It is a common practice or prevalent predominant thought among sales executives that sharing their own reasons for a sale with the customer would motivate him/her to make the purchase. The salesperson thinks that if he/she impresses upon the customer the reasons why the latter should strike a deal with the executive, the sale will happen. However, this is far from the truth.
When a salesperson out of desperation gives away the information to a prospective customer that the former’s sales target would be met with this deal, the sales executive gives away the opportunity to land the deal. The customer is never reached through the emotional route for doing business, rather the customer finds such an approach repulsive to his/her own profits and gains. Furthermore, the need of the sales executive to cinch the deal places him/her in a weaker position as compared to the customer. The customer is resultantly tempted to negotiate more, and is more confident of landing the deal on his/her terms rather than those of the organisation.
So, how should a sales executive approach a sales discussion which is crucial for him/her, but no hint can be dropped to the customer for the same?
The solution lies in asking the ‘why’ from a different perspective.
The salesperson should ponder within as to why the customer would want to buy the said product/service. This information can easily be extracted from the customer by posing open-ended questions that employ mirroring. A sales executive can also stoke the imagination of the customer at this stage to bring about the deal, rather than appealing to the latter’s reason/will. Such an approach will reveal to the sales executive the reasons for a customer to purchase the product/service. One reason could be that the customer has secured a big project and thus wants to upgrade the present technology used by him/her. The need to upgrade can also emerge from the requirement from the latter’s customer to have deliverables produced via that specific product/service. Additionally, the customer intends to dilute the gap between him/her and his/her competition or surpass his/her competition by investing in new/better technology.
Sales is nothing but fulfilling the desire of the customer; at some occasions the desire is expressly stated, at others, it is covert or hidden. The customer does give away many ‘black swans’ for this peculiar requirement and an expert sales executive will pick these up and incorporate them in his/her sales talk.
Suppose, a customer is comparing the product/service with that of the competition, the sales executive can draw a contrast with the other, and state the advantages over the other product/service. Furthermore, if price is a pinch point for the customer, a scheme for payment can be developed and offered to meet the requirements of the customer while protecting the interests of the organisation.
Finally, a customer may be motivated to buy a particular product/service for its ‘show-off’ value or status symbol image. In such a scenario the characteristics that fulfill this need of the customer should be openly presented for consideration.
Hence, the important ‘why’ of a sale is not the reasons for which a sales executive wants the sale to happen, rather the reasons for which a customer will want to make the purchase. It is this ‘why’ which should be stoked and fulfilled in a sales discussion to achieve a successful outcome.
You may like to watch a short video on the concept here: