What exactly is sales? And how can you build your sales pipeline?
If you’re thinking it’s all about influencing and persuading your prospects to buy from you, this might be where your sales pipeline is starting to go wrong, before it’s even begun… That approach is centred around YOU, the seller. Try turning it around 180 degrees and making it all about the CUSTOMER!
In fact, sales is actually about helping others to solve their problems, meet their goals, and giving great customer service – does that sound more like your thing?
Reframing in this way what sales is, or isn’t, leads us to apply a completely different mindset, using a different voice and a different way of being. The outcome of your success in helping others in this way depends on just 2 things:
- What you say
- What you do
This blog will focus on part one…
What you say
Given we’re now all about helping others and customer service, it makes sense that the first focus of our communication needs to be around understanding what problem or goal our prospect needs help with:
- What’s their context?
- Why is it important to them?
- Who are the key players?
- What have they already tried?
- How did it work out?
- When are their deadlines?
- What’s their next step?
- Where do they need help next?
You’ve probably already recognised the depth of information these 5W’s and H (Who, What, Why, When, Where and How) can bring to the discovery stage of your conversation.
Earlier this year I was fortunate to hear Chris Voss, former lead International Kidnapping Negotiator for the FBI, speak on the topic of sales. Rather controversially, he maintains that the established sales mantra of getting the prospect to ‘Yes!’ is out-dated and ineffective. Instead, we should be aiming to get to ‘’That’s Right!’. This signals the prospect actually believes that you understand their perspective and their brain is now willing to listen to you. At this point, the pattern of the conversation shifts, roles are reversed, and the prospect starts asking YOU the questions! Now you know they’re ready to accept your help and you can move on to closing with either… or…. type questions.
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