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How To Know When It’s Time To Pitch #524
This week I babble some on some experiences I’ve had sellers clumsily pitch me on something I have no interest in. You’ve probably experienced this too. Lao Tzu has some thoughts on this. He spoke about labeling, judging, and the issues that come with language. In our situation, this episode discusses how to know when it’s time to pitch. We also talk about slowing down the sale. This way, sellers can fully understand the prospect’s problems, issues, and desires. There is no reason to guess what matters to the buyers. If you ask and fully listen to their response, you’ll have all you need to solve their problem. When to pitch, that’s the topic for today.
To understand
we label buyers by what we see.
But labels have limits
only describing the obvious,
ignoring the subtle.
When you see beyond the label
you sense the true nature of the buyer.
Accept them for who they are
and help them where they’re at.
Look beyond the obvious.
Wake up to the true nature of the buyer
and speak to it.
Today’s Story
On the sales call, Chris quickly built rapport with Lee the prospect. Next, Chris asked about their business challenges. Lee explained how they have three big problems and then explained the last few month’s quality issues. Immediately Chris jumped on the quality problems and started explaining how their company had a new program that eliminates defects. Chris pressed Lee into a demonstration on defect elimination. Reluctantly Lee agreed and at the end of the call. Chris tried to close the deal. But Lee was hesitant to take the next step. The call ended with no action taken.
Afterward, Pat and Chris huddled to discuss the deal.
“What could I have done to close Lee?” asked Chris. “Listen to the recordings. Did I mess up the demo?”
Pat listened and before the demo started, Pat stopped the recording and said, “Lee mentioned they had three issues, but you never got to all three. Instead, you focused on the first issue, the quality difficulties. Why?”
Chris responded, “Well I knew we had a solution for that.”
Pat went on, “What you did was to put Lee in a little box and label it QUALITY. Who knows what other pressing issues they’ve got. We can only guess. Quality problems may not be at the top of their list. This is a common mistake. Sellers often pounce on the first problem they hear. But there could be others.
Slow down, Chris. Take your time. Let the buyer place ALL their problems on the table. Then it’s time to speak.”
Take Action Quote
Too often sellers get impatient. They ask a question and start talking when they hear an answer that their product could solve. Next, they pitch without fully understanding if the prospect is truly a qualified buyer. When I experience this, I have to stop them, sometimes raising my voice saying “stop stop stop, I’m not a qualified buyer, you don’t need to pitch me. I’m not qualified! ”
Lao Tzu wrote, “To know that you do not know is best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease. Only when one recognizes the fault as a fault, can one be without fault.” (TTC#71)
Don’t interrupt. Questions are to sales as breath is to life. Slow down!
How to Connect with Pat Helmers at Sales Babble
Sales Babble shares selling secrets for non-sellers. Masterful selling is understanding what buyers want, discerning if you can help, showing what you have, and helping them to make a decision that is good for their business and yours. See https://salesbabble.com
You can be yourself when selling. It’s all about helping others with their challenges and aspirations. I’ve interviewed 100s of sales experts and discussed all things sales: prospecting, qualifying, value propositions, presentations, demos, closing, generating referrals, earning references, upselling, marketing, lead generation, copywriting, and most importantly the right selling mindset. Stop fearing sales and embrace it. Learn the selling secrets for non-sellers and start making a difference today. Here is the entire back catalog of episodes in the sales podcast. Look here https://www.salesbabble.com/sales-podcast-free-advice/
This is a production of Habanero Media https://habaneromedia.net
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