The differentiator for losing or winning a sale is whether you focus on your prospect. Unless the prospective client needs what you are selling and sees the value, the potential purchase will be lost. Losses are more prevalent when salespeople come across with arrogance and ignore what potential clients have to say. Remember to focus on your prospect.
It’s difficult to imagine a more stressful job than starting as a salesperson. All new positions require a vast amount of learning. But sales requires we review all of our behaviors in terms of how they come across to our clientele. The extra step is due to all the lost sales that even the top producers face!
The worst habits that prevail among salespeople are being:
- Arrogant
- Judgmental without hearing
- Providing textbook reasons why the person should purchase
Three Habits to Incorporate: Allow You To Focus On Your Prospects
1. Tact Arrogance and judgment soon disappear by using diplomacy. Upon crossing a threshold, pause to focus, and then attempt to get into the other person’s world. A favorite memory is from having sold girl scout cookies. The very first door that opened was about to close quickly. At age ten, I stood on the porch, wondering about the woman in front of me. She said she wasn’t allowed to eat sugar, but that wasn’t a complete answer for me. I wanted to know more. Puzzled, she stood in front of the door with an eye on me. Finally, I asked if she had grandchildren, nieces, or nephews. She said, ‘yes, I do.’ I asked, ‘don’t you think they might visit more often if you keep snacks just for them in your pantry?’ It was an intuitive question that put me in her shoe. I was facing the issue from her family perspective. Ten boxes of cookies were purchased on the spot. 2. Perseverance The best stress eliminator is to maintain an overflowing pipeline of opportunity. As possibilities increase, analyze the commonalities of the companies. For example, research the clients your prospects reach and how they do business. Determine if there are similarities in their mission and style of service. Now consider if your method of service is similar. Do you see a connection in how you serve others and is it apparent in your conversations? When prospects say, ‘not now,’ do you ask, ‘when will be better?’ Do you promptly follow-up and remind the person you are following their instruction? The last piece of perseverance is in continually attempting new approaches to determine which works best. And when new barriers arise, ask for or seek out help. 3. Selling Value So many people are so anxious to get the sale, they overlook selling value. Instead, they substantially drop the price. While they may get the deal, they earn very little in commission. The value is not just in the price; it begins with the conversation. They detect the intent. Do you plan on helping to solve a problem or merely make money and then disappear? Authentically building the relationship gets the sale. Read the book, Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results. Done well, you will establish clients for the long-term. When you focus on your prospect, everyone gets to see the value of the sale.Do You Focus On Your Prospect?
Incorporate into your weekly routine time to review wins and losses for the week. Consider the details of the conversations. Ask yourself:- Do you focus on your prospect
- Can your communications use improvement
- What are the commonalities among the losses and the wins?
- Slow down to speed up success
- Invest time to research your prospect’s business model and clientele
- Lead heart-to-heart and mind-to-mind conversations
- Lead by asking questions
- Ask for input and feedback to make appropriate adjustments
- Keep your promises
- Be timely in follow-up
- Adjust your approach for each meeting as if you are a guest in their home
- Every Friday afternoon, review if you focus on your prospects.
- Celebrate Success!