Don't Try so Hard to Sell
Here's one thing you can do that will guarantee poor sales performance: try really hard to get the sale. Yes, you
heard right. Try really hard to get the sale and you will decrease your chances of getting the sale.
Here is the explanation:
When sales people try too hard to get the sale – when they are focused exclusively on making the sale – they tend
to make mistakes in the process. The biggest mistake they make is that they rush ahead of where the client is at in
their personal buying process. They shortcut the interview process and get selfish with only one dominating
thought: will this person buy or not? They are so keen to make a sale that they skip the truly important parts of the
sales process and rush through the presentation almost in a mad dash to get it out of the way so they can get to
the payoff or the "close".
Should they take a more laid back approach? Salespeople sometimes hold back so they can wait and see if the
person is a "buyer" or a "shopper". They feel that there is no point in putting in the effort until they know if the
prospect is a buyer. The problem with this approach is that the client thinks you don't care. The variation on this
ineffective approach is a "pre-qualification" statement or question that tries to find out if the client is buying
today. That gives the opposite impression to the client - you are high pressure. Either approach causes the client
to disengage from the sales person. The client sends the sales person signals that they won't be buying and both
parties drift further away from doing business together.
So how do you make more sales? Don't try to make the sale. Let go of the end result – don't worry about whether
the person buys or not. Buying any product or service is a logical mental and emotional process. The process of
selling needs to mirror that buying process. Good sales people are like a tour guide, walking their clients patiently
through the buying process. Focusing on the sale makes it all about the sale when, in fact, it should be all about
helping your client get to the next stage of their buying process.
Sports psychologists teach this to high performance athletes early on in their careers. Athletes are taught how to
focus and to be in the moment; how to block out distractions and concentrate on the task at hand. They are not
thinking about winning. They know that the best shot they have at winning will come from being totally focused in
the moment and executing on the skills and performance necessary for them to achieve their personal best.
It's the same in selling. Letting go of the end result - the sale - will allow you to do what you need to do which is to
focus on the client in front of you and getting to the next step of their buying process. That's why having a strategy
to follow like the Buying Cycle is so critical. It allows you to focus on the steps that will lead the client to a decision.
Lead, Don't Follow
Don't let all this talk about not focusing on the sale give you the impression that we are to sit back and wait for
clients to buy. Not so. You are not following the client, you are leading. Your focus should be on successfully
completing each step of the sale with the goal being to safely transition to the next step. That's it. Just get to the
next step.
So don't focus on making the sale, focus instead on a solid greeting that establishes rapport and lets the client
know you are friendly and trust worthy.
Don't focus on making the sale, focus on asking good questions, getting the client talking about their needs. Don't
even start presenting a product until you are confident the client has expressed everything they need to for you to
have full information and make an educated product recommendation.
Don't try to make the sale, instead, clearly articulate how the product features fits the client's specific needs and
situation. Show them value in not just the product but in your dealership as well.
Don't try to make the sale, just get feedback from the client acknowledging that the product you presented is right
for them.
Now guess where you are? Once they have acknowledged the product is right it's time to ask them to buy. By
focusing on getting to the next step in the process you are now in a position where you can feel confident it's time
to ask for the sale. More importantly, you can have the confidence to know that your client is ready to buy.
Let go of the end result. Don't try so hard to make the sale. Instead just focus on helping your client gets to the
next step in the process... and the next and the next. The journey will be more enjoyable and more people will
follow your leadership further through the buying process. That translates into higher ratios at each step and
ultimately more sales.
Written by Warren Cederberg for Salesopedia