How many times have we seen a seller show up on our doorstep and start selling? In the words of one colleague they “show up and throw up”. This often happens with new reps as they are typically taught all about presenting but not a lot about exploring the buyer’s situation. And sometimes it is in response to the buyer who says “Show me what you’ve got.”
Yet this is where so many go wrong. You may have heard the saying, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” If you really want to stand out from your competition make sure you understand where they are at first. Dov Gordon calls it “aligning with the buyer”. How do we do this; with questions.
It is more than just going through a checklist, (although you should). It is also about the intentions you bring to the conversation. Are you looking to lead the buyer to a place where they have to say yes? Or, are you seeking to truly understand their situation, the impact it is having on them and their organization and what has prevented them from solving this earlier?
When we take the time to understand:
1. Their situation
2. Its impact
3. Other alternatives they have considered
4. Why they feel the need to resolve the issue
We can then begin to explore solutions with them. And the more we approach this as an exploration the more they are able to feel that they have chosen the solution vs. feeling they have been “sold.”
