The starter's pistol has sounded and now is the moment of truth, the opportunity to capitalize on all your preparatory efforts. As you sit face-to-face with your customer, a gold-medal performance is your only option. The sales arena presents no silver or bronze medals, nor does it allow any false starts. On game day, Steps #1 through #4 of your Sequential Model are critical prerequisites to a stellar performance. Chances are your competitor is in the same arena, running the same race, just on a different day.
Your challenge is to move the customer from a cold, indifferent frame of mind to aroused excitement about you and your product or service. Remember that salespeople are often viewed as an intrusion, an interruption to an already busy day. Unless you can change that basic attitude by reducing the initial tension, you are doomed before you start. The initial moments of a sales call are fraught with uncertainty, and tension must be minimized. However, a certain level of tension is healthy and normal as it motivates you to higher levels of performance. Sales entrepreneurs know how to transform nervous pre-call energy into a winning edge, a confident approach. The winning edge is an attitude of a champion. Small differences in attitude and ability can translate into enormous differences in results. A race horse may win by a nose or a PGA golfer by a single stroke, but their winnings may be twice that of second place. Are they twice as good or talented? Of course not. You and your competitor are both invited by the customer to compete. You are both on the short list, but only one will emerge victorious, often winning only by a nose. In sales, it's not your margin of victory that is important but whether you played the game to win, embracing every possible advantage. Remember, your customer is the ultimate judge of your performance. At the awards ceremony, the gold medal is presented in the form of an order.
Needs Analysis
Customer satisfaction begins with a careful diagnosis of needs and expectations. You must sensitize yourself to your customer's issues and focus on what your customer needs to buy, rather than selling what you need to sell. (One more sale and I win the TV!) Through open and honest conversation you will discover the needs and expectations of your potential customer and begin to formulate a solution that differentiates you from your closest competitor. Discovery, then, is asking questions through an exploratory discussion, listening carefully, and aligning your offerings to exceed your customer's expectations.
The key to differentiation is asking intelligent questions, questions your competitors don't ask, or are afraid to pose. Asking intelligent questions is the essence of an effective needs analysis that reveals the specifics about a possible solution. However, asking questions is not an isolated event where you show up to the appointment, introduce yourself, then proceed to inundate your customer with an onslaught of scripted questions. Think of discovery as a dialogue, a conversation between two people, rather than a strategic engagement between a salesperson and a customer. Before a customer will open up and share information that may lead to a sale, you must get acquainted, establish rapport, gain trust, and break through the mental barriers usually associated with first-time sales calls. You must demonstrate a genuine interest in the customer to advance the relationship. Granted, it is not easy to break through initial sales resistance, negative perceptions, and a general attitude of apathy toward salespeople. Meeting a customer for the first time can be a nerve-wracking experience for even a seasoned sales professional. Usually, the first few minutes of a sales call are the most stressful for both the salesperson and the customer. The customer's stress comes in the form of uncertainty about the salesperson's intentions and apprehension about seeing "another sales rep." Sales representatives experience stress because they often rely on little more than their good looks and the gift of the gab to carry them through the call. However, thousands of sales entrepreneurs are successful every day, proving that customers are receptive if you demonstrate a genuine interest through an approach that is forged from your knowledge, skills, and confidence.
An effective approach requires a method designed to get the customer's attention and interest quickly, while guiding you through the most sensitive part of the call, the first few minutes. Your greatest ally throughout the call is the after-effect of the positive first impression you made. A favorable first impression usually produces a customer who is willing to participate. Customers put tremendous faith in their perceptions and are quick to prejudge. If you are perceived as professional and effective at the beginning of the call, you will be perceived as effective during the rest of the call. The customer's receptivity to you will be decided within the first minute. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Discovery Modul are:
- The PSIP Method
- Probe Architecture: Peel the Onion
- Feature Fishing
- Effective Bridging
- Inverse Bridging
- Avoid the Penalty Box
- Communication Skills
- Why We Are Poor Listeners
0 comments:
Post a Comment