Yesterday Paul Cherry gave us some practical tips for dealing with a stalled sale. His advice will help you weed out potential buyers from the time-wasters and advance the sale. Here's his step-by-step advice for handling these common stalls.
2. "I need to talk it over with..."
You can take a similar approach with stalling questions such as "We need to discuss this," or "I need to think it over."
Agree: "Of course. I'm happy to hear you're taking that step. When would be a good time for me to follow up with you?"
Clarify: For "talk it over" prospects, the most important clarifying question is, "Is this something you're willing to recommend to ____?" If the answer is anything less than an enthusiastic yes, you need to be careful. Is this the person you want to act as your representative within the company? Try to understand any objections or suggest a joint meeting.
Legitimize: "Assuming for a minute that you're meeting with your boss (board, team leader, etc.), what will you be sharing with him?" Be careful how you ask these questions. The idea isn't to push prospects into advocating for you, but to find out how they feel. You might, for example, preface your questions by saying, "Just so I can be sure I've given you everything you need, let me ask you..."
3. "Call me back in three months"
Agree: Make sure that you agree to set a specific time for your return call. This increases the odds that you'll actually reach the person when you call.
Clarify and legitimize: You can often combine these two steps. "So that I can be prepared for my next call to you, can you tell me what will be occurring between now and then?" In other words, find out why the prospect thinks the discussion will be more relevant in three months as opposed to today. If he can't give you a good answer - or won't commit to a specific time for the call - chances are he's simply putting you off.
Paul Cherry, President and CEO, Performance Based Results has 20 years experience as a sales training consultant with an emphasis placed on sales training, leadership development, sales coaching and leadership coaching. Visit his website at: www.PBResults.com.
Showing posts with label Paul Cherry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Cherry. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Get the Stuck Sale Moving
Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed the long weekend! Over the next two days sales trainer and author Paul Cherry will share some advice and concrete examples on how to move a stuck sale forward. If you encounter these put-offs while selling (and really, who doesn't?) then you'll be grateful for these tips on how to move past them towards the sale.
"Fence-sitters can take up inordinate amounts of your time and energy, often with little to show at the end," says Cherry. "The problem is some of the best customers are also slow to decide - especially in the relationship's initial stages. So how can you sort out the real opportunities from the dead-enders? Try the following three-step approach to get the sales process moving - or figure out whether it's time for you to move on."
Agree Clarify and Legitimize
First you agree with the prospect, then you ask for clarification, and finally, you ask a question designed to uncover whether there's a legitimate sales opportunity for you. The questions are respectful. The entire process takes only a few minutes, and it can save considerable wheel-spinning - for you and the prospect.
Here's one scenario showing how it works - we'll focus on two more tomorrow:
1. "Send me more information"
It's hard to know what prospects mean when they tell you this. Some salespeople regard it as a guaranteed blow-off, but real prospects will often start here as well. The only way to find out is to ask!
Agree: "I'd be glad to send you information."
Clarify: "So that I get you the right information, what specifically are you looking for?" If the prospect answers using action-oriented words, there's a good chance this is a genuine opportunity: "We're looking to achieve ... fix ... solve ... avoid ... improve...." These words suggest that the prospect has already identified his or her problems and accepted that change is necessary. If the prospect says, "Send me whatever you have," it's not a real opportunity. Time to move on.
Legitimize: Project your prospect into the future so that she can walk you through the decision-making process; for example: "You'll receive the information by Monday. Assuming you'll need some time to look it over, when should I call back to follow up?" Once you have a time frame established, continue: "And assuming you've reviewed the information and like what you see, what do you feel would happen next?" The prospect's answer will give you a clear sense of whether the opportunity is worth investing in.
Paul Cherry, President and CEO, Performance Based Results has 20 years experience as a sales training consultant with an emphasis placed on sales training, leadership development, sales coaching and leadership coaching. Visit his website at: www.PBResults.com.
"Fence-sitters can take up inordinate amounts of your time and energy, often with little to show at the end," says Cherry. "The problem is some of the best customers are also slow to decide - especially in the relationship's initial stages. So how can you sort out the real opportunities from the dead-enders? Try the following three-step approach to get the sales process moving - or figure out whether it's time for you to move on."
Agree Clarify and Legitimize
First you agree with the prospect, then you ask for clarification, and finally, you ask a question designed to uncover whether there's a legitimate sales opportunity for you. The questions are respectful. The entire process takes only a few minutes, and it can save considerable wheel-spinning - for you and the prospect.
Here's one scenario showing how it works - we'll focus on two more tomorrow:
1. "Send me more information"
It's hard to know what prospects mean when they tell you this. Some salespeople regard it as a guaranteed blow-off, but real prospects will often start here as well. The only way to find out is to ask!
Agree: "I'd be glad to send you information."
Clarify: "So that I get you the right information, what specifically are you looking for?" If the prospect answers using action-oriented words, there's a good chance this is a genuine opportunity: "We're looking to achieve ... fix ... solve ... avoid ... improve...." These words suggest that the prospect has already identified his or her problems and accepted that change is necessary. If the prospect says, "Send me whatever you have," it's not a real opportunity. Time to move on.
Legitimize: Project your prospect into the future so that she can walk you through the decision-making process; for example: "You'll receive the information by Monday. Assuming you'll need some time to look it over, when should I call back to follow up?" Once you have a time frame established, continue: "And assuming you've reviewed the information and like what you see, what do you feel would happen next?" The prospect's answer will give you a clear sense of whether the opportunity is worth investing in.
Paul Cherry, President and CEO, Performance Based Results has 20 years experience as a sales training consultant with an emphasis placed on sales training, leadership development, sales coaching and leadership coaching. Visit his website at: www.PBResults.com.
Friday, March 7, 2008
SalesDog Quick Tip
You've finally secured a meeting with an account you've been pursuing for months, only to learn you'll be meeting with a purchasing agent rather than the COO, Manager, etc. Purchasing agents, specifically, are usually interested in one thing - price. So, how do you get them to look beyond the price to the value of your solution? Paul Cherry, a sales training consultant and author, suggests you create value for the purchasing agent by understanding their need to feel appreciated.
"When companies keep a narrow focus on increasing profitability, people can slip below the radar. When the company has a great year, the CEO rarely says, "We owe it all to our purchasing agents toiling down in the basement, saving us 5 cents apiece on widgets," notes Cherry.
He continues, "Many workers you deal with feel overworked and under-respected. All they ask its that you make them look good. Provide them with solutions that'll take paperwork off their desks and keep their bosses happy with them, and they'll be happy with you."
Paul Cherry is the president of Performance Based Results, a sales training and leadership development firm. He has trained and coached over 1,200 organizations in every major industry ranging from family-owned small businesses to leading Fortune 500 companies. He is also the author of the top-selling book, Questions That Sell and the soon-to-be-released Questions That Lead.
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