You may think it’s important, but does your customer? Is what you’re sharing with the customer nothing but a statement we’ll call a blinding flash of the obvious?
I was just in Australia and saw this sign, “Danger Crocodiles,” with the words “No Swimming.” Excuse me, but did I miss something with my limited knowledge of crocodiles and what they can do to people?
The words “No Swimming” are obvious, as only an idiot would do that. If you’re selling to idiots, then maybe restating things like found on the sign are necessary, but my guess is you’re not selling to idiots and instead you are selling to very smart people.
When was the last time you assessed what you shared with prospects and customers? Are you guilty of something as lame as this sign?
I know you’re saying, “But hey, it’s important to be very clear and state things multiple times to make sure a customer understands.” Yes, that’s right, but it’s not permission to see if they understand information that in the end is something they don’t need to know.
Worst example of what I’m talking about is the old capabilities presentation every salesperson would take a new customer through the first time they met with them. You know the presentation — it was the one with 40 PowerPoint slides and mind-numbing pictures and facts about how great your company is.
We are past the era of delivering those, but too many salespeople still sneak into their presentations multiple times little pieces of information and facts that are simply not necessary.
We must be mindful to not only respect the customer’s time, but also their intellect. We can’t assume they don’t know. If we suspect they don’t know, then that’s where a question comes into play. The more we engage our customers, the more we will understand what they do or do not understand. In the end, we’ll be able to speed up the selling process and by doing so create more value for them.
The easiest way to cut out the unnecessary is by having the rule of not presenting anything before leading with a question to verify if what you’re going to share is relevant.
In case you’re wondering, no, I did not go swimming. Just something about my desire to not become a video that goes viral on the internet showing a crocodile having lunch with me.
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Copyright 2017, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
