I recently read a blog post about encouraging sales people to transition how they have their sales conversations...that is, advising them to not jump into their spiel.
Perhaps because I come more from the Marketing than the Sales side, this has been my sales approach for years and is actually how I've built my business:
- start with a conversation with a person (don't think of them as a potential buyer),
- provide value in that first conversation.
At this point, they are convinced of my knowledge, trust is built and then they ASK about what I do and what I think I can do for them.
That's when I ask the question about what they're struggling with. Usually I need to reframe the question, as someone is focused on tactics, not strategy - which is the usual problem -- and I suggest a follow-up meeting to discuss.
The parallel is SEM (Search Engine Marketing) - at this point, people ASKED a question and so are open and interested in your response. Until then, it's like newspaper advertising or a TV spot - it's distracting (at best) from what I'm there to do, so there is defensiveness and resistance and judgement.
Hey - if the approach works for Google, it ought to work for Lone Armadillo, right?
Ready to get started?
to see if Lone Armadillo can help you!
Keep the focus on helping. That's the best sale - especially for a long-term relationship.
