Too often sales people put their focus on being liked. "If the
prospect likes me, they will buy" becomes the motto.
Instead of focusing on
the real added value they can bring to the table, salespeople
often put their effort into being friends. In this day and age,
being liked is just the ante to get into the game. The world is
filled with well-liked sales people that can't close a deal.
A salesperson's
goal is to make money not make friends. While being likable
is a huge advantage, it rarely closes the deal all by itself.
Many prospects will not buy anything from a salesperson simply
because they like them. Every person in the world has people
they like. However, they wouldn't necessarily buy a product or
service from those people.
Parents like and love
their children. However, most parents wouldn't put a lot of
credibility into what their child suggests they buy. This is
because they lack expertise and credibility to support their
suggestion.
We teach three rules:
People buy from people, people buy from people they like, and
people buy from people like themselves. While this is true there
has never been more of a press to commoditize what we sell. So
we must continue to work past simple friendship to include
return on investment, differentiation, and real value.
We have to sell to our prospect's pain. Pain and action are
linked. Pain brings about commitment to change. Show the product
or service in a light that shows how it solves a problem or
benefits the prospect. Don't just strive to be liked. Strive to
discover why your product is the best fit.
A prospect will buy
if they see a solution to their problem but won't necessarily
buy if they simply like us. In an ideal world, we will be able
to get the prospect to like us. However, that is only leverage
to find the right reasons for the prospect to buy.
People will buy from
people they like, but only if the salesperson positions the
solution the right way.
© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Don't Miss
Our Next Complimentary Live Executive Briefing:
Friday,
May 19, 2006
(click link above for more info and
to register)
Missed Any Sales Tips? Visit my Archive |
.jpg)