What You Say Can And Will Be Used Against You

by Duane Weber

A sales rep was telling me recently that he lost a sale for the silliest of reasons, his warranty. “Your warranty?” I asked. “ Yes,” he replied “they thought something must be up because it was longer than any of our competitors.” I asked why he brought it up and his response was “I’m very proud of our warranty and customers almost always appreciate it.” The key word: “almost.”

Have you ever been excited about a feature, benefit, or definite competitive advantage but when you proudly shared it with a prospect, they didn’t seem to appreciate it or maybe even considered it detrimental?

Yes, in sales, just as in an American court of law, anything you say, can and will be used against you. Prospects are always looking for ways to disqualify salespeople. How can you avoid having to backpedal or blow a sale entirely because you discussed features, benefits, or advantages that your prospect isn’t all that interested in?

Qualify, Qualify, Qualify

Before you share your story, make them share theirs. What are they looking for? How is their problem affecting them? What are these issues costing the company…or the individual? My favorite question is “How do you see me helping you?” If you’ve done a good job qualifying and if they’ve decided that they want your help they’ll give you the solution on a bright shiny platter.

Only share what cures their ills

When you finally talk about your company and your solution only share with them the information that fixes what you uncovered in the qualification step. If the warranty wasn’t covered in the qualification step, don’t discuss it. If your optional “gravitating rotator” won’t solve one of the problems they’re having, don’t bring it up.

Find out the intent of their questions

Oftentimes, salespeople get into trouble simply by answering questions asked by their prospects. Before answering, find out the intent of the question. Why was the question asked at that time? It was asked for a reason and you must find out that reason. Furthermore, by uncovering the intent they’ll generally tell you how they want the questioned answered.

At Sandler Training, Trustpointe we help our clients become active listeners and stay out of trouble. To learn more about qualifying, questioning techniques, and discovering intent contact Duane Weber at 317-845-0041 or dweber@sandler.com.

Just the facts ma’am.