This sales tip is for sales people whose success ratios have started to reduce in the past 2 years. Their traditional way of selling may need a re-fresh
The days of pushing a customer into buying your product are over. Today’s customer is better informed than ever. They research you and your company long before they meet you. They are likely to know about your competitors too. It is quite possible they have made a decision to buy your product if the overall proposition is right. So stop pushing your customers around. They do not want it, will turn you down and go elsewhere.
Instead, seek gaining agreement to proceed for a purchase. You and the customer are actually on the same side. They need a solution and you want to sell it to them. The need help and you want to support them. The seek a thinking supplier and you want to be their trusted adviser.
Here are 3 examples how the old ‘push’ method has now changed in permission based selling:
1) Push: “What I would like to do today, is find out about your company and see how our products will help you”
Permission selling: “What would be a good outcome for you from our time today?
2) Push: “Most companies buy our product for one of three reasons. Cost savings, convenience or innovation. Which of these applies most to you? “
Permission selling: “Would it be useful to explore the options available to address the supply issues you described?
3) Push: “I would like to provide you with a quote and come back next week”
Permission selling: “What do you see as a good next step to take from here?”
I work with plenty of sales people who made the changes above. Their telling style has moved to one where they ask questions, explore the issues and options to progress.
Sales have taken off.
All it took was confidence and perhaps some encouragement mostly from their sales coach…
If you like sales tips like these and would like to receive more, feel free to join the mailing list
