Gaining Control in a Selling Environment

Delegates in my sales training workshops often ask how they can gain control of the sales process. Most sales people spend the majority of their time talking about their product or service believing that telling is selling. Although they may have been trained to do this, these days this is seen as an outdated approach. The most effective way to control the sale is to ask more questions and above all to listen to the responses that the questions provoke. Selling is like driving a car. The person who asks the questions sits in the driver's seat and controls the direction of the sale. The passenger or the person who answers the questions goes along for the ride. Whenever the customer starts asking questions, they move into the driver's seat and take control of the sale and the sales person becomes the passenger. Some sales people inherently believe that the answers they provide to the customers questions are the key, in fact again they are just telling not selling. Sales people sometimes do ask questions but too often they sound like this: "If I could save you money, would you be interested?" "Do you want to double your profit?" "What will it take to earn your business?" The problem with questions like this is that they do not help you gain the knowledge you need to effectively present a solution. And they don't help you actually control the sales process. Plus, questions like this only demonstrate your lack of sales ability and will quickly cause your prospect to lose interest in the call or discussion. Let’s face it, when I ask my children to sell me something that’s what I hear back! Instead, you need to ask high-quality questions. Questions that make your prospect or customer think. Questions that demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. Questions that your competitors are not asking. Let's say for example, you sell advertising. Instead of asking standard questions that focus on your prospect's current advertising campaign and budget, you could focus on learning more about their goals, objectives and the challenges they are facing trying to meet those targets. This approach helps you gain more insight to your prospect's business which means you will be able to present a solution that will help that person's business. In today's ultra-competitive business world it is actually easy to stand out from your competition because most sales people are so focused on trying to get the sale that they don't learn anything about their prospect's situation. Or, they move backwards through the sales process by starting with their presentation, pitch or demonstration followed by a Q and A session instead of asking questions first and then adapting their presentation to address the needs of the person they are speaking to. Some time ago I met with a company rep to learn more about his website and IT services, as we sat down he launched into a huge presentation on his laptop, he told me everything about his company, how he fitted in to the organisation and I’m sure the colour of his car. After this draining episode I asked how his service would benefit me, I wish I hadn’t, it was even more brain draining than the previous episode. I took a quick glance at my watch, I didn’t have a lot of time left, he’d taken up a valuable hour of my life I felt I wouldn’t ever get back! After chewing my own arm off I finally got a word in, I needed to give the poor chap a rest if nothing else, I then began to tell the chap what I wanted, what my needs were and how he could help me. After a minute or two I was viewing a red faced, uncomfortable, sweating rep sat before me, I actually felt for him, he’d realised that he’d not asked me what I wanted, what my needs were and he didn’t think for one minute how he could have changed his presentation to suit my needs, he blew it. Hopefully it's obvious to you that the sales rep lost the chance to gain my business because he didn't learn anything about my specific situation. He didn't ask me what I was looking for or why I was considering changing my website. In all likelihood, he probably thought he was controlling the sale by talking, but in reality, all he did was waste my time and his. Unfortunately, this happens much more than people realise. During my workshops I focus on questions, asking the right questions to provoke responses that you can use to gain information and learn about the customer’s needs. All too quickly sales people feel that a customer will buy when they have unburdened themselves of their pitch, it’s as if they have to get it out as quickly as they can, get it off their chest and then fight the uphill battle to the close. Fight the battle in control from the top of the hill, it’s easier! If you truly want to control the sales process and positively influence the outcome, you must teach yourself to ask questions instead of talking. Contrary to popular belief, telling is NOT selling. craig@flyinghightraining.co.uk flyinghightraining.co.uk