Making sense about why you sell, and why you can't
By Jeffrey Gitomer
The sense of selling, or sales sense, comes from mastering a series of internal senses that are both subtle and blatant. They are simple to understand and complex to master, and they hold the key to your sales success.
In the last installment I described the first four. As you read the rest of them, think about how these senses can affect your success once you understand them.
5. Sense of reason. As you present your ideas and ask questions that engage the customer or prospect, you must both establish a balance of agreement, value, and desire to own. This comes from an equal conversation, not a one-sided sales pitch. Reason is when each party is asking reasonable questions and making reasonable statements, mostly positive. The key here is "fair." Do your value statements seem fair and reasonable enough for the customer to want to buy? "Price" rejections are a symptom of lack of acceptable reason on the buyer’s part.
6. Sense of opportunity. Customers will tell you they’re ready to buy in every other way than using the actual phrase. You must interpret the customer’s words, questions, tone, mood, and motives in order to determine both where your opportunity is, and when that opportunity has surfaced. This is a very subtle, strategic, and delicate moment. You, the salesperson, need to stop talking, solidify the sale, confirm the next step of delivery, and leave. Pay attention to any question a buyer asks. Questions don’t just call for answers; they demand that you sense why they’re being asked.
7. Sense of risk. If you can’t seem to make headway in selling to or engaging the customer, their sense of risk is greater than your sense of reason. They mostly feel the value you offer is too low, or that something is wrong with the company, the product, or the salesperson. They’ll never tell you this; instead they’ll say, "We’re not interested," or "We’re satisfied with who we’ve got," or "Your price is too high," or some other masked message. The single biggest barrier to a sale is the unspoken risk that a buyer perceives. As a salesperson, you must risk uncovering the truth. When you do, your path to the sale will be evident.
8. Sense of confidence. Throughout the selling process, your prospective customer is judging the power and the value of your message. The good news is you create both. Self-confidence stems from self-belief. The deeper you believe in what you’re selling, and believe in your ability to help others, the more your confidence in presence will be transferred to a confidence to buy.
8.5 Sense of desire to have for yourself and win for others. Too often the salesperson will "need" the sale, and push way too hard to make it. If they would push equally to win for their customer, they could earn the sale instead of trying to make the sale. If you understand my mantra, "people don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy," you will begin a new era of sales success.
If you missed part one, or just want both parts of this article together, go to www.gitomer.com - register if you’re a first time user - and enter REALITY SENSE in the GitBit box.
Jeffrey Gitomer is president of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer. He gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at 704-333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com.
(c) 2006 All Rights Reserved - Don’t even think about reproducing this document without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer. 704-333-1112
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