Monday, November 17, 2008
If the traditional sales process is so bad, how come it is so widely used? There you have me. I don’t know and I marvel at this along with you. Put it down as one of the great unexplained mysteries of business. Its right up there with the dictum: “Our people are our greatest assets.” The slightest downturn and companies race to jettison their “greatest assets.”
Why Is the Traditional Sales Process So Bad?
Pause to reflect for a moment. How do you feel when a stranger tries to get you to “do” something? Especially when this will cost you money. You resist immediately, sometimes with visceral intensity. On occasion, because of your mood or need for a product or the confluence of astrological signs, you might put up only token resistance and might even be happy with a purchase you have been induced to make. There are just enough such instances to keep the traditional sales process alive.
The flaw is in the notion that it is the function of sales to “persuade” a customer to “buy” your product or service. Because it is your job to “persuade” the customer, you have to “overcome” his objections and “close” the sale. The process is inherently confrontational. There will always be casualties when you engage in battle. “Sales resistance” is not caused by the salesperson or the customer or the product or the situation. Sales resistance is caused by “selling.” Let me repeat that: the very act of selling causes sales resistance to surface. It’s as simple as that.
When you, the salesperson, are trying to get a prospect to buy a product you feel apprehensive, vulnerable and like a supplicant. Your self-respect takes a hit. Your prospect feels suspicious, on guard and somewhat resentful. And, if you don’t make the sale, you feel frustrated and rejected.
One of the biggest myths in the whole sales process is that such rejection is “normal.” Salespersons are told that there is nothing “personal” in this rejection. The prospect is simply not interested in the product/service or in dealing with you. You are supposed to realize that this rejection is not “personal,” put it behind you and go blithely on to the next prospect who might also reject your overtures and again not “personally.”
Balderdash!
If you are trying to “sell” the prospect and he does not “buy,” then you have been rejected. You cannot sugarcoat this fact. And rejection is painful. This is why salespersons quit so often and why the sales industry makes so much use of motivational speakers.
Is there a way to take rejection out of the process? A way to make salespersons feel good about themselves and to make prospects less defensive in the presence of a salesperson? There is. And a side effect of this method is that, when properly implemented, sales actually explode.
Interested? Keep reading.
A Better Sales Method
Put your thinking cap on for a moment. Rejection is painful. If you try to “sell” a prospect, or to “get an appointment” or to “get” a prospect to “do” something, and he does not comply, then you have been rejected.
What’s the way around this?
Simple. Don’t try to “sell” your prospect or “get an appointment” or “get” him to “do” anything. Find out if your prospect is willing to do business with you, if you would like to do business with him and give him the opportunity to form a relationship with you. Specifically give him the opportunity, at every stage of the process, to walk away. Encourage him to do so if he is not ready. You cannot be rejected because you have not made a proposal.
Once again it begins with the prospect. Remember how the traditional sales process defines a prospect? A prospect is someone who has a need for your product/service and can afford it.
Let’s refine this definition and add to it. A prospect is someone who has a need for your product/service, explicitly knows that he has such a need, can afford it, has not made a commitment elsewhere and is willing to buy from you if you can meet his needs. This changes the picture quite a bit.
Take the last time you bought a car. Here is how the typical buying process works. You started out with a general idea of what type of vehicle you wanted and a rough idea of how much you wanted to spend. You consulted friends, searched the Internet, visited dealers, read advertisements, sent out for literature and generally searched in your own way.
During this process, if a salesperson tried to “sell” you a vehicle the odds are that you would have resisted. If he tried the familiar “My manager will give you a further $250 off, but only if you sign right now” tactic you would be thoroughly turned off.
You will soon arrive at a decision as to what car you want – quite possibly you will be happy with any of three or four models, given price and features. At this point you know quite a bit about the makes and models you are considering, are familiar with local prices and ready to make a decision. A salesperson who approaches you now has a decent shot at getting your business if she knows her business, has the car available and does not alienate you by using manipulative tactics.
Now, flip the scene around. You are the car salesperson. How do you find out if the visitor is a prospect as defined? It’s simple. You ask. You are polite and use a deadpan voice with no emotional overtones at all. You explicitly give him the opportunity to say no by asking a question such as: “Are you ready to buy a car today, or not?”
You probe with questions that reveal where he is in his buying process and always, always explicitly give him the negative option. “Do you know exactly what you are looking for in a car, or not?” “Do you know how much you are willing to spend, or not?” “Will you be visiting other dealerships, or not?”
Your attitude is helpful, but no nonsense. You are not trying to manipulate your customer to “buy.” You are not trying to “get” him to “do” anything. You are merely trying to ascertain where he is in the buying cycle. You will concentrate your resources only on those who are about ready to make a decision.
And what if he refuses to answer your polite but pointed questions? You wish him a good day and walk away. This is not the sort of person you want to deal with. The questions you ask are highly relevant and recognizable as such. If the person, for whatever reason, does not want to provide the answers, he has just identified himself as the sort of person who will probably waste a good deal of your time if you “pursue” him.
Does it make sense to walk away from such visitors? How will you ever make your sales quotas if you do? Trust me. Your chances of making your quota will increase if you follow the method I am advocating. You’ll also feel a lot better about yourself. I’ll tell you why in my next column.
Srikumar S. Rao is Louis and Johanna Vorzimer Professor of Marketing at the C. W. Post campus of New York’s Long Island University. si
