"I'm sorry, Craig. I need to have Feature X and, well,
you just don't seem to have it. It looks as if you can't meet
our needs."
Have you ever encountered this situation?
If so, and if it were true that you didn't have the feature
the prospect said he wanted, how did you deal with it? If
you're like most salespeople, your response was one of the
following:
- You got defensive and replied, "Yes, we do" -
knowing full well you didn't.
- You told the prospect you'd deal with it later,
hoping he or she would forget about it.
- You told the prospect, or tried to convince him or her,
that the feature wasn't important.
Are any of these responses valid? The answer is, "Yes",
"No"... and "Maybe!"
Now that I have you
thoroughly confused, let me explain.
First, the
straightforward answer - response #1 is always "No".
Why? Because it's flat-out lying, and that's something we as
sales professionals never do. End of conversation.
Next, the not-so- straigthforward answers. Whether responses #2
and #3 are good strategies depends on:
- when in the sales cycle it's brought up
- by whom it's brought up
- whether you believe it's a legitimate, important concern
of the prospect
- whether the benefit you believe the prospect
desires can be realized with another feature (or features)
you're offering does have.
In other
words, they are situation-specific. An example should help
illustrate this.
Let's say you're selling copiers and the prospect says, "I
need the machine to be able to make 70 copies per minute." You
know your best copier only makes 60 copies per minute. If this
is brought up early in the sales cycle - say, in the discovery
process - it might be well to use response #2. Often
times, as the discussion of needs and wants progresses, and
solutions are presented, the importance of the feature the
prospect said he "needs" is reduced by the prospect himself.
So why risk putting yourself on the defensive early in the
game when it may not be necessary? You might also sense that
the prospect is "blowing smoke", and that the "need" really
isn't set in stone. However, if it's brought up by a
decision-maker or strong influencer whom you sense would be
put off by what he perceives as a delay tactic - whether you
sense that the concern is legitimate or not - you might want to
go ahead and address it head-on (but follow up by probing on
why he needs it).
How about response #3? I think we can agree
that telling your prospect that a feature he tells you is
important is not important is a recipe for
disaster. Because by doing so, you're both showing disrespect
for his opinion and coming across as arrogant. Neither
of these is likely to endear you to the prospect; in fact, it
will likely have the opposite effect. But is it OK, is it
ethical, to try to get the prospect to reconsider how
important the feature is? Absolutely! In fact, that's what the
most successful sales people do, and do well. Your job as a
professional sales person is to help your prospect make a
purchase decision that is best for him and best for your
company. In our first example, delaying your response to the
prospect's objection allowed him to view this one feature
in the proper context - as one of many other features he
should consider. As a result, he convinced himself that
he really didn't need the feature he said he needed, and was
thus able to make a more well-informed decision. In many
cases, though, the prospect will not come to this realization
on his own. Or he may become fixated on the one feature. You
help him make the best decision for him (and for your company)
by telling him he'd be well-advised to consider features a, b,
and c of your offering (which provide the same benefits as
feature X, which we lack), as many other customers did.
Features a, b, and c, of course, are features/capabilities
that you offer that the competitors doesn't, or in which you
are superior. This is known as getting the prospect to
"change his base" - his perspective. Once the prospect
is shown (as above) how to view this one feature in the proper
context, he'll convince himself (again, as above) that he
really didn't need the feature he said he needed. And you're
off the hook with that objection.
ACTION ITEM:
Examine a deal you're
currently working where you face a situation such as this. How
can you assist the prospect in "changing his base"? What
benefit does the prospect expect to get from the feature you
don't offer? What other aspects of your offering could provide
the prospect with those benefits? Once you have the answers to
these questions, schedule a meeting with this prospect, review
what he likes about your offering, and help him view this one
feature in the proper context. You'll be surprised how often
prospects who are seriously interested in your solutions will
come around and see the light - the light you want them to
see. Your light!
Good Selling!
