Have you ever reached the end of the
line with a prospect - and had no idea what to do to move forward?
Your strategy was sound. You techniques were flawless. But your
prospect still continually stalled the process. In those situations,
when you know that you have something of value to offer based on the
information you've gleaned from you prospect, stop being a
salesperson and become a consultant.
What is a consultant?
A consultant has been defined as
someone who gets paid a lot of money to tell the client something he
either already knows...or he doesn't want to hear. In other words,
the objective, hard-hitting advice a consultant is hired to give
will sometimes validate the client's suspicions or existing
perceptions. And, at other times, it will root out and bring to the
fore issues or problems of which the client wasn't fully aware or,
perhaps, unwilling to face.
Change Hats
What would it sound like to take off
your salesperson hat and put on your consultant hat? First, you must
ask for permission. Then, hit the prospect as hard as you can with a
picture of what will happen if he doesn't buy your product or
service.
You: Tim, can I stop being a
salesperson for just a moment and become a consultant?
Prospect: I suppose.
You: Tim, by not moving
forward with this project right now, you're not only hurting
production numbers - which you admit are not where they need to be -
but also hurting your bottom line numbers that, I'm sure,
shareholders will be scrutinizing with a magnifying glass.
Continuing to drag your feet on this project could be the single
biggest mistake you make this year.
Delivering your consultant's "advice"
won't guarantee that the prospect will grant you the sale, but it
will get the real issue - the consequences of his inaction - on the
table and highlight the need to take action...now. If the prospect
heeds your advice, you can get on with the sale. If he rejects it,
you can close the file and not waste any more of your time.
©
Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Join Us on Thu, Aug 26th for our next
Executive Briefing
titled:
If You Wrote Your Sales
Process Step-By-Step ... Would It Look Like This?
Learn how to create and manage a
successful selling system
Please
CLICK HERE for more information!
|
