By Greg Winteregg, CEO

All you have to do is talk to them

Wouldn’t it be great if every prospect knew you, and you knew them, as well as you know your best friend?

All you would have to do is talk to them, find out what’s on their mind, supply some information about your product or service and lead them into doing the paperwork.  Piece of cake!

But this is the real world, not some fantasy land; and it just doesn’t work that way.  However, with the slightest amount of effort you can definitely take a big step in the right direction towards gaining that kind of trust with most prospects.  

The key is to get to know them before you try to sell them anything.  

Would you try to sell a car to a ten-year-old?  Of course not.  Obviously, they aren’t qualified to buy; however, it may not always be that apparent.  This can lead to a lot of wasted time and possibly heartache for both you and the prospect because you’re trying to force a sale onto to someone who doesn’t need/want your product or service.

So here is my number one rule:  

• Ask the prospect enough questions to really find out what they want and need before you spend a lot of time trying to enlighten them on what it is that you have to offer.

And I’m not talking about ‘relationship building’ questions like “How ‘bout them Cowboys?!”.    I mean that you do a polite introduction of yourself and then get down to business.  Like, “How can I help you today?”, “What are you looking for today?”.  Etc.   The entire purpose is to help them get what it is they need.

A prospect always has a ‘problem’ they are trying to solve.  As they are telling you what they are looking for. Please, please, resist the temptation to invalidate them by telling them that they are wrong or misinformed.  Store that data for later because you can use it in a way that isn’t going to drive the prospect away.  

Keep asking questions until you understand fully what they need and want.  Now recall some of their misinformation and tactfully enlighten them on how you can help them to solve their problem.  

Now is the time to show off your product knowledge and let them know that you really want to help them.  

Some phraseology you can use is:

• “I know you are looking for ______ but in your situation I’ve found that ______ will work out better for you in the long run.”

• “You said you wanted _______ but would you be willing to consider _______ as it will help you achieve______?”

• “You said you wanted ________, would you be willing for me to show you a way that you could achieve the same objective through a bit different of a method?”

Guiding doesn’t mean forcing or manipulating

Always treat people respectfully and in a friendly manner.  Guide them into making their decision.  Then at the right moment lead them into the close—“So let’s go ahead and get started on that today.”  

If they aren’t ready to start now keep on asking questions until you understand why.  Those questions may lead to them starting now, but at the very worst, you’ll find out when they are ready to start and you can follow up with them at that time.

Trust is built on communication.  You can’t demand it.  It has to be earned.  Resist the temptation to launch into your ‘pitch’ before finding out what problem they need help solving.

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