Selling More by Talking Less - Sales Training, Sales Motivation, Sales Techniques, Prospecting

Making the transition from getting everything ready to go and actually taking the next step can be a lot harder than it sounds. Laying the groundwork feels so darn productive… because it is! Leaving the getting ready mode has a sense of uncertainty and often leaves many caught in a frustrating circle.

Mind reading is costing you sales, income, opportunity and it’s limiting your options.

Your competition, they hear a request for information and pricing and they get to work giving good answers hoping they are their right ones and this person will buy.

This is more common in sales than we think, not just for those new to the business, it can affect experienced sales people who have fallen into the infamous "rut".

The process was slowing down early on in the selling process… specifically in the initial communication phase. Meetings, phone calls were ending without a specific next step to move forward.

Call any office in America today get someone's voice mail and you will likely hear some version of: "Hi, you've reached the desk of ______; I'm either on the phone or away from my desk. Please leave me your name and number I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

Last week, one of my clients—we'll call him Rick—had a demo scheduled with a prospect. The standard "show up and throw up" they typically did early in the sales cycle. Trying to shorten the sales cycle, I asked naively, "Why does the customer want to buy? What are they trying to accomplish?" Rick couldn't tell me. I asked if he thought the salespeople knew. He said no. I gave him an assignment: he had to find out "Why," "Why now," and "What's it worth." Otherwise no demo.

Nowadays, marketing has been made much easier. With a strong email list and some few ideas, you're set to give your business all the prospects you’ll ever need. Here’s a quick 10 point list:

As professionals it’s our job to connect the right people with the right information in the right way – a way that makes it easy to say yes if there’s a fit. This means that when we’re prospecting for new opportunities, what were really looking for are the people that are open to having a conversation.

This is something so simple it gets overlooked time and time again so it creates longer sales cycles, leaves us wondering what we’re doing wrong and literally steals money out of our pocket every time we do it.

What I’m getting ready to share with you is a simple tool you can use to take the follow up calls you’re already making and transform them into laser focused discussions that get your prospects to start telling you why they need what you have and literally asking “What’s the next step?”…

What separates good sales people from those who struggle is their ability to learn how to get out of their own way.

How comfortable are you talking about Money? Asking for it… telling people how much it is or just bringing the subject up all together? I’m asking because it’s not unusual for the subject to make many of us uncomfortable and it shows up in the way we sell.

At the beginning of the year or whenever I start working with a new coaching client there is an exercise that has proven over time to be very profitable to walk through. - I call it Where and When.

Whenever I'm selling to this style, I get a little nervous. Here's Why...

This is one of the smallest but most important styles for us in sales to be able to connect with.

We want to get a clear understanding of who we’re talking to and how to speak the same language…. Making sure our communication gets us the response we want.

Name: Tom Desloge Company: STL Metallizing Industry: Machinery Job Title: Director of Sales & Marketing

Knowing who to invest time with and when can make the difference between being a “me too” player and the ability to add real value and be the hero.