Sales is an interesting profession. While I believe and know it can be a most honorable one, when I ask others what comes to mind when they hear that someone is ‘in sales,’ the answers are rarely positive. I usually get something to the effect of, “Ugh! Someone who couldn’t get a real job" or "someone that is a good manipulator.”
When asking sales people how they close new business, many break into the litany of ‘go-to’ moves: dazzling their prospects with their knowledge, touting the awards their company has won over the years or trying to impress people with the features and benefits of their product or service.
The reality is many sales people don’t have a process in place to build relationships with their prospects, so they break out the old ‘go-to moves’ to impress. The result is often a disconnected prospect that only becomes a paying customer if the sales person is in the right place at the right time.
But, there is a surefire way for sales people to gain stature with clients - asking deep, impactful questions about the challenges they face, then helping them discover why those problems exist in the first place. Getting curious is a simple, but often overlooked method to resolve this issue. Oftentimes, sales people get excited when they hear a prospect divulge a problem and prematurely spring into ‘Rescue Mode’ before gaining complete understanding.
Using curiosity to investigate and validate an issue can be done by slowing yourself down and asking the following questions:
- What is the surface level concern/problem?
- How does the prospect currently handle the problem?
- What is the ideal scenario/solution?
- What is the impact to the prospect?
Sales who people get curious with their prospects also close a higher percentage of business as a result of this simple strategy.
If you struggle with unpredictable sales results and are curious enough to have a conversation about that, please contact me at 630-750-0852. No promises that there will be a fit, but maybe you’ll gain some new insight about how to get on track for your sales goals.
Or, check out our Training page to get an idea of what we're all about!
