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What Do Your Customers Want To Hear From You?

I feel this is a question that many average performing Sales people neglect to ask themselves on a continuing basis. It amazes me how many salespeople believe they know what their prospect is thinking without any real attempt at fact finding or for that matter, any basic questioning!

So with this in mind, let's start with your purpose as a Sales people - to assist your customers in solving a problem they have. Contrary to what you feel about this statement, there is enough evidence and research now available that suggests customers want to buy products and services, not be sold to. So initially, your prospect will want to know your answers to the following questions -

1. Do you fully understand the problem/s I have?
2. Do you have a solution to these problem/s?

You may laugh at how basic these questions are; however, so many Sales people get this so wrong and make very broad assumptions about prospects. Remember, every prospect will have a different set of needs and requirements. Another bugbear of customers is the complete lack of detailed questioning with a prospect. I recently saw this first hand at a car dealership I visited. It was a Saturday morning and next to me was a family of around 5 in total. The salesperson went up to the prospect and asked what sort of car the family were looking at. The father then proudly announced he was looking at the new estate (Station wagon for those of us in Australia and New Zealand). Then the Sales people went off on a complete tangent about a range of features without asking any questions. This salesperson made an assumption that the prospect was looking for a car for his family when in fact; this guy was a vet and was looking for a sturdier vehicle as he was expanding his services to include some rural areas. At this stage I was totally bemused and enjoyed this immensely. After about 30 minutes or so, the prospect and his family decided to head off with some brochures in tow. This is but a simple example of how to totally get off on the wrong foot. By simply asking what the vehicle would be mainly used for, the Sales people would be able to suit his presentation to suit this particular prospect. Always remember that customers may also get confused so take your time here and really listen to what they say.

Once the salesperson has established the prospect's problem it's now important to link these issues to a solution you may be able to offer. Oh, and at this point, if you are able to offer a solution, don't BS the prospect. Simply apologize for not being able to help them and maybe offer an alternative source where they may be able to help. So, assuming there is an opportunity to assist, here you need to be very thorough with your questioning by asking open questions that elicit open and detailed answers. Typical questions could include -

· Tell me about how we could assist you?
· How has this problem affected you?
· What other issues have you experienced?

These questions are so important as they guide you to understand the problems, focus your mind on what to present on and also entice some emotion from the customer. If you can find that little bit of emotion and really drive home some great questioning then chances are your customers will appreciate the time you've taken to understand their needs.

Now, you've questioned your prospect to understand the issues, and found an opportunity for your company to assist this person. It's time to offer a feature / benefit conversation. When you offer a prospect some information please don't do what a load of average sales people do - waffle endlessly about every feature known to man without any benefit statement. Offer the customer some key features that link to benefits that will fix their issues. Customers may ask for more information at this point; which is a sign that they are interested in what you've said and shown so far.

Another important aspect of what a customer will want to know is about you and your company. They maybe interested in the solution you've discussed but need to know they are dealing with a persona and company they can trust. This is another opportunity to bring out some case studies or testimonials that back-up what you say. Most customers don't want to be guinea pigs with a new product or company. If you don't have client case studies or testimonials then start compiling this today - make it a priority!

So to recap of some important key points -

· Always ask open questions to make sure you understand what the prospect is saying or asking.
· If you believe that you can't provide a solution to their needs, then move on - it's best for the customer and you.
· Don't ramble on about technical terms and features that your prospect hasn't indicated interest them. If they do so, then go for your life.
· Keep asking questions until you've found that spot that will get them passionate about your solution.
· Show the prospect how you've been able to assist others, perhaps with similar issues.

 

5 Tips To Giving A Great Sales Presentation That Leads To A Sale

 I’ve personally had the honour and horror of seeing some of the most (well let’s say interesting) sales presentations. I’ve also had the unique ability to sit in on several presentations as an observer, which has given me a fascinating perspective on what the customer is doing during this time.

 

Therefore through experience eof my own and those people I’ve seen, I’ve come up with 5 tips that I believe will help you considerably the next time you need to present –

 

  1. Prepare Accordingly.

a. Make sure you research the customer. Maybe you’ll find a customer of the company you are presenting to that you’ve assisted or perhaps another company from that industry.

b. Have all of your presentation equipment / materials ready to go.

c. If you have to travel to the customer, leave plenty of time to get there.

d. Know what to present. Your customer may not be interested in technical aspects or financial pay-offs. This is something you should know by speaking with the customer beforehand and asking their opinion of what is important to them.

 

  1. Know Your Audience.

a. Who are you actually presenting to?

b. Do you know all of their names and job titles if applicable?

c. Do you understand what your solution can do for their problem (keeping in mind that their problem may not be the main problem of the organsiation)? E.g. a Financial Controller may be interested in the value of the product or perhaps the intended payback by acquiring the solution where as a technical person may want to know the nuts and bolts of how it works

 

  1. Create some interest / Don’t be boring.

a. By this I don’t mean going over the top. I’m just referring to interaction, movement, voice, speech, etc to keep the interest of the person/s you are presenting to.

b. Design your presentation to be interesting. (Avoid death by PowerPoint by using key phrases and keeping information to a minimum on slides).

 

  1. Relate the presentation to their needs and solve their problems.

a. Don’t ramble on about everything about your product. Pick the key aspects on the topics that will interest your audience. Know this before you begin presenting.

b. Include key features and their benefits so your customers know why this solution is going to solve their problems.

 

  1. Ask for interaction by asking your audience questions?

a. Get your audience involved by asking questions.

b. Mix up your questions with both open and closed questions. Closed questions can be appropriate when needing acknowledgement in what you’ve been talking about.

c. Ask for their input in how this solution would solve their current problems

 

Bonus tip – Be yourself. This is important as the prospect will no only be interested in your solution and company, they’ll be most interested in you as a person. It’s been said thousands of times before; people buy from people they like and trust.

 

There is one story I’d like to share with you that I laughed when I heard but I can still the agony on the face of the Sales Manager who told me the story. This company was presenting an IT solution to a manufacturing company in the U.K. The Sales person and Sales Manager were presenting to the entire Board of Directors as this was a complete system overhaul that would dramatically improve efficiency within their business.

 

The amusing part was that the Sales Person actually fell asleep during the Sales Managers part of the presentation and had to be woken up by one of the board members! Interestingly enough the customer ended going elsewhere.