My team and I make sales calls every day.  We focus on building a relationship of trust with a prospect while moving towards the close. To accomplish this, we use customized scripts that we’ve internalized, as well as a variety of proven sales techniques.

There are three useful techniques that we don’t use as readily as we might when we move deeper into the sales process. I have seen them be very effective in moving discussions forward when used strategically.

“My Biggest Fear”

Express a specific concern you have about how the prospect might perceive your solution.  An example of this is: “My biggest fear is that you see this solution as an instant fix.  In fact, it may take several months for you to see its impact.” This technique calls attention to a potential stumbling block and positions you as an honest presenter of the facts.  You’re calling out an issue that the prospect may not have paid attention to that could emerge later and derail the sale. If this is an issue for the prospect, it’s better to find out now and address it.

Justification

Get the prospect to justify why they need your solution.  During the discussion, you could comment: “It looks like this might not be one of your priorities now.”  This will either lead to confirmation that it isn’t important to them, or it will cause the prospect to explain to you why it’s a priority. The outcome is that your prospect develops a better understanding of how your solution is relevant to them.

Staying Negative

This is a variation on the Justification sales technique in which you suggest that the prospect doesn’t really need your solution.  You could say, “Perhaps you don’t need any help in addressing this.”  Once again, the prospect has a couple of obvious responses, the first being “you are right,” and the second being, “No, we need help.”  You’ve gotten the prospect to validate the need for your solution.

Using these techniques may reveal that there is no opportunity at this time. But experience has taught me that it’s better to know this as soon as possible so that you can move them into follow up mode and transition to the next opportunity.

You can see how these techniques might move the relationship forward and reinforce the value of your solution. Keep them in your sales tool chest and use them appropriately.

At One of a Kind Sales, we love sales, and we particularly love cold calling. We believe being well-prepared to sell is critical to success. If you or your team would benefit from learning more about these and other sales techniques, call us at 908-879-2911.