Yesterday I received 2 voicemails and at least 4 emails that were nothing but, “Hey look at me! I’m awesome and that’s the reason you need to buy from me!”
Hmm, I didn’t care one bit about how good they were. I did the most expedient thing I could — I hit delete! Come to think of it, not only did I not care how good they were, I also am willing to bet their own mother wouldn’t be excited either.
Our message from the start must be 100% focused on the customer. If what I have to say doesn’t scream “outcome,” then I’m wasting my time.
Check out this 23-second clip form a keynote speech where I rant about this issue:
Ask yourself this question: Am I spending more time talking about myself than I am asking the prospect questions and probing deeper about their needs?
Let me share an example to help demonstrate. We’ll say you’re walking down the street and you fall, and in so doing, you twist your ankle and it begins to swell. A person walking by stops and instead of asking you where it hurts and taking steps to help you, goes into a 3-minute lecture about the medical classes they took. What would your reaction be? Mine would be shut your mouth and either help me or leave.
My example might seem extreme, but that’s exactly what’s happening with our prospects. They have needs that need to be dealt with. Our objective is to help them. A swelling ankle may not be initially visible until we probe more by asking questions. The questions we ask are what will allow the other person to become confident in us and then be open to the solution.
Our objective is simple. Focus every comment we share on uncovering the outcome the customer desires.
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.
