Written by Sean McPheat |
You did everything right. You maintained an excellent prospecting track and qualified the decision maker. You got through a tough gatekeeper screen, set a good appointment, and sealed it with cement. The sales interaction was flawless; you covered every objection and left the prospect no choice but to buy. You followed every B2B sales technique to the letter but still nothing.
So, what happened? Why didn’t the prospect buy?
People Love To BUY
People do love to buy things. That is, they love to decide on their own and make a purchase they consider a good one. They make such decisions based primarily on emotion and then use whatever logic and reasoning they can find to help them to justify that decision.
In such buying however, the person has to feel and believe that it was their freewill CHOICE. The prospect must believe that they and they alone made the decision.
Therefore, asking questions is such a powerful way to help persuade people to buy.
By asking questions, people can come to their own conclusions based on the answers.
Hate To Be SOLD
However, people cannot tolerate being sold. In that, I mean that when a person feels that he or she did not have a choice, or was tricked or trapped into buying, they will vehemently object. This often what happens when you leave a prospect no other choice but to say YES. Overly assertive salespeople come to my mind!
When you cover every possible objection and you have an answer for every possible thing the prospect can say, the prospect will resist. Basically, the prospect will object when there is no objection!
Don’t Sell. HELP The Prospect Buy
As a professional salesperson you must be careful not to push too hard or to do your job too well. You want to help the prospect to understand that the purchase is in their best interest but leave room, so the prospect feels he or she has a choice, an option.
Of course, you can have the answers or the successful rebuttals to those objections.
But it is usually a good idea to hold on to an ace-in-the-hole. Hold on to some objection that the prospect can use. Then, slowly, discuss the issue and overcome the objection. In this way the buyer feels he or she had some say, some option.
Don’t be the slick salesperson who has an “answer for everything.” Instead, be the consultant who, together with the prospect, can figure out a solution to every problem. This approach will help you down the line when you ask for referrals as well. Find out how to become a consultative, solution orientated salesperson on our Advanced Sales Skills Training.
As an award winning Sales Training Provider in the UK, we offer a wide range of Sales Courses that can help you.
Happy Selling!
Sean
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
Updated on: 14 November, 2012
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