A good Sales Person actually a perfect matchmaker

A typical sales call –

Sales Person (SP) – Nice to meet you finally. I am XYZ from ABC organization. My product is Blah Blah specializing in something something. My 32 offices are across the country/ globe with round the clock customer service. I have the best product in this industry.

Client – That’s nice. We are already working with PQR Company for this product since a long time. What is the price of your product?

SP – Sir, it is USD/ INR #@*

Client – That’s too expensive. Our current spends are almost half of it plus 2 years maintenance/ service complimentary.

SP – No problem, sir. Just give me a chance. I can match those prices or even get you a better deal. Please allow me a few days’ time to revert to you.

[End of the sales call]

So what do you think was wrong in this sales call?

1.    Entire Pitch was as ‘I’ –

a.    It isn’t about YOU but your organization. At least in your introductory pitch, use words such as ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, etc. This lends more credibility to your statements/ claims because it appears that an entire set-up backs you.

b.    It isn’t about an individual – While a sales person’s charm can make or break deals, clients know that the onus of delivering will be on the organization. So it is eventually organisations and its set-up that will win the confidence of the client.

c.     From a sales person’s perspective – Using ‘we’, ‘our’, makes SP look humble. Or else he may come across boastful. Using of words such as ‘I’, ‘me’ also may sound awkward and arrogant especially if a team has accompanied the sales person. It would make his team look redundant.

2.   Concluded the Sales Call with Price –

a.    More than 95% of the clients will ask you about the price in your very first few minutes of the meeting

b.    Move away from quoting a price unless your product is positioned only on pricing. Jumping on to asking about the price is almost every client’s pet peeve

c.     Smartly move away from that topic. If the client returns to it or keeps insisting on price, politely say that we will take up the topic in sometime. Or mention that you would like to have a few details about his set-up before sharing the price. This will help you extract details from the client so that you can sell better

3.   Missed to bring out the Product Benefits and in a Measurable Way

a.    The SP mentioned that his product is the best in the country/ globally but did not state why?

b.    Many-a-times SP thinks that his/ her duty is only to share the product features. S/he assumes that the clients by themselves should be able to understand the rest of the story

c.     You ought to mention how will each feature help the client do better. E.g.

Note – Not many service providing organisations have measurable results to boast of. You can come up with these numbers by picking up a sample of clients and analyzing how has your service/ product worked for them. This may take a few weeks but it is better than making statements that ‘Our product is the best in the industry’

4.   Missed the Client’s Side of the Story –

a.    Sales isn’t about I, Me, Myself – The SP completely missed to ask the client about HIM

b.    The 3 most integral part of sales is

i.    Know your product very well

ii.    Understand the client’s challenges/ issues

iii.    Marry the above two so that the client gets a great solution and he is hooked on to your product

c.     You can begin with asking questions such as –

You maybe surprised that over 95% of the clients would share all the above information. They like people who take GENIUNE interest in their issues/ challenges and want to partner with them rather than just sell their wares.

Note – there may be some clients who may be cold and not share any of the information above but don’t let this dishearten you. Introspect how else you could have got them to open up, after all practice makes man perfect

5.   Missed to Pose as an Expert

a.    While clients are good at what they are doing, they aren’t the experts of that domain, but the sales person is.

b.    Clients look forward for service providers who are experts and can add value to what they are currently doing. After all even the clients want to appear as heroes in their organization

c.     Do share latest developments about a particular product/ practice. Talk about the changing trends and ways of doing the same thing better. It would be great if your produce/ service were able to incorporate the trends that you speak about. If not, then at least the client learnt something new and he will be thankful to you!

Be genuine in everything you do! And don’t forget that it is you, Mr. seller of a product/ service who many-a-times makes the clients the shining stars of their organization!

Happy Selling!