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Do you ever shake your head and wonder why so
many prospects fail to pull the trigger when
you've clearly made a compelling case for
them to do so? To those of us in Sales, it
makes no sense - it's clear as day that they
should. But for some reason we can't fathom,
it often doesn't appear to be so clear to our
prospects. Why is this? And what can we
do about it?
When it comes to making a major purchase,
buyers' decisions are influenced by numerous
factors, many of which are not obvious.
Key among these factors are the prospect's
- Personal Agenda (what's in it
for me?) - This is driven more by emotion
than logic
- Dominant Buying Value - Am I the
kind of person who's always looking for an
opportunity to gain something, or am I the
kind of person who's driven by fear of losing
something, and am always looking for ways to
play it safe?
- Motivational Trigger - What's my
hot button? Money? Convenience? Comfort?
Security? To what personal desire do you have
to appeal in order to get me in your
corner?
- Buying Style - Do I need to
feel in control, or do I want and need
guidance? Do I need to see all the
details, or do details bore and irritate me?
Does I view the transaction as a
confrontation, or as a collaboration? Am I a
maverick who likes to strike out on my own,
or do I prefer consensus and the comfort of
the crowd?
- Concerns and Worries (sometimes
expressed, but more often not) - What's
keeping me from making this decision, even
though a compelling case has been made that
it's the right one?
Awareness of these factors, together with
your skill at determining which are in play,
and how, will increase your odds of
connecting with each person on the prospect's
buying team, winning them over, and closing
the business.
That's the what. Now for the
how. As with most everything else in
sales, it all begins with effective
questioning. For example, to determine an
individual's personal agenda, ask open-ended
questions such as "How will a successful
purchase or implementation affect
you?" Or, conversely, "How will you be
affected if nothing is done?" In
complex B2B sales, where there are multiple
buying influences, your customer is really
multiple customers, and you need to get
inside the head of each and every team
member. What is the CFO's chief interest in
all this? What's the CIO's biggest concern?
What is your sponsor trying to accomplish
with this project? To look good to his boss?
To his peers? To earn a raise? Or a
promotion?
The answers to these questions may also
reveal the prospect's dominant buying value,
motivational trigger, and buying style. To
the extent that they don't, you'll need to
ask additional open-ended questions.
The last factor - concerns and worries -
frequently is the most difficult to uncover,
and the one most likely to stall deals. To
most people, the prospect of making a
decision on a major purchase is daunting.
Think about what goes on in your own mind
when you're faced with making a major
purchase of an item for yourself, or your
company - particularly one you're rarely in
the market to buy. When you arrive at the
dreaded "make a decision" stage of such a
purchase, all sorts (typically illogical) of
reasons for not making
a decision right there come up. "We'll think
about it and get back to you," is our way of
retreating from the decision. Likewise,
prospects let their imaginations run wild,
and begin worrying about all the things that
could go wrong if a bad decision is made.
They become paralyzed by fear, unable to make
a decision. Your task
at this point is to
draw out their concerns with skillful
questioning, then listen to, observe,
and sense what the prospect is conveying.
Ask probing questions to surface these
concerns and worries, which rarely are
offered up unsolicited (when they are
revealed, it's typically done indirectly, by
an off-the cuff remark or comment). Done
right, the prospect will end up convincing
himself that his worries and concerns are
unwarranted, and will then be able to move on
and conclude the transaction with you - to
"pull that trigger."
Action Item:
If prospects are not committing to buy
after you've made what you feel is a
compelling case to do so, it's likely because
you either didn't ask enough
questions, didn't ask the right
questions, asked the right questions but
didn't really listen
actively to their responses, or
didn't pick up the non-verbal signals the
prospect was giving off; or you didn't help
the prospect overcome his lingering concerns
or worries. So invest a few moments to
dissect the last few deals you had been or
are currently working on that did not or have
not yet closed. Ask yourself if you
definitively know the answers to the first
four factors we covered, if you used that
knowledge gained to customize your approach,
and whether you have resolved any lingering
concerns the prospect
has (the fifth factor). If you've missed
any, find some prospect-focused reason to go
back to your prospect (if it's still a live
deal) and work in questions that get you the
answers you need. Then use that information
to better connect with and sell that
individual. If your manager accompanies you
on sales calls, ask him or her to observe how
well you're uncovering and addressing these
factors. Take the feedback you get and make
a conscious effort on your subsequent calls
to ask the questions you need to get the
information you want. You'll soon start
seeing more heads nodding up and down during
prospect meetings, and more "when can we
get starteds?"
Good Selling!
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