TRUST
“Only 3% of buyers trust reps.”
2019 Statistic reported by HubSpot.
It certainly isn’t surprising that many of you lack confidence or the desire to “sell” when you see that statistic. After all you are a person of integrity and believe in the value of the products or services you provide, why would you ever want to be associated with a distrusted profession?
The origins of this distrust go back centuries, salespeople were often considered unethical hucksters who manipulated you into purchasing their goods. Unfortunately most people have had negative experiences over time with various salespeople which continues to cultivate the legacy of mistrust with this profession.
This simply isn’t acceptable and not tolerated in today’s social world. Every buyer has an abundance of choice options to fulfill any of their needs or wants. They are far more educated on products and services which necessitates a higher level of knowledge and professionalism when interacting with these discriminating clients. A few years ago, I was buying a new vehicle and I was very surprised by my experience and their forth right honesty in the dealership. The sales person said to me “we no longer can charge higher prices simply because we are a dealership, the customers have access to many online resources which help them evaluate, compare and assess price value that we have to be competitive or we won’t be in business.”
Fundamentally we need to develop our skills and confidence to influence our clients with integrity and demonstrate our real value to them based on what they need or want. We first need to gain a true understanding of your clients current and future situation, pain points and needs. Then and only then do you begin to sell them on what you have to offer and stated in the value you can provide. Sounds simple enough, but many people selling their products or services simply tell their prospective client what they do, what they offer and expect the client to see how that is the answer for their requirements. It shouldn’t be surprising that this approach is not effective and results in few sales.
It comes down to learning the skills of handling influential selling conversations which inspire trust in your clients and build confidence in yourself and your ability to handle any sales situation. Think of the acronym TRUST, when you keep it top of mind and use it as a structured process for handling your sales meeting you will significantly improve your sales results and conversion rates from prospect to client.
Thoroughly prepare in advance of your meeting, this is a key differentiator with buyers. You show up having researched your client, their businesses, their clientele so you can speak intelligently to them not in a generic fashion. You have the necessary resources readily available to capitalize on their inquiries. You have a clear goal in mind for the meeting and you speak in the language and interest of your audience.
Respect their time, these people have given you the privilege of their valued time, honor that! Restate the purpose of the meeting, review the agenda, add topics to the agenda requested by your client. Demonstrate respect for your client by wearing appropriate attire, avoid using jargon, slang or profanity and adhere to the time commitment they gave you. 30 minutes is 30 minutes do not go over.
Understand their situation, challenges, wants and needs. The most critical element of your sales meeting is truly understanding your client’s situation, future vision, pain points, needs and wants. How else can you become a trusted advisor and begin the process of co-creating win-win solutions? Asking the right questions and demonstrating that you have really heard them shows that you are invested in building a relationship that spans multiple engagements not just a onetime transaction. The key is to listen with the intent of understanding, not for a clue to jump in with a solution or product. Sadly, this happens often! Countless times, I have watched salespeople ask canned questions and it is clear they weren’t listening but instead thinking about what they will say next. Certainly not the best approach for earning credibility.
Summarize, prioritize and co-create solutions. You have questioned, listened and now this is where exceptional salespeople shine…. you summarize and paraphrase what you have heard. You gain their agreement on what has been stated and ask them to rank the order of their issues. Then you get to work with them to co-create the solutions you can deliver to align to their most important needs. I say co-create for two reasons: first this builds a partnership that you are both working towards and second establishes the best solution. When done well you have already gained the client’s agreement to the sale or next steps in the buying process.
Transact & Follow Up. Ask for the sale or confirm the next steps in the order process, this could be for a demo or presentation to a broader audience in the company. Make certain you both understand the timing and expectations of the steps going forward, a best practice is to email back your agreements so both parties have a resource to review. Establish how will payment be made, if required fill out paperwork for credit applications. And in my experience, the most hated but critical next step…. the paperwork! Make
certain that your CRM is updated, and all persons in your company have visibility to the agreements, particularly the timelines and order schedule to assist in forecasting both the revenue but also planning for materials needed to complete the project/sale.
Using the TRUST structured approach to handling your sales meetings will absolutely make you much more effective and increase your sales. Honing your skills in this area and mastering its application takes more detailed training, role playing and coaching. If you have a sales team or want to develop your sales expertise contact me @ shawna@quigleycoaching.com.