The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. ~ George Bernard Shaw
Have you ever heard any of these lines?
- They didn’t have the budget.
- It wasn’t the right time.
- They want to see a demo.
- We had a great first conversation, but now they won’t answer my calls.
- They want to look at other options before making a decision.
- I definitely think this one has a strong chance of closing.
- This will probably close this week.
- They loved us, they’ll definitely go with us.
Sometimes, salespeople don’t make sales, they make purchases of lies, either from the buyer or themselves.
But these things don’t seem like lies because usually the salesperson makes a very compelling case for their answer when asked about “What happened with that Joe Smith account?” That’s why they’re in sales, after all, right?
Unfortunately, these lies are also bought by the sales manager because the sales manager doesn’t have a set of qualifying criteria clearly communicated to his team, so he relies on his experience and intuition. This, of course, is effective to some degree, which is why so many of sales managers do it.
But that is like walking somewhere when you have the means and accessibility to fly there.
Buyers are going to give us all sorts of wishy-washy communication, it’s our job to clear it up. It’s not always easy, but it’s honest and truthful and that’s what the Sandler System aims to do – find out the truth.
Here are two questions to get you started toward effectively debriefing your calls and finding out the truth in your sales opportunities:
1) Why is this person interested in our product or service? As in, what did they explicitly say?
2) Are they willing and able to make a purchase? How do I know?
Test these out after your calls and see how effectively you’re uncovering the truth. You might be surprised by your answers!
Until next time, good selling.
Ryan Kwech
