Sales professionals out there! Would you be open to doing a frightening exercise?
Take the last 3 deals you worked on (or 3 current deals) & ask yourself this question: Do I really understand what (insert prospect) is actually trying to accomplish? Do I really understand the problem?
Completely understand? Without question? 100%?
You know we talk about PAIN a lot. That’s exactly what we’re talking about here. Not the indication of PAIN. That’s just a PAIN Point. Too often salespeople stop when they hear a problem. They say to themselves, “That’s PAIN.” And it isn’t. It’s only the beginning of what COULD BE PAIN. AKA: a PAIN Point.
It’s incredibly common to hear a PAIN Point & rush to do a quote. Rush to the finish line. It’s easy to do that. It’s less uncomfortable to do that. But that doesn’t make it right.
If you went to the doctor with a sore knee & as soon as she learned you had a sore knee she scheduled meniscus repair surgery, or an ACL procedure, or worse, total knee replacement . . . what would you do? You know exactly what you’d do – you’d find another doctor. And you’d be wise to do so.
That’s the only example you need to condition yourself to a better job of qualifying your prospects. To gather more information. To ensure your solution “fixes” their problem. My mentor in this business used to say that salespeople who rush quickly & take short-cuts are committing Sales Malpractice. Paints a very clear picture doesn’t it?
Just as you (the patient) at the doctor need to be completely satisfied with your doctor’s diagnosis & plan of care, your prospects need to be completely satisfied that you GET THEM.
We don’t need to tell you how competitive it is out there – you’re living it every day. Imagine your competitor doing a better job of uncovering your prospects problem. Asking ALL of the questions (even the hard ones). Digging deep, peeling back the layers. Such a good job that the prospect thinks to herself, (insert name) really gets it. Completely understands my problem. HE GETS ME!
That’s the feeling every prospect should have before you even thing about quoting a solution. But that takes work. That takes time. That’s hard. You need to close deals now. You’re getting pressure from your sales leader. The bane of our existence in sales.
So, what do you do about it? Some will continue their short-cutting ways. Many will continue to take the easy way out. A bunch of you are reading this & thinking, “this guy is clueless, he doesn’t know my business?” That is the bane of a Sales Trainer/Coach’s existence.
So, back to the 3 deals from the beginning of this article. What are you thinking?
Do you really understand the problem(s)?
Do you know how long they have been living with it?
Do you know what they have done about it?
Do you know the competitive landscape?
Do you know how much this problem (or problems) is costing them (or will continue to cos them?
Do you know who else at the prospect’s company knows about the problem(s)
Do you know what happens if they don’t fix it – if nothing changes?
Any NO answer would give a Sales Coach cause to believe you are committing Sales Malpractice.
Do you get it?
