Today's selling hint

Today, when you’re tempted to say something in a meeting or phone call, bite your tongue.

Think: would it be better phrased as a question ?

So for example, rather than saying “this service achieves xyz benefit” you could say “given that this service typically delivers xyz benefit, what would that mean for your organisation ?”

Much more powerful behaviour: it means your prospect will be selling your services to themselves. And it means you talk less (....always a good thing :-) and you've earned the time to think about your next question, and move closer to close

You know it makes sense.

Answering difficult questions

It happens to us all: things are going so well, and then suddenly a question arises we have no idea how to answer - sometimes you genuinely don't know the answer, other times you definitely don't like the direction the question will take the conversation.

One word is all you need to remember: REFRAMING...

Step 1: Repeat the question, check you've understood tight (you know most people like the sound of their own voices, they sometimes let you off the hook by just carrying on talking...:-)

Step 2: If it's still up to you, then reframe the question: go back in time, how did we get into this position ? what are the real issues at stake ? what did we both want out of this situation in the first place ? what's changed since then ? then you can say: so perhaps the real question is.....and ask it in its new shape.

At least then it's a question you'll be happier to answer.

How to Prevent the Price Objection (2)

My previous Blog on Objection Prevention talked about positioning: setting the landscape so your price is viewed in perspective.

Here’s a magic question to ask that complements that approach perfectly, that enables you to turn the tables on the buyer, make them feel awkward about price for once.

During the probe, look the prospect in the eyes and ask: “so….er…do you mind sharing your budget with me in round figures ?” You’ll get one of three reactions:

“Yes, it’s £x”. One in a million will be telling you the truth, the rest are lying: undercutting to give you a hard time. Whatever they say, it’s nowhere near enough. Look thoughtful, perhaps even a little shocked: “Mmmmm, that’s not really enough to really achieve what you want…” or “that’s right at the bottom end of what’s needed, you won’t get x, or y, for that amount”

“I don’t have a budget.” Yep, lying again. “OK, wouldn’t expect you have a detailed budget at this stage, but broadly speaking, what would be reasonable given the problem, and it’s likely impact on the business ?”

“I’m not telling you !” “OK, I understand, but I don’t want to waste either of our time….so broadly speaking, what would be a reasonable amount to consider, given the problem, and it’s real impact on the business ?”

You need to be careful not to be too confrontational with this one, keep the tone of voice gentle, but when it works it raises the discussion onto business levels, and away from your price in isolation.

How to Prevent the Price Objection

All buyers do it. In front of the mirror every morning, they practice saying “So….how much ?” and then knotting their brows, saying “How much ?!!!”. And you know when that happens to you, it’s all about price from then on, whatever you’re selling, they’ve got you on the run.

There are hundreds of sales techniques for handling objections, but they all make you sound evasive when it comes to price. It’s far better to prevent the price Objection, and drop in one or both of my all-purpose Price Objection Preventers. Let’s say you’re selling IT Consulting or Support…...

Preventer #1: Set the bar really high

In the middle of describing what your company does, and what the benefits are, just drop in the phrase “…..now to achieve that, you might well have to pay two grand a day with IBM or Accenture….” and don’t stop, just carry on with the benefits. They’ll invariably say “….so what do you charge then ?” and you can honestly say, “….ooooh, a lot less than that, and the benefits are proven in organisations just like yours. Let me give you an example….”

Preventer #2: Ensure they’re comparing your cost with the real cost of doing it themselves.

Again, while you’re describing what you do and the benefits, just drop in “…..now to achieve that using just your people alone would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds…” and carry on fast with the benefits of you doing it. Yes, they’ll break in with “no it won’t my people are free, they’re already employed….” and then you can have an intelligent discussion about the real costs (and the opportunity costs) of them doing it themselves.

Both these preventers show you’re not afraid to talk money….but they give you the chance to talk about it in the way you want to, comparing it with other approaches to the problem, not just an absolute amount.

How to answer all objections with a Yes

In all roles we have to work with other people, and gain their agreement: but it’s often hard to avoid saying no. Here are five proven ways to handle objections by saying Yes.

1.       Just say Yes and no more ! Nod wisely. Pause for reflection. Then completely ignore whatever they said. (Sounds weird but try it – it works !)

2.       Feel-felt-found….”Yes, lots of people feel that way....my client ABC felt that way....but they found that…”. This validates their objection while answering it with a reference story

3.       Yes but…“Yes. Good point. But that’s more than compensated by the fact that ...”. This counterbalances their issue with a benefit.

4.       Yes...however that will hurt you more than me....“…lower cost means reduced support, lower certainty…” or “…if we miss the deadline, we lose the benefits…”. Bit cheeky, but very effective.

5.       Yes, that's true...are there any other reasons why that’s a good idea....? Then keep asking till they give you a bad idea, and use it to bury their whole point. 

Yes ! Yes !! Yes !!!

How to avoid the “I’ll think about it” blocker

It’s happened to all of us: we’re selling, or driving a new project, proposing change, and the other party hear all your arguments and then say “I’ll think about it”. You just know it’s an excuse for avoiding a decision. Grrrrr.

Here’s a simple and very effective method for avoiding “I’ll think about it”.

Step 1: As early as possible, say “…to make sure our final agreement is exactly right for you, we’ll work through a series of draft proposals together….we call them Pre-Proposal Reviews”

Steps 2,3,4, etc: At each meeting and review, write DRAFT in big letters across your documents. Discuss them, change them, but never agree it’s final. You never have a final  document: there’s always the need for another meeting to finalise the Proposal.

So when they say “I’ll have to think about it” you can say “Yes, so do I…let’s agree a date to review the next draft…”