Remember the last time you were pitched by an aggressive and eager salesman in an effort to get you to buy something, Especially something you didn’t really want?
The salesman typically goes into a series of canned pitches with an endless stream of features and benefits. It’s like the saleman believes if they just work harder you will hand over the money and they can chalk up another win.
The only thing that is really accomplished in these situations is that the potential buyer becomes frustrated and the bad reputation of the high pressure salesperson is made worse.
More often than not the buyer uses a price objection to get out of the conversation. It’s the easiest way to end the misery.
Then we start a small business and realize a huge part of our success depends on our sales skills, and our only experience are the vivid images of sales pitches gone bad from our past.
Without realizing there is a science to sales, we stumble around with a trial-and-error approach. Inevitably, the price objection comes up, we get uncomfortable and easily end the conversation.
This is not sales.
To start with sales is about listening to the prospect, anticipating and welcoming objections, and knowing how to navigate the conversation once a no is expressed.
This is a learned skill that takes practice. The topic deserves more space than I can devote here, but I want to focus on the inevitable money objection because it’s relatively easy to deal with.
Simply ask the question, “If money was not a problem, what would stop you from making this decision?” The answer will move the conversation forward, but it will feel awkward until you have practiced it enough.
There is no guarantee that this question alone will close the sale, but it will keep the conversation moving forward. If you have been listening and taking notes (two more great tips) you can weave the conversation back to what they really want and show them how you have a great solution for them.
Remember, you only get results when you take immediate action on your ideas.
