[powerpress]
It has finally happened. You have established yourself as the “go to” person in your community or amongst your friends and people you know. Now people are coming up to you and asking you questions. You feel like you are talking more about your product than you ever have before. But wait, why aren’t the sales coming through? It doesn’t make sense. They come to you, want your product. They ask you how much, and you tell them the price. Then they get hesitant and want to wait or whatever. Heck, I even did this to someone the other day. I said I wanted something, asked about it, and then didn’t buy. It’s pretty normal actually and there is a lot you can do to impact it.
Why aren’t these people buying, like 100% of the time? I mean, they came to you! It’s because they do not have everything they need to make the best decision. Often these situations are “on the fly” which forces you to give information and sell in a situation where you aren’t able to have a full sales conversation, build value appropriately, and close properly. Your customer typically only knows a little bit of what you offer, and why you offer it. Since they know very little, they choose not to buy.
These people come to you as your best prospects. The unfortunate truth behind a lot of sales is that we often take our best prospects for granted and give them the worst service. Here is an example. Your best friend comes to you and starts asking questions about your product. She has already seen the changes in your life, and she trusts you immensely. Instead of explaining everything to her from A to Z, you half-heartedly tell her prices and tell her to let you know if she wants to get it. You would never do that to a stranger!
When someone approaches you with a specific problem that your product solves, you must be disciplined enough to treat them like a stranger. You must change your role from their buddy or family member, and put your “professional” hat on. You must do three things. First, resist the temptation to quickly solve the problem at hand. Second, set up a time to do a full presentation. Third, in the presentation, assume nothing. Let’s break these down.
- Resist the temptation to quickly solve the problem at hand.
If someone comes to you with a specific problem, and asks you how much the product is, they are likely going to make a decision based on cost, not value. When people make decisions solely on cost, they typically make the wrong decision. Customers in this situation don’t have the appropriate context, or enough information. Hastiness will not help anyone. You already know that direct sales success does not come overnight. It’s unlikely that you get an extremely loyal customer who orders month after month and even wants to sell on their own by quickly taking an order in 10 minutes. Keep the big picture in mind. Your job is to fully educate on your product line and help them get the package that is the best value for them and their situation. No one can do that by quickly trying to take an order in five minutes.
2. Set up a time to do a full presentation.
Your sales conversation is where you and your product will shine. This is where you are going to learn more about their goals, their problems (which they briefly told you already), and give them a comprehensive overview of how you can help. They will then have the time to work with you on what makes the most sense for them, big picture. Give them the royal treatment, especially if it’s someone you love. Treat them better than you would a stranger. Spend more time learning about their situation.
So when you are approached, pivot to scheduling an appointment and explain exactly why that will be best for them. You can say something like, “Ok cool, yes, I can help you with that. I don’t to cut any corners with you though so let’s set up a time where I can go over everything with you, including that problem you are having. I would hate to make assumptions or give you the wrong thing so let’s start from scratch.” Then set up a time for that day or the next day so they can get their products in a few days. Don’t delay, they have a real problem. Memorize those words so you can say them every time this comes up. If you then do your sales conversation the way I teach you to, these appointments should convert at least at 75%, whereas selling on the fly and trying to take orders will lead to maybe one out of ten sales, after multiple follow-ups, headaches, and awkwardness.
3. Assume nothing.
A lot of times you know these people. And you want to skip stuff to show you know them. Do not assume anything. You know the saying, “when you assume it makes an ASS out of U and ME.” At the beginning of your sales conversation let them know that you don’t want to assume anything, so you are going to do everything as if you don’t know each other to make sure nothing gets skipped. They will be totally cool with it, and at the end, they will get the best service. You also need to remove yourself from their financial situation. This is a huge one. I’m going to do another podcast on how your relationship with money might be what is holding you back. For today’s episode I am going to tell you this much, just present the options and let them make their own decision. Do not go into the buying process thinking about how they were complaining last week about needing new windows or how their kid’s birthday party is next week and it’s so expensive. What they buy is not your decision to make, it is their decision. Show them the proper respect by not pre-judging them. Imagine how you would feel if you walked into a store to buy a fridge, and it was your good fortune that the person who would be helping you is someone you know. How would you feel if they said to you, “Oh I heard your daughter is going to college. Let me take you to the floor models which are 20% off right now.” How would that make you feel? Not cool, right? Don’t do that to others.
To wrap-up, the big take-away that I want you to leave with is our tendency to treat our most promising prospects with the worst service. When people come to you, show them the respect they deserve by setting up time to give them a thorough overview of how you can help them. Build value fully, give all the best buying options, and let them make their own decisions. If you want to have a high closing percentage with these people that are coming to you, just treat them right and you will find yourself building the business you always dreamed of.
I have more good stuff for you at emergesalestraining.com. This is the podcast for people in their first couple years of direct sales that want to learn how to sell their products more effectively, especially if they have no sales experience. Be sure to spread the word! Talk to you next week!
Tasha