Tag Archives: consultative selling

Finding sales prospects: three basic rules for locating the decision maker who can in fact say yes to what you offer

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Finding sales prospects, first basic rule: You can make a sale only if you deal with the person who can say Yes to what you offer.

That’s obvious enough, especially if you’re selling to individuals.

But it’s more difficult if you’re selling to organizations. The selling skills you use in finding prospects within organizations in both the public and private sectors is more complicated, as these organizations are filled with people who have only negative decision-making authority.

That is, they have the authority to say No to you, but, no matter what or how good a deal you offer, they’re just not able to say Yes. Saying yes is just not in their job-description. Continue reading → Finding sales prospects: three basic rules for locating the decision maker who can in fact say yes to what you offer

Buying signals in the face-to-face meeting

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In a previous post, we addressed buying signals in general.  Now we look more specifically at the kind of buying signals you might encounter once you’re actually face-to-face with the Prospect.

There will be times when the Prospect’s cues are so strong and positive that there is no break between your presentation and the Prospect’s agreement: it’s as if there is one continuous flow to the communication. In those happy cases, you don’t really need to ask for the order, as the Prospect’s words or actions make it clear that all that remains is to work out the details.

The actual cues that signal interest will depend to a large extent on the individual’s unique mannerisms, so you’ll need to be alert and flexible. To get started, attune to basic areas such as those following.

■ Non-Verbal Signals. If the Prospect is sitting forward on his chair, nodding his head, muttering words like, “Great! Exactly what we need! Yes, I see how it fits in,” then you have strongly positive buying signals. That is probably the point at which you should stop trying to persuade the Prospect, and instead move on to wrap it up by closing for some kind of buying action.

■ Questions and comments. It’s usually a positive signal when the Prospect begins asking about practical matters, such as, “How soon can you deliver? or “Is it available in (a certain color or size or other similar detail)?” Questions of this sort imply that the Prospect has basically made the decision to buy, and now has moved on to settle the details.

■ Certain kinds of objections can be buying signals. If a Prospect asks detailed questions about your product, or about how it differs from your competition, you probably have a signal of interest. After all, busy people don’t get into the details unless they see a good reason for them to do so. The fact that the Prospect is interested enough to explore this kind of practical issue signals that the Prospect is at least testing the What-if of buying. The trend is positive, so be ready to move with that trend.

■ Interest in haggling over details. The sale is probably yours if the Prospect initiates tentative negotiating probes over matters that would be relevant only if the sale is going through. (The sale is yours, that is, provided you can negotiate mutually-agreeable terms.)

For instance, a Prospect might say, “You’re talking about too long a lead time before you can install. The delay is costing me money.” But analyze what she is saying beneath the words, which probably is, “I’m ready to buy, provided you can speed up delivery.”

Incidentally, these buying signals by the Prospect may not be consciously sent, so it’s important to look through the actual words and gestures to find what is really meant or implied.

The Prospect may not have actually decided to buy — at least not on a conscious level — but the interest in delivery times betrays what’s really going on in his mind. If you’re attuned to that, you can adapt appropriately.

Continue reading → Buying signals in the face-to-face meeting

Active Listening as a tool for finding the Prospect’s real objections

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Active listening is a way to find what is really behind the objections you hear.

I was talking to my friend Henry the other day. Henry has a product that allows engine oil and hydraulic fluid to last 4-10 times longer than usual.

No, no. This is not one of those wacko devices you see on late-night TV infomercials, this is the real thing. It’s actually for big machines, like 18 wheelers, bulldozers and the like, and it’s endorsed by Caterpillar and other manufacturers.

Anyway, Henry was telling me about the resistance he gets from the potential buyers at the quarries and trucking firms and government agencies he sells to. Objections like, ‟We’ve always done it the old way,” ‟I don’t care if Caterpillar says it’s okay, I’m not going to take a chance.”

He was getting this from the maintenance chief at a government agency. Continue reading → Active Listening as a tool for finding the Prospect’s real objections

Active listening: Communicating well in the sales call, in person and on the phone

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The most successful sales people  have developed listening skills–not just a passive listening, but active listening skills as well

 We’ll be examining the how-to of active listening in much more detail later in this site, but here are some starting points to give you a quick sense of what active listening means in sales.

Active listening is a topic in itself, but means, among other things, not just sitting there, but becoming actively and visibly involved with the speaker.

Depending on the situation, that might mean giving clear feedback that you are understanding correctly, nodding, taking notes on items that are particularly relevant — as all of these are signals to the speaker that this is what you’re really looking for.

Thus “active listening” may not be just listening: it could be saying encouraging words—like “I understand,” or “Interesting,” or “Mmm, I see,” or whatever helps to the speaker realized that he or she is on-course to what you need to know.

Active listening may also mean asking follow-up questions as needed.

Yet active listening also means knowing when to be silent, and when to let the speaker “roam free.”

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The content in this and  other posts on this site has been adapted from my books, which you will find in the sidebar, along with how to order as both ebooks and pbooks. Hope you find them helpful.

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Consultative selling: Why and how to set the context before asking questions

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Consultative selling is selling by asking the questions that prompt the prospect to recognize needs for what you offer.

Key point to bear in mind:  In using a consultative sales approach, ask questions, but shape the meeting as a conversation, not an interrogation. Good consultative sales skills means projecting that you want to learn all you can about the situation, so you can help, NOT that you are there to cross-examine . . . and DEFINITELY NOT that you are seeking to learn their sensitive proprietary information.

Continue reading → Consultative selling: Why and how to set the context before asking questions

Your “Elevator Pitch”–how to refine and focus it

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The “Elevator Pitch,” or “Elevator Speech,” is not just a key tool in your selling activities, it’s a must-have. Even if you never ride an elevator, you still need to be able to “net-out” who you are and what you or your product/service can do for prospects in a concise, intriguing way.

In this post, I’ll be doing two things: First, citing an article bearing the Imprimatur of the Wall Street Journal on the need for a good elevator pitch.

Second, I’ll be including an excerpt from one of my own sales books on how to develop an effective, to-the-point elevator speech.
Continue reading → Your “Elevator Pitch”–how to refine and focus it

Consultative sales skills: Why and how to set the context

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Consultative selling is selling by asking the questions that prompt the prospect to recognize needs for what you offer.

A key point:  In using a consultative sales approach, ask questions, but shape the meeting as a conversation, not an interrogation. Good consultative sales skills means projecting that you want to learn all you can about the situation, so you can help, NOT that you are there to cross-examine . . . and DEFINITELY NOT that you are seeking to learn their sensitive proprietary information.

Continue reading → Consultative sales skills: Why and how to set the context