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Digging deep: What it takes to get today’s prospects to buy

5 ideas that’ll help salespeople

connect with buyers

As experienced sales managers know, what buyers say they want and what they really want aren’t always
the same thing. In survey after survey, buyers will tick off their obvious needs: price, value, quality,
service, etc. But when you dig deeper one word repeatedly pops up. Comfort. And satisfying that craving
for “comfort” falls on the sales force.

Decline Trust
Buyers can no longer afford to make bad buying decisions. In an age of declining trust, salespeople
must go the extra mile to create comfort, says sales guru. To win sales, salespeople must be perceived as
experts, have integrity, present with clarity and deliver with passion. Most of all, they need to show
genuine interest in the buyer’s needs. These five ideas can help salespeople create that comfort with
prospects and customers:

Admit a weakness
Salespeople who reveal something negative about their service or product win more business.
Let’s face it. Nothing’s perfect and buyers know that. Human nature assumes that people who
reveal a weakness are inclined to tell the truth – even when it hurts. Admitting a fault can charm
and disarm a prospect and help establish the common ground on which good relationships are built.

Sell yourself first
What separates the best salespeople from ordinary salespeople?
Ordinary sales people tend to sell on price first, then (in order) their service or product, themselves, their
company. The best salespeople generally sell in this order:
Themselves
Their company
Their service or produce, and then
Price

Look them in the eyes
PowerPoint slide presentations can kill sales. Relationships are made when prospects look salespeople
in the eyes. During slide presentations, buyers are reading a screen, not focusing and listening to
your salesperson. Sun Microsystems, once obsessed with slide presentations, banned them
altogether. And sales went up. If you feel compelled to show slides, keep them to just a handful.

Be a storyteller
Reeling off a string of specs and technical jargon may seem impressive,
Admitting a weakness helps build comfort.
But it can drive distance with buyers. What people love are stories. Storytelling allows salespeople to
put their services and products into context in a way the buyer can understand.

Beware of the hard sell
The “hard sell” can make your next sell to that customer even harder. Instead of creating comfort, the
hard sell can make customers feel like victims. They didn’t actually buy, they surrendered.
And at the first opportunity, they’re likely to switch to another provider. Salespeople who treat their
business relationships like personal ones tend to keep customers longer. Hint: If you think you’re
pushing on a customer too hard, you may be.

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