember: The more you talk, the less you listen – and the greater the chance that you’re losing the opportunity for a prospect to com- municate their needs. Strategy: The most important
solution to this issue is to not have a “pitch” in the first place. By “pitch” we mean a salesperson’s one-sided attempt at communication that is equivalent to simply repeating the phrase, “Do you wanna buy? Do you wanna buy?” This approach assumes the salesperson knows exactly what the prospect’s needs are in advance without having to engage them in an interactive fact-finding discussion. Sales pros know they have to focus on two-way communication designed to create rapport with a prospect that concentrates on highlighting the “value-added benefits” they and their company can provide.
3: ANNOUNCING INSTEAD OF SELLING If you are very knowledgeable about your product and service (and you
should be), you can be guilty of mak- ing the deadly assumption: that your prospect can translate new features of your product into new benefits for him or his business. When you make that assumption, you just announce the new product/features.
Strategy: Instead of looking at your
role as announcing features, think of yourself as serving as an interpreter – someone who decodes the informa- tion and communicates it in language the prospect understands. Make sure your prospect knows how those new features will benefit him.
4: WINNING ARGUMENTS At some time, all of us have regret- ted something we’ve said. It may have been in anger or it may have just been a mistake. Nowhere is it more costly than in sales. Even if your prospect is difficult to deal with or upsets you with some careless or thoughtless remark, don’t jeopardize the sale for a few minutes’ satisfac- tion by starting an argument or mak- ing an emotional point. Strategy: Your goal is to win the sale, not the argument. The single most important thing to remember is a term used by the British: “Stay calm and carry on.” Learn to control your emotions. Do not interpret a prospect’s behavior as a personal at- tack. Be professional and maintain a positive attitude at all times. This ap- proach will serve to support a good working relationship.
5: TAKING A “ONE-SIZE FITS ALL” APPROACH A “one-size fits all” approach to sales assumes every one of our prospects has the same needs – but nothing could be further from the truth. Expe- rienced, high-performing sales pros
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