Pumped up with enthusiasm, all too often sellers share everything and anything to prospective clients at the first meeting. Overwhelmed by a fire hose of information, buyers immediately regret inviting the seller to the meeting. In this situation the deal is dead on arrival due to a bad case of “Show Up and Throw Up”.
Professional sellers take the lead in another manner. Expert sellers begin by asking a question.
Asking a question stimulates the client’s thinking and it creates an opportunity for the seller to listen. By questioning, you can understand their lives, desires, fears and the direction they hope to take their business. With each answer , the seller continues to seek and know, what the buyer seeks and knows. They dig and dig until they understand the core of their concern. The prospective client’s issues and concerns may include profit, quality, service, or cost. But no matter how they answer the question, their answers create the frame for the seller’s pitch.
You can do the same.
By walking in the buyers shoes, listening without judging nor presupposing that you have exactly what they need, you build credibility and trust. In this space you can market the buyer with relevant products and services by using their own words. By taking a consultative role, opportunities will arise. And if all goes well, you will be able to provide products and services that meet their needs.
In many ways this is a process of qualifying a customer. Let me explain here.