Any good sales coach will have dealt with sales people who are busy with clients but actually unsure whether the work they are doing will lead to a sale. Nine times out of ten it is because the sales person cannot tell if the prospect is a buyer. We’ve all been there. The customer is saying all the right things, but we don’t seem to be able to get the deal to move. We work our backsides off for days, weeks and even months but then we get the dreaded email, sorry we’ve decided not to move forward.
So let’s look at a technique to break down how you can know if your buyer is serious or not.
A good sales coach will tell you if you master this you will stop wasting time on prospects who aren’t going to buy and it will allow you to spend more time with those who are.
Actually, the technique is quite simple – Ask your prospect or buyer to do things…
Don’t just be their best friend and do everything for them, you need to ask them to do things. Every time they ask you to do something you ask for something in return.
Like “Hey could you send me some marketing collateral?” – you say “Sure but can you tell me who else is in the buying process and how can I get them the information as well.”
Or
“Can you send me a price list” you say “Sure, I’d like you to do a discovery call first, because if I don’t know what you need and your finance capability there is little point having a price list.”
You must get them to do stuff. The more you ask them to do things and the more willing they are to do it – the higher the probability is that they are a real buyer.
Yes, I know in the beginning you can’t ask for too much, after all they may be just testing the water or trying to see the value, but as you move down the sales cycle – as you get further into the sale you should be able to ask them to do more. You should be able to ask them to give you stuff and to do stuff and if they don’t do it or won’t do it that should provide you with a huge red flag. It’s that simple.
When people are committed to buy, they participate in the buying process with you.
Like when you are getting close to buying a car;
You will show up to the dealership
You will take that car for a test drive
You will share your financial information with the finance person.
You will do and share all sorts of things participating in buying the car. If you don’t or you won’t then you are unlikely to buy.
So, if you are talking to a prospect over the phone and they ask for some prices remember what a good sales coach will tell you … Try it – say great come on down… and if they say no, no I won’t. Good; guess what they are probably not going to buy – so put your energy into a prospect who will.
To hear more about this technique from a good sales coach visit the Weekly Audio Podcast – Monday Sales Coach by CLICKING HERE
