Prime the Pump by Offering Options

 

Sales reps always get into trouble with customers when they start pushing a particular product or solution. When that happens, customers feel trapped and manipulated and the rep is likely to lose a great opportunity for a sale. Instead of pushing for your idea, try to clarify the needs and desires the customer already has, and offer a set of options so that the customer feels he has a choice. By offering options, you come across as a trusted advisor instead of a pushy salesman, and the customer feels safe and respected.

By offering options, you are able to determine what is most attractive to your client based on the value they will receive and the risks they will avoid. This phase of the sales process occurs more as a discussion than a sales pitch. You are advising the customer as he seeks solutions to solve his problem, rather than pushing one specific product or service. After sorting through options with your customer, your final recommendation will then be much more likely to fit the need. It is in this manner that the relationship will be strengthened and the client will be more likely to buy.

As you talk to your customer, find out about his priorities. Help jo, visualize possible benefits and risks of action or inaction. Do so in a genuine manner that shows a desire to help rather than sell. If you’ve been working with the client long enough and have built a strong enough relationship, he should be very open to this process.

Pose "what if" questions to make a transition into this phase, to establish the demand for a possible solution and to put them in the right frame of mind to accept various options. These questions should be generic and not necessarily focused on you and your product or service.

"What if your customer base would have access to a larger inventory of industrial solutions, enabling you to compete head to head with a larger distributor?"

"What if the cost of maintenance would be eliminated by using a higher grade product?"

"What if the delivery problems you had faced in the past could be eliminated?"

"What if there was a way to make the service accessible to all of your employees from a web-based portal?"

"What if you could recoup part of your investment by disposing of excess inventory?"

In essence, these questions will allow you to gather useful information. The customer will tell you if these questions are important to them or not. They may not care about the cost of delivery – they just want to make sure the product is there on time so they can get it on the shelves.

You are working to determine the best option for the customer and, in a sense; they are selling themselves on the best course of action. Once this has been established, your customer will be more receptive to a recommended solution.

Some examples to consider:

Sales Rep: "What if there was a way to clear out the excess inventory in storage in a way that would allow you to recoup your original investment?"

Customer: "This has been a big issue. We have several older servers on hand that are quite powerful but they just don’t meet our company’s demands. We’d love to find a way to sell them to someone else."

OR

Sales Rep: "What if there was a way to provide a dedicated Technical Account Manager who would be focused on your company?"

Customer: "I can’t begin to tell you how much that would help. With our current supplier, we have the toughest time getting a hold of someone when we have a problem. Half the time, when we do reach someone, we feel like we’re dealing with a warm body that doesn’t have clue. It’s terribly frustrating."

OR

Sales Rep: "If there was a way to customize the order based on your specifications and not on pre-determined options, would that be important?"

Customer: "Oh, I’d definitely say so. We’ve had the toughest time finding someone who can meet our specs. We don’t want something off the shelf – we have specific needs.

Once the customer begins discussing options, you have set in motion the process that can easily lead to a sale. Just be patient, ask good questions, and let the customer tell you what he really wants to buy.

 

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June Sales Quick Tip of the Month – How to Take No For An Answer

Sometimes you do everything right but things still turn out wrong. Sometimes the contract goes to someone else. When that happens, instead of slumping away, disgraced and discouraged, see if you can learn something that will help you next time. Ask for a frank assessment of the reasons your proposal was not selected. Sometimes the truth hurts, but it may also help you get valuable insights that will pay off big at a later time. Find out when the next opportunity might be to get their business. You could be up to bat again as soon as the next quarter. And stay in touch – don’t be a pest, but don’t hesitate to check in with your contact every few weeks. Keep communications open and continue to learn the relationship ropes that drive their business decisions. Above all, don’t take their decision personally. It probably had nothing to do with you. Try to see all the hard work you did on this project as a down payment on the success of the next one. Keep smiling and stay in touch. You are still in the game unless you take yourself out.