There’s a popular TV show called “What Not To Wear” that airs on TLC Network. Although the show will soon be ending after 10 seasons, it had a great run of giving everyday people complete wardrobe makeovers by telling them “what not to wear.” I enjoyed watching this show because there were so many people who seemed to be clueless about what was appropriate and inappropriate to wear to work, church, a dinner date, a picnic and so much more. The premise of the show is to give the “fashion challenged” an idea of the items in their wardrobe that needed elimination as well as what needed to be added. Basically, a hard lesson of “what not to wear!” Hearing the news that this show would be signing off soon, started me to thinking about business lessons and more specifically sales lessons. There are certain things that you should simply not do when it comes to selling your products or services.
We all know that sales is an integral part of running a successful business. However, many entrepreneurs don’t realize how important building relationships is to the sales process. If you’ve ever wondered why you are not getting more clients, I would recommend that you take a look at how you sell to them. You may think, your product or service sells itself, and perhaps it does. However, for the most part people want to feel comfortable before they buy goods and services no matter what industry they are in.
Enter…the sales process. If you know anything about sales, you know that it involves a process. At the beginning of the process, you either find the customer or they find you. For the purposes of this article, I’m going to deal with the scenario in which the prospect finds you. The initial phone conversation may go something like this:
Ring, Ring, Ring…
Entrepreneur: “Hello ABC Insurance Services this is Jane speaking, how may I help you?”
Prospective Client: “Yes, I’m calling from XYZ Corp and we’d like you to come in and do a half day training series for our staff about risk assessment and properly identifying exposures.”
Entrepreneur: “Great, that sounds wonderful, can you give me more specifics?”
Prospective Client: “Sure, I can send you over an email about what we’re looking for and if you can just respond with a quote including your rates, that would be great.”
Entrepreneur: “Excellent, I look forward to getting your email.”
*End Conversation*
On the surface this looks like and sounds like a “home-run” or nearly “closed sale” for the entrepreneur. Well let me say,pause…not so fast. The only problem with the above scenario is that the entrepreneur has already committed the first foul of “what not to do” in the sales process. They’ve missed the chance to build a stronger relationship with the prospect from the beginning.
Many times when a prospect calls you, they have already studied you, followed you and perhaps self qualified themselves as needing whatever product or service you provide. However, many times people misdiagnose their needs because they are not familiar enough with outside industries to properly assess what their real need is. In essence, they may have general knowledge about what they need but not really. It’s up to you, the entrepreneur or business owner, assume the role of investigator. You must find out everything there is to know about their need or challenge before you attempt to sell them.
I’m always amazed at entrepreneurs who allow their customers to “self diagnose” without determining what the real need is before selling them something. You wouldn’t like it if your dentist gave you instructions over the phone about how to perform your own root canal after you simply called to say “my tooth hurts.” Likewise, you shouldn’t try to issue a quote to a prospective customer without investing time in that person via face to face meeting or telephone consult to properly assess their needs.
Below I’ve listed a few tips of ‘what not to do’ in the sales process.
Tip #1 – do not forego relationship building and strengthening. People do business with those they know,like and trust. Never miss an opportunity to get to know your clients.
Tip #2 – do not miss the opportunity to properly assess the client’s needs. Always assess the prospects needs prior to recommending a solution.
Tip #3 – do not discuss rates before you learn the clients goals. Always save the money talk after you have addressed the need and proposed a solution.
For many entrepreneurs they are more concerned with losing a sale, rather than building a relationship. Trust me, if you lose a sale because you asked too many questions to figure out what the prospects needs were, they weren’t an ideal client anyway. Most people, appreciate it when you take the extra effort to properly assess their needs to make sure they are getting the right product or service that is best suited for them.
Building relationships with people you know, like and trust is key in establishing the know, like and trust factor. In addition, identifying needs and strengthening the relationship helps to eliminate buying decisions based totally on costs.
If you’re guilty of any the “what-not-to-do” items on my list above, you may be stuck somewhere along the sales process. It’s OK. You’re in the right place. If you’re stuck and unsure about how to properly diagnose your client’s needs, just leave a comment below or contact me. I teach entrepreneurs smart sales strategies to elevate their business and their brand so that they close more sales in record time. To learn more, click here.
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This article is written by Lori A. Manns. Want to use this article for your website, blog or newsletter? No problem. Here’s what you must include: Lori A. Manns, CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group your marketing and sales success mentor, and founder of Marketing for Trailblazers System;TM that shows you how to get more clients, more visibility and increase your income, guaranteed. To purchase consulting services on marketing, advertising or sales and, learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.
Lori, I’ve been guilty as charged in not clarifying a customer’s needs and accepting their diagnosis! It does not usually work well to propose a package or program to someone without a deep understanding of what their ultimate goal is. And then we wonder what went wrong when they seek another solution 🙂 Thanks for this high-value post.
Great content in this post Lori. Being worried about losing the sale. I was once guilty of that, but looking at it in a new way has been very helpful. Thanks for the pointers.
Great post, Lori! You’ve really identified the issue so well. I like the analogy of dealing with folks who’ve already determined their diagnosis.